USS Midway

The USS Midway is open to the public in downtown San Diego.  We spent a better part of the day there and enjoyed our tour.  I pretty much posted these pics for Greg. 

Falcon

While enjoying our breakfast, we happened to see a new friend out there this morning.  Wow!

Sailboat races....

As we traveled to and from Coronado Island, we happened upon a sailboat race on San Diego Bay.  Sandi and Michael...you would have loved it!


 

 

A photo finish!

As the sun is going down

The Del Coronado Hotel

Taking the ferry to Coronado island, then walking to the Hotel Del Coronado for lunch has always been one of our favorite things.  We enjoyed that trip today.  The weather was perfect!

San Diego

We're spending some time in San Diego while the rain is falling in Portland. We have had some unnseasonably cool weather, but have managed to enjoy regular bikerides with our friends.  The view from our travel trailer is serene.  What do you think?

A friend of mine

I saw this fabulous bird (note the broken foot) at the ferry landing on Coronado Island.  It appears he lives there.  It seems like a safe place as all the tourists feed him.

Coronado Air Show

The Naval base on Coronado Island in San Diego staged an air show to commerate the 100th anniversary of their air craft.  Actually, I mainly posted this on my blog for Sandi and Michael. 

Valentine's Day sunset.....

.       ........In San Diego

Mt. Soledad

Hail...

....in West Linn

The four of us

Our oldest son, Brian, came to Portland (from Chicago) to participate in the Muddy Buddy Race with his father...see previous blog postings.  Our youngest son, Brandon, joined us from Santa Rosa, CA, to cheer for The McMuddie's. 
The four of us spent a very special weekend together that I will remember for a very long time.  How fortunate we are to have such a wonderful family.

The Muddy buddy

Last Sunday, hub and Brian participated in the Muddy buddy race here in Portland. Brian has enjoyed this race numerous times in chicago, but travelled to Portland to experience it with his father. Brandon flew up from California to offer support and encouragement.

What is a Muddy Buddy Race you ask? Well: Muddy Buddy is all about having fun with a friend, family member, partner or co-worker! Teams of two traverse a 6-7 mile off-road course and 5 obstacles. At the start of the race, one team member will run and one will ride the bike. At the 1st obstacle, the rider will drop the bike, complete the obstacle, and begin running. The runner will arrive, complete the obstacle, find their bike and begin riding. Teams will continue leapfrogging each other through the entire course. At the end of the race, racers crawl through the infamous Mud Pit crossing the finish line together as official “Muddy Buddies”!

And so it begins

Their McMuddie shirts are clean.  These unique shirts are courtesy of Tom Mitsdarfer.

Into the mud

After each of them ran/biked their five legs, into the mud they went...

The mud

Preparing to enter the mud

Fun in the mud

In the mud

They made it!

They finished....



The McMuddie's

 They may look a bit muddy, but they had a fabulous time!

McMuddie shirts courtesy of Tom



Hub



Brian

A bit tired

The medal ceremony



Yes, believe it! They won first place in their division! The divisions were decided by their combined ages which in their case, was 103.



The medal





On the podium



Around the US....

....in 80 days.  Years ago, when we talked about retirement, we thought a cross-country, travel trailer trip would be a dream fulfilled and a check off our 'bucket list'.  Well, we left West Linn, Oregon, on February 4, and began our cross-country jaunt.  Many of our travels have been posted to my blog, but the trip was far more than the photos. 
To begin, we wanted to be able to say we had visited all 50 states.  We added South and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC to our list.  While we were in the DC area, we jumped on the Harley just so we could visit Delaware.  On our journey to Chicago, we drove through West Virginia and FINALLY visited our 50th state....North Dakota as we head for home.  We're not too sure why we had this goal, but perhaps it was just a good reason for a long trip.

We have seen some lovely places, spent time with some old and new friends, and just had a great time.  We're eager to head home to Oregon just in time for our 41st. wedding anniversary on Monday.
 
Fortunately we had very few mishaps with our trailer, had relatively good weather along the way, met some great people, ate some fantastic food, have seen some awesome sites and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.  I guess I could/should say it has been the trip of a lifetime.

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Our last stop before heading home to Oregon was Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  We spent some time with a few friends and took a scenic trip to see Lake Coeur d'Alene.  It was beautiful.  As we near home, the terrain looks more and more familiar.  There is no place like the northwest. 

Idaho

I think northern Montana and Idaho are some of the most beautiful places in the United States.  The photo below doesn't begin to give you an idea of its beauty.  You will just have to see it for yourself.

The last three states....

...Delaware, West Virginia and North Dakota.  These are the last three states in our quest to visit all 50 states.  During our trip, we have added quite a few to our list, but we recently visited states number 48, 49 and 50.  
While in the DC area, we hopped on the Harley and head due east to Delaware. 

On our way to Chicago, we took the route that would allow us to drive through West Virginia...Number 49!

And finally, we traversed North Dakota, our 50th. state.

We did it!!!