Still at Monaco in Coburg--Aug. 24

We had a nice visit with Deven and Raiko at their home in Eugene. We missed Elly because she had previous plans. We spent most of the time visiting outside because I am allergic to cats but it was interesting seeing what he had planted in his yard and is planning to do. His back yard has 2 levels and on the upper level he has the frame of a greenhouse and several raised beds and some are already planted. Because the soil is not real good on the hill he has planted prarie flowers and grasses as well as in some of the front yard. He will put plastic over the frame and enclose it. On the lower level he also has some raised beds for vegetables and around the sides of the house. In the front on one side he has a fence encloser that has berry briars. They make a lot of freezer jams using marionberries, blueberries, and blackberries. We are at the end of the growing season here but I bet his yard is beautiful in the spring and early summer. I love plants and knowing what they are so I really enjoyed his yard tour.

We left and stopped at the grocery near him to pick up a few things and outside they had a large display of organic vegetables and we tried some very small tomatoes and it was like eating candy they were so sweet.

Over the weekend we stayed in the Monaco parking area where they have electricity. One afternoon we drove to a couple of parks and stopped to do some hiking in the Elijah Bristow State Park. It was so good to get out and do some hiking. This is the season for the blackberries to ripen and they are everywhere. All I had to collect some in was a quart ziplock bag but I could have filled a gallon without a problem. These wild briars are everywhere and the wild are always sweeter and tastier than the tame. There are a couple of fields right next to the Monaco and Cummins businesses and around them are they huge briar patches. People from the coaches have been picking them. It is very dry here. There are farms all around this area and when you are driving into the large valleys the sky is hazy. The farmers are out cutting hay and plowing and the dust is rising so I am assuming that accounts for the haze. All the fields except for the fields of broccoli or brussel sprouts are brown as well as the yards. They are waiting for the rains to begin.

On Monday afternoon we drove back to Portland to stay with Penny and then go to my eye Dr. on Tues. a.m. early. We stopped at Camping World on the way up and back to pick up some items. Deven and Raiko arrived at Penny's in the late afternoon/early evening. Raiko was going to stay with Penny and Ray while Deven went on business to Washington State to meet with some mint buyers for the rest of the week. Penny was trying to bribe us to stay and help but we are still dealing with the RV--waiting for an OK from the insurace company to do one last thing.

The report from the eye Dr. was that everything is progressing and he has cut back my medication. He will see me for the last time next week and then I have to see my doctor in either IN or FL in the next few weeks. When I look only thru my left eye it is still blurry but at least it doesn't affect seeing out of the other eye. He says this may take a few months and then I may still not have as good a sight as I had in that one eye but there is nothing I could have done besides cancel our trip or delay our leaving and caught up with them later. That would have meant that we missed a lot and wasted money. Oh well, that's life on the road with a caravan. Caravaning is fun but is not something I would do on a regular basis. After the appointment we went to a beauty school and had my hair trimmed and Bob had the oil changed in the Saturn as well as the air filter which was no surprise considering the dust we were in travelling. We headed back to Coburg and our RV so we are waiting.......