These candles just couldn't stand up to the heat.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Oregon Coast - 2009
I had vacation during the week of June 7, 2009 and Jennie & I had decided to do a little reconnaissance of the Oregon Coast, especially the Oregon Dunes area around Florence OR for an upcoming family reunion. I had the whole week off, but Jennie had to work Monday and Tuesday, so I, with the help of Kevin, got most everything ready to go. That meant loading the camper onto the truck and getting that all ready to go. Jennie had already got most of the food and such ready, all that remained was to load it into the camper. Most everything was ready to go by the time Jennie got home from work. We finally left the house about 6:00pm on Tuesday, with the goal of getting down to Kalama, WA that evening.
We got to the Kalama Campground just before dark. It is just east of I-5, right on the Kalama River. No one was in the office, so it was self-register. We found a spot somewhat away from the others who were in the campground. Below is a picture of our campsite.
We got to the Kalama Campground just before dark. It is just east of I-5, right on the Kalama River. No one was in the office, so it was self-register. We found a spot somewhat away from the others who were in the campground. Below is a picture of our campsite.
We found out, though, that this is not really a campground that we want to stay in again, for one primary reason. The restroom/showers are locked up at 9:00pm every night and don't re-open again until 8:00am the next morning. The reason? The sign said "because of vandalism". Below is what is set up for campers to use if needed during the night. No thanks.
After leaving Kalama on Wednesday morning, we made good time down to Salem, where we stopped in at Neil and Sarah's, just so Jennie could see baby Abby. Below is a picture of Jennie holding Abby.
After leaving Salem, we drove to Florence OR and decided to stake out our campsite at Honeyman State Park. Below is a picture of "our" little slice of heaven for a couple of nights. The canopy was only to protect the table from falling needles and such from the trees. It never rained while we were there, although when we woke up Thursday morning, the ground and everything else was wet, like a somewhat heavy fog had gone through during the night. Everything was nice and dry when we woke up Friday morning. The hill behind our site went right up to the dunes. There was a trail that we used to hike up to the dunes and back again.
The next day, Thursday, we went down the road just a short ways and rented a Polaris Ranger for an hour of absolute fun out on the dunes. Below is a picture of Jennie sitting in the machine. That little thing would go just about 30mph, and that was in low range. It was also 4-wheel drive, so it would go just about everywhere we wanted to go.
Here is the two of us sitting in the machine.
Below is a short video that Jennie took of me climbing a small hill. What a hoot.
I thought this next picture would turn out a little better, but it didn't. I decided to include it anyway because it will give you some sort of idea of the Dunes area. Beyond the island of trees is a line of trees and it is beyond that line of trees where the ocean is. We found out that the ocean is about three miles from the campground, and there is no trail to the ocean. We were able to find another spot further south where just a short hike over a short dune would put you right at the ocean.
We spent the rest of day scouting out likely camping spots for the family reunion. But it seems that the likely spot will be Honeyman State Park. As it is with all the Oregon State Parks that we have been in, it is a lovely place, with plenty of amneties.
Friday, we packed up our stuff and left Honeyman State Park for our journey home. We drove north from Florence to the town of Newport, where we left the coast and headed back to I-5 and the trip north. We made one stop in Wilsonville at a Camping World, where we made a couple of purchaces (no sales tax in Oregon). From there, we continued north to a spot just north of Battle Ground, where we spent the night at Paradise Point State Campground. Nice place, but too close to I-5. It was very noisy, but we were still able to get some sleep that night.
We drove on home on Saturday, making it there about 12:30pm. After driving to, and spending a few hours, at a graduation party in Marysville, we went back home and got the camper unloaded and removed from the truck.
All in all, it was a very pleasant trip, although, as usual, it was too short.
Friday, May 8, 2009
LeTourneau University Graduation
The Date: April 30, 2009.
The Occasion: Kevin's Graduation from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.
Below is a picture of Jennie and I at SeaTac Airport, preparing for our flight to Dallas, TX.
After arriving in Dallas late Thursday evening, we stayed at a hotel close to the airport, returning Friday morning to secure our rental car. We then drove to Longview and met up with Kevin at his Society House, KZX. Later that day, Henry showed up, and just before the Graduation Celebration Banquet, Stephen showed up. Once again, we are together as a family, even if only for a short time.
Below are two pictures taken at the "meet and greet" reception just before the banquet. This was an opportunity to meet some of the staff of LeTourneau and also to meet some of the other parents.
Below is a picture of the upcoming graduate just before the banquet started.
The following morning, Saturday, the 2nd of May, 2009, was the graduation ceremony. Below is a somewhat fuzzy picture of a page taken from the graduation program. The page heading was School of Engineering and Engineering Technology. The column heading is Engineering--Mechanical Concentration, B.S. Towards the bottom of the column is Kevin's name.
If you look real close, just to the left of the cap with the letters ZA, you should be able to just make out another cap with the letters KZX on it. That is Kevin.
Here is a short movie clip of Kevin's moment, the moment he spent 6 years looking forward to. Take a couple of seconds and watch the video. Just a few seconds of his life, but it is the beginning of many years of better opportunities for him.
And now it is my honor and privilege to present to you, Kevin James Haveman.
Here is Kevin with his proud mother.
And here is Kevin with both of his proud parents.
And here he is again with the whole family.
At this time, I would like to give a brief history of Mr. LeTourneau and LeTourneau University.
Le Tourneau University is named for its founder - R. G. LeTourneau. World famous inventor, engineering genius, designer of heavy duty earth moving equipment, huge off-shore drilling platforms, and the electric drive wheel, he was, first and foremost, a Christian. He acknowleged his responsibility to God by investing millions of dollars in missionary development projects in Liberia, West Africa and Peru, South America, bringing the Gospel, education, and medical aid to thousands.
For over thirty years, he traveled across the US, Canada and other foreign countries sharing his testimony about the satifaction and joy of serving Jesus Christ. Each time he spoke, he began by saying, "I'm just a mechanic that God has blessed, and it seems He wants me to go around telling how He will bless you, too."
Probably his most significant ministry will prove to be the school he and his wife, Evelyn, established in Longview, Texas. While flying over the area in 1946 to select a manufacturing site, Mrs. LeTourneau saw the sprawling complex of a vacated Army hospital consisting of over two hundred frame buildings. When told that it was no longer in use, she asked about establishing a school to serve the many GI's returning from the war.
The site was secured and LeTourneau Technical Institute was established. From 1946 to 1961, more then 7,000 men received technical training in the new school. By 1961, the institution had outgrown the tech school mold. In 1961, LeTourneau Tech became LeTourneau College as the school became a four year college, broadened its curriculum to include many technical and non-technical majors, and became co-educational. In 1989, LeTourneau College became LeTourneau University, reflecting the quality and diversity of academic programs, the aptitude and international flavor of the student body, and the service orientation, research capabilities, and the professional nature of the curriculum.
The LeTourneau University of today is an accredited, interdenominational, comprehenseive Christian university, offering four-year and two-year programs in engineering, technology, the liberal arts, business, aeronautical science, education and the sciences, plus graduate programs in business and education. In the legacy of R. G. LeTourneau, the University today prepares professionals of ingenuity and Christ-like character to serve in the workplace of every nation.
The life verse of Mr. R. G. LeTourneau was Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
After the graduation ceremony, and after changing our clothes, we all went out for lunch at a place called Texas Roadhouse. Gotta say, the food there was excellent. Then it was time to say goodbye to Henry and Stephen, as they had to return to their respective places, one in Houston and one in Shawnee, OK. Kevin had arranged for one of his friends to take Jennie and I on a sight seeing flight in a Piper PA28-180, a four place, low wing airplane.
Below, you will see an aerial picture of the LeTourneau University campus.
Here is a photo of the three Society Houses on campus. On the right, you can see that one of them has some letters on the roof. Above and to the left of that one is a brown colored house. Between those two, kinda hidden in the trees is the house that Kevin lived in, KZX.
The Occasion: Kevin's Graduation from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.
Below is a picture of Jennie and I at SeaTac Airport, preparing for our flight to Dallas, TX.
After arriving in Dallas late Thursday evening, we stayed at a hotel close to the airport, returning Friday morning to secure our rental car. We then drove to Longview and met up with Kevin at his Society House, KZX. Later that day, Henry showed up, and just before the Graduation Celebration Banquet, Stephen showed up. Once again, we are together as a family, even if only for a short time.
Below are two pictures taken at the "meet and greet" reception just before the banquet. This was an opportunity to meet some of the staff of LeTourneau and also to meet some of the other parents.
Below is a picture of the upcoming graduate just before the banquet started.
The following morning, Saturday, the 2nd of May, 2009, was the graduation ceremony. Below is a somewhat fuzzy picture of a page taken from the graduation program. The page heading was School of Engineering and Engineering Technology. The column heading is Engineering--Mechanical Concentration, B.S. Towards the bottom of the column is Kevin's name.
If you look real close, just to the left of the cap with the letters ZA, you should be able to just make out another cap with the letters KZX on it. That is Kevin.
Here is a short movie clip of Kevin's moment, the moment he spent 6 years looking forward to. Take a couple of seconds and watch the video. Just a few seconds of his life, but it is the beginning of many years of better opportunities for him.
And now it is my honor and privilege to present to you, Kevin James Haveman.
Here is Kevin with his proud mother.
And here is Kevin with both of his proud parents.
And here he is again with the whole family.
At this time, I would like to give a brief history of Mr. LeTourneau and LeTourneau University.
Le Tourneau University is named for its founder - R. G. LeTourneau. World famous inventor, engineering genius, designer of heavy duty earth moving equipment, huge off-shore drilling platforms, and the electric drive wheel, he was, first and foremost, a Christian. He acknowleged his responsibility to God by investing millions of dollars in missionary development projects in Liberia, West Africa and Peru, South America, bringing the Gospel, education, and medical aid to thousands.
For over thirty years, he traveled across the US, Canada and other foreign countries sharing his testimony about the satifaction and joy of serving Jesus Christ. Each time he spoke, he began by saying, "I'm just a mechanic that God has blessed, and it seems He wants me to go around telling how He will bless you, too."
Probably his most significant ministry will prove to be the school he and his wife, Evelyn, established in Longview, Texas. While flying over the area in 1946 to select a manufacturing site, Mrs. LeTourneau saw the sprawling complex of a vacated Army hospital consisting of over two hundred frame buildings. When told that it was no longer in use, she asked about establishing a school to serve the many GI's returning from the war.
The site was secured and LeTourneau Technical Institute was established. From 1946 to 1961, more then 7,000 men received technical training in the new school. By 1961, the institution had outgrown the tech school mold. In 1961, LeTourneau Tech became LeTourneau College as the school became a four year college, broadened its curriculum to include many technical and non-technical majors, and became co-educational. In 1989, LeTourneau College became LeTourneau University, reflecting the quality and diversity of academic programs, the aptitude and international flavor of the student body, and the service orientation, research capabilities, and the professional nature of the curriculum.
The LeTourneau University of today is an accredited, interdenominational, comprehenseive Christian university, offering four-year and two-year programs in engineering, technology, the liberal arts, business, aeronautical science, education and the sciences, plus graduate programs in business and education. In the legacy of R. G. LeTourneau, the University today prepares professionals of ingenuity and Christ-like character to serve in the workplace of every nation.
The life verse of Mr. R. G. LeTourneau was Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
After the graduation ceremony, and after changing our clothes, we all went out for lunch at a place called Texas Roadhouse. Gotta say, the food there was excellent. Then it was time to say goodbye to Henry and Stephen, as they had to return to their respective places, one in Houston and one in Shawnee, OK. Kevin had arranged for one of his friends to take Jennie and I on a sight seeing flight in a Piper PA28-180, a four place, low wing airplane.
Below, you will see an aerial picture of the LeTourneau University campus.
Here is a photo of the three Society Houses on campus. On the right, you can see that one of them has some letters on the roof. Above and to the left of that one is a brown colored house. Between those two, kinda hidden in the trees is the house that Kevin lived in, KZX.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Shrimp Trip - April, 2009
Hi y'all. Once again, it has been a long time since I have updated this blog. Nothing has really happened to warrant posting anything since the last time. Nothing but working, eating and sleeping. That is, until just over a week ago.
I was on vacation the week from April 13 to April 17. While checking my e-mail on April 16, I saw an e-mail from a friend of mine in Sedro Wooley, Steve, asking if I was interested in going on a shrimping trip, on Saturday, in Canadian waters. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? OF COURSE!!!! I have never been shrimping and it sounded like a lot of fun.
Besides the normal things to bring along, like a lunch, snacks and coffee, I had to get a Non-resident Canadian Tidal Waters fishing license. Great, there is a web-site to get that from. So that was taken care of, but to be on the safe side, I had better bring a passport or birth certificate also. No problem.
So, Saturday morning, I picked up another friend from Marysville, Dan, at 4:30am and drove to Coronet Bay to meet up with Steve and his boat. Coronet Bay is just east of Deception Pass. Steve was just setting up his boat, so we helped him launch it, got it loaded up with our stuff and got going.
Below is a picture of us approaching the Deception Pass bridge. It is about 6:00am.
Here is a picture after passing under the Deception Pass bridge. As you can see, it is looking to be a perfect day for some fishing. The sun is just starting to top the Cascade Mountains.
Here is a shot of the fishing grounds. The other boat is a shrimping buddy of Steve's. His boat was the only other boat out there. We had the whole place to ourselves. One can also see some the shrimp pot floats on the water.
While letting the pots "soak", we happen to see this big freighter going by in the distance. We also looked at it through my binoculars and that thing was sure throwing up a huge bow wave, but it was far enough away that it didn't really affect us.
Here is Steve demonstrating how to hook up the pot line to the winch to haul the pot up from the bottom. We were fishing in about 350 feet of water, so there was no way we could pull the pot up by hand. He has a little gas motor with a pulley system to assist in pulling up the pots.
Here, Dan is taking a turn at pulling up a pot. After going over a pulley on the arm, the line is wrapped around a pulley on the gas engine, the engine is fired up and the operator has to feed the line into the garbage can as the pot is coming up.
After the pot comes up, the engine is shut off, the pot is grabbed and swung on-board and set on top of the garbage can.
Then, the pot is opened up and the shrimp are dumped into a bucket. Our first "string" of four pots yielded 177 shrimp. Not bad for four pots.
Here is a shot of a bucket full of shrimp.
Here is Steve demonstrating how to eat shrimp sushi style. NOT. They still have the head on and the tail is covered with its shell.
After the pots are brought up, unloaded, rebaited and spashed again, it is time to "clean" the shrimp we caught. About all that means is that they are "de-headed". One has to be a little carefull when reaching for a shrimp from the bucket because, what I didn't know, is that each shrimp has a sharp barb both on their head and between the "fins" on their tail. Now, these things are still alive and they are flipping their tails, so one could get stabbed by one of their barbs. It is really nothing more then a pin prick, there is nothing on their barbs that will sting a person.
Here are a couple of shots of the two rookies "de-heading" the shrimp between pot soaks.
After spending about seven hours out there and pulling all the pots four times, we had about 550 shrimp on board and decided to call it a day. The limit in Canada is 200 shrimp per person, so it was a very successful day. But....
On the way back, Steve decided to go on the west side of San Juan Island and then shoot straight across to the Deception Pass to get back to the boat launch. Well, we were just out from Roche Harbor when the engine just flat quit running. We popped the engine hatch and nothing looked out of place, except that the oil dipstick was showing way too much oil. Now where did that come from? Steve tried to restart it, but it was turning over real hard, and it didn't start.
Steve then made a phone call and about a half hour later, another boat showed up and gave us a tow back to the boat launch. What should have been about another hour of cruising back to the launch turned into a four hour tow back to the launch. But we just got to sit back and enjoy the scenery.
Here is a shot of the tow boat towing us through the San Juan Islands.
I did hear from Steve the next week and he told me that one of his co-workers had that happen to him last year. It turned out to be a cracked manifold which filled the oilpan with water and also filled a cylinder with water, causing hydro-lock, which bent a piston rod. So this fun-filled trip turned out to be a somewhat expensive trip, but it was still a lot of fun and I will definitly do it again, if invited.
I was on vacation the week from April 13 to April 17. While checking my e-mail on April 16, I saw an e-mail from a friend of mine in Sedro Wooley, Steve, asking if I was interested in going on a shrimping trip, on Saturday, in Canadian waters. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? OF COURSE!!!! I have never been shrimping and it sounded like a lot of fun.
Besides the normal things to bring along, like a lunch, snacks and coffee, I had to get a Non-resident Canadian Tidal Waters fishing license. Great, there is a web-site to get that from. So that was taken care of, but to be on the safe side, I had better bring a passport or birth certificate also. No problem.
So, Saturday morning, I picked up another friend from Marysville, Dan, at 4:30am and drove to Coronet Bay to meet up with Steve and his boat. Coronet Bay is just east of Deception Pass. Steve was just setting up his boat, so we helped him launch it, got it loaded up with our stuff and got going.
Below is a picture of us approaching the Deception Pass bridge. It is about 6:00am.
Here is a picture after passing under the Deception Pass bridge. As you can see, it is looking to be a perfect day for some fishing. The sun is just starting to top the Cascade Mountains.
Here is a shot of the fishing grounds. The other boat is a shrimping buddy of Steve's. His boat was the only other boat out there. We had the whole place to ourselves. One can also see some the shrimp pot floats on the water.
While letting the pots "soak", we happen to see this big freighter going by in the distance. We also looked at it through my binoculars and that thing was sure throwing up a huge bow wave, but it was far enough away that it didn't really affect us.
Here is Steve demonstrating how to hook up the pot line to the winch to haul the pot up from the bottom. We were fishing in about 350 feet of water, so there was no way we could pull the pot up by hand. He has a little gas motor with a pulley system to assist in pulling up the pots.
Here, Dan is taking a turn at pulling up a pot. After going over a pulley on the arm, the line is wrapped around a pulley on the gas engine, the engine is fired up and the operator has to feed the line into the garbage can as the pot is coming up.
After the pot comes up, the engine is shut off, the pot is grabbed and swung on-board and set on top of the garbage can.
Then, the pot is opened up and the shrimp are dumped into a bucket. Our first "string" of four pots yielded 177 shrimp. Not bad for four pots.
Here is a shot of a bucket full of shrimp.
Here is Steve demonstrating how to eat shrimp sushi style. NOT. They still have the head on and the tail is covered with its shell.
After the pots are brought up, unloaded, rebaited and spashed again, it is time to "clean" the shrimp we caught. About all that means is that they are "de-headed". One has to be a little carefull when reaching for a shrimp from the bucket because, what I didn't know, is that each shrimp has a sharp barb both on their head and between the "fins" on their tail. Now, these things are still alive and they are flipping their tails, so one could get stabbed by one of their barbs. It is really nothing more then a pin prick, there is nothing on their barbs that will sting a person.
Here are a couple of shots of the two rookies "de-heading" the shrimp between pot soaks.
After spending about seven hours out there and pulling all the pots four times, we had about 550 shrimp on board and decided to call it a day. The limit in Canada is 200 shrimp per person, so it was a very successful day. But....
On the way back, Steve decided to go on the west side of San Juan Island and then shoot straight across to the Deception Pass to get back to the boat launch. Well, we were just out from Roche Harbor when the engine just flat quit running. We popped the engine hatch and nothing looked out of place, except that the oil dipstick was showing way too much oil. Now where did that come from? Steve tried to restart it, but it was turning over real hard, and it didn't start.
Steve then made a phone call and about a half hour later, another boat showed up and gave us a tow back to the boat launch. What should have been about another hour of cruising back to the launch turned into a four hour tow back to the launch. But we just got to sit back and enjoy the scenery.
Here is a shot of the tow boat towing us through the San Juan Islands.
I did hear from Steve the next week and he told me that one of his co-workers had that happen to him last year. It turned out to be a cracked manifold which filled the oilpan with water and also filled a cylinder with water, causing hydro-lock, which bent a piston rod. So this fun-filled trip turned out to be a somewhat expensive trip, but it was still a lot of fun and I will definitly do it again, if invited.
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