Holding Pattern

After finishing his radiation and chemo treatments in the beginning of August, Tom had a CTScan to determine the effectiveness of treatments and help us plan what comes next. We were hoping our meeting with  Tom's oncologist, Dr. DeGraca on the 15th would accomplish that, but he had not spoken to the surgeon, Dr. Parsons yet so we were put on hold. We were told that the rectal tumor had shrunken quite a bit, but the one on the sacrum had grown some. Dr. Parson's office  finally called and set up an appointment, so we figure if the surgeon wants to see him, he is considering surgery. We are in a holding pattern.

I have just waited almost an hour for the other photos I wanted to include in this post  to download.  Pictures of berries we picked by the road, shots of Skyline Tavern where Tom continues to throw horseshoes, the lights inside the Regal Evergreen Theater where we sat in their awesome reclining seats and enjoyed Ghostbusters, a shot of the Godzilla figure Tom bought with Allison's giftcard ready to fight the Barley Bobblehead we got at a Hops game, are all sitting on the screen with their bars showing they are loading, but never actually finishing downloading or letting me cancel.

Oh well, all things appear to be in a holding pattern now.  When we finally meet with Dr. Parsons, I'll let you know what's happening next.

Life's a Beach

Where have we vacationed for the last thirty years?  Hawaii, no.  the mountains, no, Europe, Mexico, Canada, no, no, no.  We head towards the Oregon coast. When the kids were little we tent camped at all the coastal state parks.  When I got tired of crawling around on my hands and knees in the tents, we started staying in the yurts and cabins. They had beds, electricity and heat. Still had to cook outside on my thrity year old Colman, and walk to the bathrooms, but it seemed luxurious.  We would pack all our bikes and enjoy peddling around the huge camping areas and spending hours and hours slathered in sunblock on the beaches.

Now Tom and I would still enjoy a beach yurt or cabin, but they have become very hard to reserve, except in January and February, so it is the motel life for us these days.  Although we sometimes stay in Lincoln City, Newport or Astoria, usually we make the one hour drive to Seaside. A week or so back the sun was shining brightly and Tom really wanted to go to the beach. Things were booked up but I managed to book us a room at the City Center Motel in Seaside. Years ago with the kids in tow we looked at a room there but passed. It was cheap but rather run down and we found a better place.

This time, City Center was the only affordable place available, so we headed there and were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. The motel had been bought by a company who completely refurbished it. Our double queen bed room was spacious with new walls, ceilings, and beautiful wooden floors throughout.  A spacious full bath, very comfy beds, and furniture purchased from a now defunct boutique hotel completed the room.  We had a small private deck outside and a three minute walk to the beach.

This is the door to our room. The private
deck is on the left.

This is not City Center but just a place
we like on the ocean front.

Tom beach combing at the cove, Seaside.
He always brings a rock home. Always.

I had to take photos of some of Lester Fixins food sodas, right through the glass doors of the case. If you can't make it to The Buzz Candy store on Broadway in Seaside, you can order them online. You can choose from:

Bacon, Bacon with Chocolate, Bacon with Maple Syrup, Buffalo Wing, Coffee, Maple Syrup, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Corn, or Ranch Dressing Soda!

Made in the USA with 100% pure cane sugar.  It's almost healthy! I'm gonna order a case of that Ranch Dressing Soda right now. Yummy!

After our stay in Seaside, we were graciously invited to spend the night at Tom's sister Kathleen's place in Rockaway.  Kathleen is transitioning from managing the Tillamook Woman's Shelter to retirement, managing the Twin Rocks Motel.  She is doing both at the moment!  She has a lovely place with a guest room where Tom and I stayed.

Tom sitting in the blue chairs.
 You've seen this before.

Sitting in the sun outside the
back door.

Kathleen's place is a zen oasis decorated with antiques and collectables from around the world.

Maybe we will travel to other places in the future, but the beautiful Oregon coast has a strong pull on us.  It is a calming, healthy, escape from day to day life.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

 Baseball has been a part of Tom's life since he was a kid.  He is a proud Yankees fan. In 2013 when the Hops came to Hillsboro, it was a time for celebration. A local team was playing games only a fifteen minute drive from our house!

The Yakima Bears moved to Hillsboro after their 2012 season and became our Hillsboro Hops. The Bears decided to relocate because of the lack of progress on a new stadium that would meet league standards and a declining local economy back in Yakama. 

The Hops are a short-season Class A Northwest League team, that is a farm team of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  They play at Ron Tonkin Field, a new stadium that was built especially for the Hops in 2013. The Hops replaced the Triple-A Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League, who relocated to Tuscon at the end of the 2010 season.   

* The Beavers were a minor league team that was established in 1903. After many incarnations, they left Portland in 2010 and after Tuscon went on to  Texas to become the  El Paso Chihuahuas.    

 Portland went without a minor league team in 2011 and 2012.  Poor Tom. The Hops opened in the 2013 season at Salem on June 14 followed by the home opener of June 17. Their first win came at that home game playing Eugene. They set a franchise record for attendance for the 2014 season and won their division and league championship.

Tom wearing a replica Beavers Jersey, holding the biggest foot-
long hot dog I have ever seen! It was truly close to an inch and a half wide!
We both shared it for seven innings, and threw the rest away.

The teams name is a reference to hops,  the plant used in beer brewing.  Oregon is the second-largest hop producing state by volume. School children in Hillsboro got to vote on a name for the team mascot (a hop cone wearing a blue baseball cap). He was named Barley, which is another plant used in beer brewing. Barley makes the rounds at every game visiting and posing with fans.

Watching that foul ball.

That McDonald's arch is an inflated one.

Lots of teams attend the games, waiting for foul
balls and horsing around. Fun to watch too.

Of course, as the food obsessed writer of this piece, I must touch on the concessions.

Conferring

Leaving the stadium at games end

Baseball, the All American Pastime   :-)          

Since the Hot Dog Incident we have sampled (and hope to sample) some of the other offerings which are many and not too high priced, including but not limited to:
*Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches
*Red Tomato Mexican food
*Japanese Grill and Filipino food
*Chicken and Waffle sandwiches
*Slider Cart- meatloaf sliders topped with mashed potatoes and gravy, Salmon Cake sliders, and mini Cuban Sandwiches and...
*Dessert Cart- Strawberry Shortcake(from local farm), Bavarian Pretzel with Maple Sugar and Cream Cheese Icing, Dessert Nachos etc.
They were also making some kind of Sub Zero Ice Cream where they put cream and fruit into a container and froze it for a minute or two with freezing guns and constant mixing. I will have to explore that further.