DASH 3 Portland

Today Chris and Annie and I joined Mike and Meredith and Josh to form a team to participate in a daylong puzzle hunt called DASH 3.

A puzzle hunt, a unique type of treasure hunt, is a fun, interactive, outdoor event in which teams of players race to find and solve creative puzzles hidden in different locations.

DASH (Different Area—Same Hunt) is a puzzle hunt event that happens simultaneously across multiple cities across the United States. The inaugural DASH in September 2009 spanned 8 cities. DASH 3 is currently being planned in 12 participating cities.

Creating the hunt is a collaborative effort of puzzle enthusiast volunteers across the country. Each city contributes a clue to the event, and each event uses all the clues from the contributing cities.

The day was fun, challenging, sometimes frustrating, always novel and rewarding. We did very well in some ways, but needed occasional hints and help. All of us were DASH neophytes, so we assume that we'd do better next time around, knowing more about how the puzzles are structured.

The BeeGees Team puzzling in the park

Elephants never forget!

We left home just after 9 a.m. and returned around 7:30, a bit later than we had expected. The weather cooperated quite well, considering that most of the activity was outside, though we ended up at a pub for the final puzzle. Most of the puzzle venues were outdoors in the Pearl District, which is well supplied with parks and public spaces.

We weren't the first team to finish--but we weren't the last either, so we felt satisfied with our efforts.
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Portland

I had a non-stop flight to Portland, which gave me time to rest a bit on the plane. Good thing, since we had plans to go to the Portland Art Museum tonight. I got to Chris's a bit later than planned. All went well until I missed getting off at the Stark St. bus stop where Chris and Annie were waiting for me. Chris ended up getting a ZIP car to pick me up.

I had an hour to get settled before we headed out to take a bus to the Art Museum, where we met Chris's friend Shawn. The collection is quite eclectic. We visited some an exhibition titled "Portland Collects" of pieces on loan or as gifts from local collectors first. We saw a number of contemporary pieces, including one titled "The Dishwasher," rather unnervingly lifelike.

We had limited time, since the museum closed at 8:00 p.m., so we still have lots to see on future visits.
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Moving?

Today is the day we were scheduled to move to site #73--but the truck was at Park Place being serviced. We called first thing and talked to Duane in service. Fortunately, the truck was not torn up, so we were able to pick it up for a few hours to make our move. Then we returned the truck to Park Place and drove our loaner Lexus SUV over to Ed and Julie's. We started a load of laundry and then did some shopping.

I played Yahtzee Jr. with Cate and Sam. We played Cate's Disney princesses version, which involved rolling five dice with faces of princesses, then re-rolling some of the dice two more times, as in the regular Yahtzee game, trying to get as many as possible of each princess. The strategy is a clever intro to the Yahtzee game, but I'd have been happier to be playing with regular dice and going for numbers one to six rather than Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, etc. Disney doesn't miss a trick.

When Ed comes home from work, there's a mad rush for Daddy. Jesse would rather have Dad all to himself....

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Ken Flies Home

Ken had an afternoon flight back from Las Vegas, due to land at DFW at 8:35 p.m., so you can imagine my surprise when my phone rang at 8:00 p.m. with Ken saying, "We're on the ground." I hustled from Ed's to the airport, but need not have rushed. The early landing plane had to wait for a gate, so it was 8:45 p.m. when Ken emerged from Terminal A with his suitcase. Boy was I glad to see that guy!

However, he almost immediately brought up a complication in our lives tomorrow: our truck is at Park Place Lexus being serviced. It was expected to be ready today, but I didn't hear from the service department today. Tomorrow we are scheduled to move our trailer from site #6 to site #73. Oops! We'll call first thing in the morning and see what we can arrange. One thing's for sure: the Lexus SUV loaner car will not be able to tow a fifth wheel!
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Lake Mead

Jeff took Ken and Tiffinie out on his boat on Lake Mead this afternoon. This was Ken's first time out on Jeff's boat. First they went to a restaurant at a different dock than the one they launched from and had sandwiches for lunch.

Then Jeff planned to show Ken the back of the dam from the water, but they ended up going a different direction and traveling for quite a bit longer than expected to get to the dam. The GPS on Ken's Droid turned out to be handy for steering them back to their dock. Jeff did some donuts in the water, and a good time was had by all.

The old water line on the cliffs of a section of Lake Mead called the Narrows

Tiffinie at the wheel of the boat

Tiffinie and Jeff

Roiling catfish and bass eager for french fries thrown by restaurant patrons

Today was pretty quiet in here Lewisville. I took my usual walks, but other than that stayed close to home. One project was defrosting the freezer and cleaning out and inventorying the fridge. I always try to leave Ken with some meals on tap when I'm out of town. Tomorrow I'll do some shopping to make sure he doesn't run out of good things to eat while I'm in Portland.

The weather today has been cool, but mainly calm. There's still some storm activity around, but it's lots less alarming than it has been the last few days. It looks like I'll need to take warmer clothes for Portland. Highs there are in the 50s instead of the 70s and 80s.

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Red Rock Canyon Adventures

Ken and Jeff headed out to explore the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area west of Las Vegas. Tiffinie had to work so she wasn't able to join them.

A Chuckwalla resting in a notch in the rocks of a visitor center display

Look closely--it's Jeff climbing the rocks

View from the Visitor Center

I had a much quieter day today. I took the truck over to Park Place to be checked out and have whatever maintenance and repairs it may be in need of. I got a spiffy Lexus SUV as a loaner car and headed to the dentist's office to pick up my new night guard. It snaps in and fits really well. Then I drove over to Ed and Julie's. Julie's parents, Martha and Jerry, had arrived from Florida. We had a good dinner of leftovers and played with the kids.
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Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny couldn't hide the eggs outside last night because of the storm, but he managed to deliver plenty of candy. I ate my name egg for breakfast.

Julie and Sam and Jesse and I walked to the playground, where Sam fed some bread to the ducks and both boys enjoyed swinging. Ed and Cate weren't feeling so well so they stayed home to rest.

Kelley came bringing gifts for everyone. She brought me some Turtles--yum! Cate and Sam and Kelley and I watched a movie, Barbie, a Fairy Secret ("Do you want sparkles with that?")--all about the healing power of forgiveness and friendship (and consumerism and precocious sexuality, of course). Kelley and I each managed to nod off during parts of it.

Julie fixed a great dinner: fish with coconut curry sauce (for Kelley, herself, and me) and pasta with meatballs (for Ed and the kids). A storm was brewing, so Kelley and I left soon after dinner to drive home before the worst of it hit.

Ken drove from Apple Valley to Las Vegas, where he will spend the next few days visiting Jeff and Tiffinie. They were all on their way to a pool hall when Ken called to say goodnight.

Jeff working on his boat

Jeff and Tiffinie coloring Easter eggs (Jeff using a heat gun to shrink wrap decorations)

Dinner at an Italian restaurant
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Easter Eggs

The big excitement at the Shaffer house today was coloring Easter eggs. Cate wrote a letter to the Easter Bunny: inquiring minds want to know how big the Easter Bunny is and what he does when it's not Easter...

Lots of choices

We took a nice long walk. Cate and Sam joined a neighborhood Easter egg hunt and scored lots of plastic eggs with goodies inside. We ran off some energy at the playground.

Meanwhile, Ken was out in Apple Valley taking photos:

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Lunch with Ed and Costco/Adventures in Apple Valley

This morning I packed my suitcase and moved over to Ed and Julie's house for Easter weekend. Julie and the kids and I went over and picked Ed up from work to go to lunch. We at at the MainStreet Bistro and Bakery in Grapevine and then went to Costco. I always like to take advantage of their Costco membership to stock up. Unfortunately, that means it's hard to get out the door for under $200...

I've been enjoying playing with the kids and watching them bounce in the bounce house. This afternoon I was tired out, so I stayed home to nap while Julie took the kids swimming. I went out for a walk through the greenbelt park that stretches through the neighborhoods around here and managed to get myself turned around a bit. Fortunately, my Droid navigated me back to the house. It even knows where the trails through the park go and uses them for walking navigation.

Ken is having fun with Rebecca and Cathy in California. They went for a walk to the local community park and to the movies today to see Rio. Cathy got a new guitar. She's attending an arts school.

This is the first time Ken has seen the house Rebecca is renting, which is out in the country. It's a great place for pets.

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Ken Flies Out

The big event today was Ken's flight to Ontario, California. He'll visit Rebecca and Cathy first, and then on Sunday drive to Las Vegas to see Jeff and his friend, Tiffinie. We planned plenty of extra time to get to the airport, just in case we had to do any backtracpeking.

DFW is so complicated that unless you're very familiar with it, it's easy to miss a turn. American has three whole terminals to itself. Ken was flying from Terminal A. Somehow we missed the turnoff heading south, so after passing B, C, D, and E, we took the "Return to airport" route and made our way back north to A. It was a relief to finally find the passenger dropoff spot for Ken's gate.

His flight was uneventful, and Rebecca and Cathy were waiting for him when he got to their house.
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Taking Stock

We spent some time today reflecting on our experience of driving to Bandera yesterday to see a used New Horizons--and what we learned. We're becoming more aware of what we want in a fifth wheel and what to consider when we're looking for our next home. We are not in a big hurry to make any changes right now. Among other things, we thought a lot about all the things we'd have to arrange and make happen, like buying a new truck and fitting it out for towing and finding a way to sell our old unit--all of which sounds like work! Besides, we have a new appreciation for some of the features of Venture that we enjoy.

Kelley was doing her middle school observation nearby today, so she and I arranged to meet up at Ed and Julie's for lunch. It turned out that Julie was at Sam's school for a picnic lunch and program, so most of the time it was just Kelley and me. We had a good visit, talking about her plans to move this summer and her trip to Bethesda to visit her family. It was nice to have some quality time with her.

I also got a load of clothes washed and dried so that Ken would have everything he might want to pack for his trip, which is coming up tomorrow.

This evening we went over to Ed and Julie's and fixed Betty McDonald casserole for supper. Cate liked it and even ate some refried beans. Sam enjoyed the "green stuff" (lettuce) and tomatoes.
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Bandera and Back

Today we drove to Bandera, Texas. It's east of San Antonio, in the Texas Hill Country, but we didn't go to enjoy the Hill Country wineries or kolaches or the beautiful countryside. We went to look at a New Horizons fifth wheel to see if we might want to buy it (to replace Venture--shhh, don't tell!).

Bandera is over 300 miles and six hours fast freeway driving from our current home at Lake Lewisville. We got up at 4:30 a.m. (gasp) and were waiting at the gate when it opened at 6:00 a.m. It was nearly noon when we arrived at the home of John and Ginny Howery, who have their lovely 36' New Horizons for sale. They fulltimed in it for two years before deciding to come off the road because of John's health issues. He's been much better with regular medical care and supervision.

John showed Ken around the outside of the rig while Ginny showed me around the inside. We appreciated the many quality and convenience features of this custom designed rig. It has many features that make us drool (bigfoot leveling system, macerator, solid countertops, solid wood cabinetry, full extension drawers, slideouts with insulated and fiberglass covered bottoms, and much more). We checked out every nook and cranny and ended up deciding to sleep on a decision.

Large basement storage area.

Bigfoot leveling system can raise the entire trailer off the ground.

Four AGM deep cycle batteries in their special battery compartment.

Storage under the wooden steps to the bedroom--much better than carpeted steps.

After our tour, Ginny served some delicious tuna salad sandwiches and cranberry bars for lunch while we shared stories of our lives. Then we hit the road for the six-hour drive back. We're just not used to spending twelve hours driving in a day, so even though we managed to miss most of the rush hour traffic in the major urban areas, we still found the long trip stressful. We were glad to get home.
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Tax Day

Tax day was moved to April 18 this year because DC was celebrating Emancipation Day on April 15, so we got to keep our money a few more days. We filed electronically for the first time this year, so we were glad to see that everything went smoothly and the IRS deducted our payment from our checking account right on time. Glad to have that done for another year!

This afternoon I went to the dentist to be fitted for a night guard. Dr. Colangelo tells me that it will help protect my implants by keeping me from grinding my teeth at night. We'll see if I can sleep with the darn thing in my mouth.

After the dentist we went over to Ed and Julie's. Julie fixed her famous meat sauce with spaghetti squash (very yummy!), and Ken fixed the salads. Meanwhile I played Rummikub with Cate. We played on the desk in her room, which has a large smooth surface and worked out fine. Sam and Jesse played with balloons and frisbees and tried to play with the Rummikub tiles. We finished the game after dinner, with Ed advising Cate. Of course she won again. She's getting really good at finding plays.
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Oldwest Cafe with Kelley

This morning we went to brunch with Kelley in Denton. Her friend had highly recommended the cinnamon multi-grain pancakes at the Oldwest Cafe. It's a very popular spot. We had to wait nearly half an hour to get in. The wait was worth it, both because the specialty pancakes are really good and because we got to visit with Kelley.

After brunch we went over to Ed and Julie's to visit and to babysit Jesse while they went to a birthday party. The kids were excited to show us something in the backyard. It's a new bounce house (courtesy of a neighbor whose boys had outgrown it). Definitely a great way to work off energy from a four and seven year old!

In the evening, we stayed and played with the kids while Ed and Julie had a date night. Cate is observing National No TV Week, so no television, computer, or other electronics. Instead we played games, which the kids love anyhow.
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Visiting

Today we went over to Ed and Julie's to visit. When we got there, Kelley was there too, but getting ready to leave soon. We made plans to have brunch together tomorrow.

Cate and Sam and I played some games. Cate won a Rummikub game. Ed and Ken and Sam/Ed and I played Blokus Trigon. Fascinating game, especially since I had some beginner's luck.

In the afternoon we got to babysit Jesse while everyone went to a birthday party for one of Sam's classmates. Jesse was sleeping peacefully. Unexpectedly, everyone returned after just an hour. It turned out that the party is tomorrow. Easiest babysitting job ever!

Julie made some great chicken cordon bleu from Gina's Skinny Recipes for dinner. When we left, Cate and Sam and Ed were playing a new Wii game that Cate got for her birthday, Kirby's Epic Yarn.
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Happy Birthday, Cate!

Today is Cate's 7th birthday, and she celebrated with a party at home: six little girls, lots of glitter, nail polish, presents, pinata full of candy, screaming, and fun.

We got up early this morning to get an early start in our trip from Georgetown to Lake Lewisville. We wanted to beat the afternoon rush hour in DFW. We're beginning to think that may not be entirely possible. Traffic was thoroughly congested by 1:00 p.m. when we hit the metro area. We arrived around 2:00 p.m. and set up in site #6, our favorite site.

Ken decided to stay home and rest his knee while I drove over to Ed and Julie's to help out with the party and have fun being a grandma.

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Sun City, Again

We spent some time this morning driving around Sun City looking at houses the realtor had printed up for us. One in particular really caught our eye. When we parked and got the information sheet from the box by the street, the owner came out and invited us in. She was very gracious. She and her husband had the house built and moved into it in February 1998. He passed away last year.

The house would be perfect for us: 1,085 sq. ft., 1 bedroom, 2 baths, study, open plan, green area, etc. We almost convinced ourselves that it would make sense to buy it and rent it out until we're ready to settle, but that surely wouldn't make sense financially. And one of the reasons we're on the road is that we don't want to foreclose on our options.

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Checking out Georgetown

We headed into Georgetown today to get more familiar with the town and check out the real estate market. A very nice realtor gave us a list of smaller single story houses and duplexes to check out. We drove around and looked at them and got out to walk around the neighborhoods. One especially caught our eye because it backed up onto a greenbelt. Another was in a neat newer neighborhood of duplexes. But none of them really looked like what we might want someday, because of course we're not planning to settle down any time soon!

Tomorrow we'll check out some places in Sun City, more for something to do than any serious interest.
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