Stage Four of the Amgen Tour!

The town of Sonora turned out in force to watch the Amgen Tour of California begin the fourth day of competition. As you can see Washington Street was filled with spectators! The prime viewing areas were the balconies above the shops on the street.

This is Sonora High's Golden Regiment Band playing in front of the courthouse.

The city prepared for the event by posting flags of prominent, historical buildings and events along downtown. This is the "Dome." It is the original building for both the elementary school and the high school. Our district office was still housed here until last year. Budget cuts forced the District to move to a building on the Sonora High campus. Rick Francis, the Athletic Director, who was born in Sonora and was interviewed the morning of the race, attended school on this site.

This is the flag promoting the Red Church. It is a quaint little Anglican Church right at the end of downtown. It, too, is a historic site in Sonora!

This is the arch for the beginning of the race. This picture was taken from the little park in front of the the courthouse.

Since Sonora is located in the Mother Lode and is a gold rush town with a history as a wild west town, the decorations matched its history!

Nissan is one of the promoters of the race. I thought the bike racer on the side of the car was great, but it doesn't show well here. Boo!

The racers were warming up by riding up and down Washington Street right in front of us. That was fun! We would read their numbers and find their names on the roster.

This is the scene just about a minute before the race started. These racers joined after the first racers had started.

And they are off!!!! Don't blink!

That is how quickly they moved on. They had a 130 mile ride over Highway 49 to reach Clovis in the valley near Fresno. I've driven that road; I don't envy them the ride!

BZ and the Blue Shoes!

BZ captured her audience with her tales of the Old West on Saturday evening. On the second Saturday of each month, artists from the area are featured by various businesses in downtown Sonora. Saturday night, the Blue Shoes Ukulele Orchestra, featuring Karen and David played cowboy tunes at the Sierra Waldorf store. We had a great time listening to BZ's stories and then a few familiar tunes from the past! Isn't it fun to have talented friends?

Dad's 90th Birthday!

The evening ended with the traditional chocolate cake. Dad blew out his candles, and we talked about the celebration we will have next year!!!

Dad was surrounded by friends like this the entire two hours! He had a very good time!

Mardi and her longtime friend visited together here. One of their topics was whether or not Mardi should move with Dad. He is about to move from his house, and she doesn't feel up to the move. Her friend was cute, telling her to move with him. We'll see what happens!

Tom tended the bar throughout the party. He always had someone to visit with!

John and Libby Watson joined us, too. They became good friends of Mom and Dad after they moved to Medford. Libby pulled me aside to tell me how much she had admired Mom. We miss you, Mom!

Ann and Seymour are Dad's wonderful neighbors. They have always helped when Dad needed support. Lately, Ann has helped Dad when he has bumped his leg with the car door and has had trouble getting the bleeding to stop. In the past, they have gotten him to and from the hospital. Today, they were helpful again when one of our guests walked out the front door and was waiting for his wife to drive him home. His wife hadn't driven them to the party. Ann came back inside to tell me he was outside. Then, she and Seymour volunteered to drive the couple home. Dad is blessed to have such wonderful neighbors.

In the first picture, they are talking with Mardi, Dad's girlfriend. We were thrilled that Mardi was able to join us. Her son, Peter was in town, and he was able to join us, too.

Dad was pleased to see an old friend from Thousand Oaks arrive to help him celebrate. Milt Baldridge and his daughter Susan drove down from Roseburg just to be with Dad. The Baldridges attended St. Patrick's Episcopal Church with us for years. After they moved to Roseburg, Mom and Dad would stop in Roseburg to have breakfast with Milt and Patty. They have enjoyed renewing their friendship! Thank you for joining us!!!

Tom and I had to decide how to arrange for snacks for this open house when both of us live so far away. We tried three different caterers, but each was booked for May 5th. Finally, I went online to determine other options. Albertson's was wonderful!!! They had the greatest selection of appetizers, and everything was delicious!!! I selected the items online, verified with Tom the amount (what a task when we invited the entire church), and called in the order. They didn't require any payment until I picked it up. We were called to verify the order as we drove north, and all was ready when we arrived! Doesn't it look good!

The lovely floral arrangement was a gift from Judy Nixon and her girls. Judy lives in Torrance and wasn't able to join us. Judy is Bill's widow. Aren't the flowers beautiful? Thank you, Judy!

In addition to Judy's contribution, Dad's cousin, Chuck, who lives in Atlanta, wanted to participate. He supported us with the financing. We were very touched by your generosity and best wishes, Chuck! Thank you!

When we had leftovers, we packed them up and took them to the local Gospel Mission. Everyone benefitted.

Dad's birthday weekend began with dinner at the Rogue River Lodge on Friday evening. We had a delicious dinner overlooking the Rogue River. We changed our traditional restaurant because Bel Di's had changed owners last year and served a disappointing meal. This year that particular venue was closed. We were delighted to find a new venue! Here are Tom and Dad after dinner.

Big Sur Visit

Heather and her running buddie from Redlands, Rick, are discussing various methods of running a marathon. Rick's goal is to run 100 marathons. I think this one makes 76. He was heading straight up the coast to run the Redwoods Marathon. How impressive!!!!

Nana and Collin had lots of time to play. We ran and ran - especially to the big tree. Then we ran around the tent and the rocks. Sometimes, we play hide and seek behind the rock, but we could always hear each other laughing.

Heather and Collin are enjoying a relaxing morning before the Big Sur Marathon on Sunday.

What could be better than reading stories by lantern light while camping at Big Sur! Nana was prepared with two books from her house, including Bill Peet's The No Such Things and Forever Young. We read the books Collin had brought with him, too. We were busy!