Sunday, June 15, 2014

Visit With Old Friends

Wednesday Judy and I pulled out of the park for the 260 mile drive  north to Gig Harbor, Washington. We went to have lunch with a special lady and her daughter.  Way back when I was assigned to the “Personnel Exchange” program (87-88) in Southwick Village, Hampshire, England with the Royal Navy, Joan and her family lived across the street from us. Joan and her husband Alan took Judy under their wing. Joanna, was a young girl of 18 at the time and the frequent baby sitter of our son, Jason.

One of our favorite memories of our stay in England was when Judy had to call Alan to the rescue. I was at sea on the HMS Ark Royal in the North Sea on a NATO naval exercise conducting warfare training.  Judy went into the loo (bathroom) and noticed a black twitching object in the sink. Windows did not have screens on them. She determined that it was a bat, and she was not about to touch it.  She ran over to get help. Alan came to the door, Judy said “ there is a bat in the house”. Alan says, “ you have a Bear in your house!” Judy eventually solved the communication problem and Alan followed her back to to the house. He went to the sink and determined his course of action. He tells Judy to get him a “beaker”. Judy says, “we don’t have a beaker!”  Alan quickly solved the miscommunication and asked Judy to get him a glass! Problem solved.

Joan & Joanna w/us

joan 1

Southwick Pics

southwick church         sothwick street 1

southwick shoppe   Village shoppe

We enjoyed a very nice lunch that Joanna prepared and Judy and Joan had a nice visit.  We also met two of Joanna’s three daughters.  Gig Harbor was a lovely area. Afterwards Judy and I drove back to Portland and stayed at Jason’s apt for the night. Unfortunately Jason was on a nine day hiking excursion.  Thurs before heading back to Madras I stopped in at my second favorite coffee Shoppe, “The Ugly Mug”.

ugly mug

We had to return to the park early because the other host couple decided to move on.  We will miss them.  Of course that means changes to the schedule.  As we told our boss we will do whatever it takes to keep the park operating smoothly. Maybe we will get a replacement host couple soon.

That is all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.

Next Blog: In a week or so

5 comments:

  1. Great time with friends! Thanks for posting.

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  2. Sounds like a great little escape to Gig Harbor with special friends. Cute story about the bat/bear beaker/glass confusion.

    Where is the Ugly Mug coffee shop? Quite the fun play on words.

    Hope you get replacements soon so you don't have to work too hard. I bet the park thinks the world of you two. They are lucky to have you.

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    Replies
    1. Pam,
      The Ugly Mug is located in the Sellwood area of Portland. It is a quaint little district with many trendy restaurants and shops.

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  3. You guys are good hosts! Nice to visit with old friends.

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  4. Those communication gaps were too funny. So special to catch up with old and dear friends whenever the opportunity arises.

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