last day issues

The locum and teaching at the Oregon State University Veterinary College has come to an end for this visit. I finished the last of the reports, turned in my key, and said a few goodbyes to wrap it up. The final day carried a lot of emotions. The day it'self was full, with the longings to get home tussling with the enjoyment of the visit and knowing what we DIDN'T get to see and do. On top of that which is normal when you spend extended time in a beautiful place, it was also my 66th birthday. However, my bride was suffering from her allergies to the point that she had to do nebulization treatments and stay indoors... Remember, we told you, the flowers are beautiful here.... In addition, I got birthday wishes via cell phone from the kids, but one of those also carried the terrible news that the oldest cousin of Rod and Jacque's kids was killed in a car accident that morning. So our prayers are with the Hogan family as they work through emotions that put our piddly issues to shame. The day ended with me going to Georgia's favorite italian restaurant (where we ate our first meal in Corvallis as well as spending Valentine's Day evening) as a treat from "Fuge" (Richard Fucillo) who had been my "keeper" and taxi while working here. Carol and Becki, the other technical folks in Radiology were not able to join us, but Fuge, his lovely wife Dawn, and Vicki (from Eugene) who has put up with my dictations for the past 7 weeks had a really nice meal and visit. Fuge wanted to order a meal for Georgia, but I though (since we had pizza left at home) that she would appreciate a piece of her favorite;;; cheesecake. But when it came time for dessert, they didn't have cheesecake, so since I was only a block or so from the New Morning Bakery, I stopped in there to pick up a piece of New York Cheesecake for her.

Today, we do last minute errands, wash clothes, clean the apartment and pack. Tomorrow we will be on the coast in search of whales and other delights. I got the bug for a "real" camcorder. The little videos I have posted so far are from my Kodak digital still camera video feature. I was going to burden you with my first effort with this camera, but it is a high def camera and I haven't yet learned how to scale them down to fit the blog.

One last treat was a quick trip down Peoria... yes, Peoria road to the Country Bakery which Vicki told us about Friday nite. It was there just as she said, however, by the time we got there, all that was left was some bread and cookies... well, we couldn't leave empty handed... The taste was good enough to become another reason to return.