Just after Easter Sunday, we headed back north. After overnight stops in Laughlin, NV, and Paso Robles, CA, we spent several days in Monterey. In Paso Robles we saw our old friends Nancy and George (they can be seen in postings from a year ago, more or less). In Monterey we saw old friends too numerous to mention. Then it was on to Timber Cove to see Tanna and Stephen and celebrate (again) my birthday. While I had to wait for most of my presents this one I got to look at early. It was a little poster announcing our soon (soon as in soon from now, but not so long from last April, either) to be born third grandchild! The incipient grammy was quite overcome. Congratulations were in order. And smiley faces all around. But we finally got back to the important things (dinner) and my cake, baked by Hailey. I almost blew out all the candles. There is a reason why there is a catapult on the cake. After talking about building a trebuchet (serves same function as a catapult, but better), my kids forced me into it by giving me a trebuchet model. In particular, the one-tenth scale model Warwolf. More about all of that later. Back to the happy parents-to-be.

We returned to Oregon to (shoulda stayed in Arizona) snow. But also to a visit from my traveling brother David and Bonnie as they make their swing through the northwest. We worked hard on all the stuff neglected (naturally) while we were snowbirding. But in early May we were headed to Texas. The night before, Hailey cooked a wonderful birthday meal for Amelia (yeh, early, but made up for mine being late). Look at that wonderful wild mushroom risotto.

Texas! We flew into Austin and met Becky, then drove out to Hempstead. Ron and Faye have lots of wildlife around their place. Well, this guy (Mo) isn't all that wild, but look in the background. Turns out that guy isn't all that wild, either. Apparently his mother left him, and Mo has taken him under his wing (so to speak) and won't let anything get him. The poor fellow apparently doesn't know how, or can't jump the fence (or maybe he doesn't want to with a big fellow like Mo keeping an eye on him). Here's another shot of two of them. We had a barbeque one day, and here's Ronnie the chef checking on things while Butch, Becky, Joel, Erin, Gabriel, and Faye patiently await the feast. Oh, here's one of Gabriel and friend. We also had a visit from a butterfly.

After a few days we headed over to Fredericksburg to see Amelia's cousin. Noel and I visited the National Museum of the Pacific War, housed in the old Nimitz Hotel. The Museum features the Admiral Nimitz Museum and also has a George H W Bush gallery. One day J. Hailey, Amelia, and I had lunch at an inn that had old log cabins to rent. Here is J. Hailey welcoming Amelia to her new home (well, OK, they are pretending, but they will soon have a new home). Amelia and I felt right at home. The next day we had to return to Oregon, but we met for breakfast at Hannah's. Yes, I was there, too.

This paragraph happened along the way, but those that want to can skip it. Butch has a couple of old John Deere tractors. This one is newer (around 1950). In Fredericksburg we discovered there was an old car rally in nearby Kerrville, and some of the group had driven over to Fredericksburg for the day. I got pictures of a few. This 1930 Lincoln was nice. This Supercharged Auburn was really nice! This 1938 LaSalle was a backup car pressed into service when the 1934 Chevrolet failed them. Ah yes, the ever popular 1924 Model T Ford Roadster. A little later as we walked down the street we saw an old dealer showroom with this 1966 Chrysler 300 and this 1959 Cadillac. Oh yes, there is a later model Caddy in the pictures, too.