Happy Birthday!

Monday, November 3rd, 2014. We awoke early to get our chores done because we had a busy day ahead in Malaga. It's about an hour drive from La Roda south to the coastal city of Malaga where Viola's doctor is. She was scheduled for an evaluation since little baby Emily was still playing hide and seek, even though she was supposed to be out and about 4 days earlier, on October 30. The Doc wanted to see how Viola was progressing. We planned on a few errands as well before our return in to La Roda the afternoon.

After Bela finished walking Kim, all of us, except the dog, piled into the new car (coche) and headed south. One of our errands for the day was to leave the car at the dealership to be serviced. It had a problem with part of the air pollution control system and they needed it for a couple of days. Because we had to have wheels when Viola went into labor, we would be picking up a replacement coche. First we headed for the hospital to have Opie hooked up to some monitors that measured how little Emily was doing. We got done in time to stroll down the street to El Gran Cafe and have some tostada con jamon y tomatas for desayuno. A couple of Euros later we headed to the dealership to swap out el coche (Kim calls it "Pablo" because it is a  Citroen Picasso). They were ready for us at the dealership, and when they showed us the little car that we were getting in exchange for spacious Pablo we cringed. It was a tiny little Fiat called a Punto (Point). It was also pretty banged up. The body damage was circled with crayon to indicate that it was pre-existing and not our fault. I guess! After some fairly pointed (forgive the pun) grumbling in Espanol by Angelinas and Viola, we packed  ourselves into the little Punto and pointed (oops) it back to the Doctors Office.

We waited outside patiently for la Doctora. As you can see we all brought
reading material. Kim is getting pretty famcy, reading books on her phone's
Kindle App.

La Doctora seemed very competent and knowledgeable. She did an ultrasound
as Viola and the rest of us watched. She did a great job narrating as she moved
the transducer around giving little Em a thorough in-utero exam.  

The exam went well. The Doc asked Viola if she had been walking (helpful in inducing labor). Our Opie had been walking about 10 kilometers a day. I think she was on her third pair of shoes for the pregnancy! Seems the walks were keeping the dog happy, but weren't impressing little Emily Alejandra. Once again we crammed into the Punto, and headed for La Roda. The car was a real heap, and we were worried when a mysterious warning light came on as we drove. There were also a myriad of unknown yet expensive sounding noises from the little coche.

We made it home and cooked up a delicious almuerzo. After that settled, Viola, Kim and Bela took off on a hike. This wasn't just any hike, some 31 year old determination was in play. This would be the "hike from hell" because Viola was going to go into labor (like it or not lil' Em!). They were gone for over an hour, and it was well after dark before they returned. They used a cell phone flashlight to see in the darkness, Angelinas was very worried and wanted to come get them in the car, but Viola turned down the offer and strode on!

She sat down to do some studying back at the house. Little did we know that her contractions had started. She didn't want to mention it until she was having them regularly, so we continued blissfully on to bed. About the time I started drifting off, Viola 'fessed up to Kim that something different was afoot. So, we made sure we had our toilet kit packed, and a few necessaries "just in case".

Opie innocently studying. Little did we know she was having contractions and secretly
timing them. Actually, I was suspicious, which was why I took this otherwise
boring picture!

Shortly after we packed, they decided it was time to head back to Malaga. It was 10:45. We had spent approximately 6 hours at home after our round trip earlier that day. About the time we got in the car Maggie sent a What's App text announcing that she had extended her subscription for all of $.99. It was good timing and we started a four way conversation as we drove back to Malaga. It was lot's of fun, and probably did a lot to relax Viola.

We crammed into the little Puta er I mean Punto and headed back to Malaga
at about quarter to 11:00 Monday night. By this time Viola's contractions were
getting pretty regular. We had fun in our four way What's App conversation
along the way.

Here's a screen shot of our What's App conversation.
It was pretty hilarious, and much of it cannot be printed!

We made it to the hospital, and got Viola checked in. Her water had broken, and Little baby Em had decided to take an early poop in-utero. That decided things and they induced labor. Kim and I said good bye to Angelinas and our girl as she disappeared into the birthing room. We headed upstairs to relax, settle in and wait. We found a nice soft couch, so we were actually pretty comfortable. Occasionally, Viola would send us a text to update us on the situation. 

Kim and I got a little weary waiting for little baby Em to make her appearance.

Viola was doing all the work. "A" took this photo at 8:22 AM Tuesday morning.

She made slow progress at first, and at 9:30 Tuesday morning she was still dilated to only 3 cm, but was "officially in labor". By 11:00, she had progressed to between 4 and  5 cm, and we all began to get hopeful. Then, about 2 hours of hard work later, at about 1:00 Tuesday afternoon, she sent us a text that she had dilated to 6 cm. That was a real milestone, because it showed she was making great progress, and was over halfway there!

Kim and I continued to wait patiently, reading our books and working hard not to watch the clock. Then, at 2:55 PM, we got a text. No words, just a baby face emoticon! Emily ha nacido!  Our little nieta had been born!! We were now abuelos! She weighed in at 2.682 Kilos, or 5 pounds 15 oz. They measured her at 49 cm (about 19.4 in). Her skin was perfect, her color was beautiful, imagine that...perfect in every way!

This is a screen shot of the text conversation
that brought us the news that we were finally
grand parents!

We hustled down stairs to the little waiting room outside the birthing room. In a few minutes Angelinas came out. There were lots of hugs and congratulations. She informed us that Viola would be moving to room 434 to spend the balance of her hospital stint. We headed upstairs and found the empty room to wait. It was about an hour later that she and our little nieta Emily arrived with Angelinas.

Proud Grandma and Omy outside the birthing room.

What a beautiful baby! Here she is only a few hours old! 
Mom looked a little tired but absolutely ecstatic!

What a pretty baby. She is a blond, with actually quite a bit of hair. The room was large and spacious. It was very nice to sit around and visit together for a few hours. We had originally planned to get a room in Malaga, but when we went to a nearby hotel, we couldn't rent a room because we did not bring our passports to town with us. We'll have to remember that little rule in the future! We decided  it was time to head home, check on the dog, and get some rest. Off we went in our little junker loaner car. 

The trip should have been uneventful, a little under an hour. However, after we got a little extra fuel and were pulling back onto the road, I noticed the power steering was not powering. This tiny little car was steering like a 1939 Freightliner. I could barely turn the wheel with one hand. Then I noticed at the same time that all of the gauges were not working! There were also several warning lights on. I wrestled the car onto the freeway and we headed off. Then, my headlights went out! I wasn't about to stop, even if I had to drive by moonlight (there was none by the way) we were getting home. After fiddling around for a few minutes, I noticed the high beams were functioning..but only when I held the arm for the turn indicator in the full back position. Now I HAD to steer with one hand if I wanted headlights. To shorten a long story, we made it home without much more bother and hit the sack.

Next day we returned to Malaga and more baby time! We went down to the Hospital cafeteria for lunch and had a wonderful meal. Sure wasn't like any hospital eatery I had ever experienced. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, and finding a nice spot to eat was great.

Kim and I really enjoyed our lunches (almuerzo)
at the hospital cafeteria. Three course meal with
 bread and wine for 13 Euros.

Word was getting out that Viola had had her baby, and many friends and relatives began to filter in. We got a visit from her host family that she stayed with in Granada during her junior year abroad, Angelinas' sister, brother-in-law, mother, brother and a few others. Lots of happy chattering (picked  up a little of it), ooohs and aaawes , and big smiles all around.

Left t right: Isa, Viola, Baldo, and Christina. Issa and Baldo were Viola's
host parents in Granada. Oh, I forgot to mention, that's Emily in the knit hat! 

Angelinas' brother Alejandro, her mom Angelita, and her sister Antonia. 

Kim enjoys a quiet moment with her new nieta Emily A.

During that day, Angelinas picked up their car from the shop and said a not so fond farewell to the little piece of Punto we had been using. We commuted home in "Pablo" and it was an uneventful trip.  Next day it was back to Malaga, and after running a few errands, and getting a final check from the doctor, Viola and Baby Em were discharged. We wlll loaded up in Pablo and headed north back to La Roda.

Here we are heading home from the hospital. Aside from the adventures
 with the little piece of crap Punto, the birth had really gone flawlessly.
Bien hecho Viola!!

After our return to La Roda, the visitations really started in earnest. Just like in a small town in the US, everybody wanted to come see the new baby. Everyone brings gifts as well. The doorbell rang constantly for several days, and Kim and I got pretty overloaded with spoken Spanish. It was wonderful to share it all with Viola, although it was also difficult not being able to fully communicate with all of the well wishers.

Lots of folks descended on the house for several days after we returned home.

Abuela Kim got her turn, but it was never enough. Why am I not surprised!!

Baby Em looking good on her blanket. She is a really
mellow child so far.

She didn't particularly appreciate the bath she got after a couple of days at home,
filling her diapers up several times a day.

Both Mommies dug in to share bathing duty.

Things settled down to a low roar after several days at home. Seems like the girls are starting to establish a routine again. Kim and I are feeling pretty useful, so as long as the food and drink stay as good as they have been....I guess we'll stay a while.

She sure looks great in this outfit, handmade by our special friend Laura Ashkin

Well, I hope that is a good summary of "the details" many of you have been wanting. We are settled in here and I think being a real help, at least at times. We're looking forward to Mag 'n Lu's  visit over Christmas. It will be our first Christmas together in quite a few years.

That's All!

Swift Water RV Park on the Snake

Meanwhile, back in July... We left the Bonneville Campground and headed north to the Snake River, and a place called White Bird Idaho. Our campsite was Swift Water RV Park. It was a neat little spot right on the Snake River, and we got a spot to hook up right there over looking the river. Awesome!

This was the view out the back of our home away from home at the Swift Water
RV Park just outside of White Bird!

We parked right next to Lari and Katy in a beautiful spot right on the
Snake River.

Lari had already unloaded my trusty Kawasaki, so the first morning, Kim and I decided to take an explore. We rode into White Bird, and then on to Grangeville with a few stops along the way. We took a late breakfast in White bird (only one place to eat and it opened at 11:00) then started up the old highway to Grangeville. The old road essentially followed the old wagon route, and was extremely windy with switchback after switchback. It was a fantastic ride! It also went right through a battleground where the Nez Perce Indians fought the US soldiers in the first battle of the Nez Perce War. The Indians beat the crap out of the soldiers in this first encounter, but of course that wasn't the way it all ended of course. Kim and I took a self guided tour of the battlefield. It was fascinating, and even a little eerie.

We went on in to Grangeville, looking for the local museum. We found it, and parked the bike in the shade. As we were walking up to the door, I heard a very loud deep rumble that I thought was a large air tanker overhead. As I looked around, I spotted the culprit. It was a WWII vintage B-29 bomber circling the town. We had seen some signs indicating there was an airshow under way, so the big plane must have been part of it. It was beautiful and circled us a couple of times. This is the plane that ended the war by dropping atomic bombs on Japan in August of 1945! It was an unexpected treat to get to see this flying piece of history.

Although not the actual plane, this restored B-29 Superfortress is the same type
that ended the war in the Pacific in 1945. It was there for a local airshow.

Inside the museum the displays were typical small town history. It was charming, and interesting to peruse all of the exhibits. One of the most unusual was a fossilized mammoth tusk that had been recovered from a nearby lake during a project to deepen it. The excavating equipment unearthed a mammoth tusk. The project was halted for a time while they studied the site. They hired local folks to assist, and it turned out that one of them (a young woman) was there in the museum that day. She tols us all about the find, and her experience there. After that we had to go out and  visit the lake where the tusk had been found.

The museum displayed a mammoth tusk, and here is one of the people who
worked on the resulting dig.

This is the lake where the tusk was found. Apparently there were hundreds more.

On the way to the lake we toured through some very beautiful farm country. Lots of hay in huge rolls dotted the landscape. This area called the Camas Prairie was incredibly beautiful!

Rolls of hay were all along the road to the ancient lake.

Kim couldn't resist taking a photo of this old barn.

After the lake we headed back towards White Bird. We went through the pass and down the old road. Needless to say I was very cautious to control my speed down this incredibly windy road.

We pulled over for a stretch/photo break on the old road down into White Bird.

If you look carefully, you can account for SIX switch backs in this photo!

Next day we rode with the Trippets down the Snake River to the town of Riggins. It was about a half hour ride from Swift Water RV Park. We found a nice little cafe, and had a great breakfast, visiting and people watching. Riggins' main economy is white water rafting trips and it seemed to really be bustling. 

After breakfast, we took the obligatory shopping stop in a local gift store. It featured a local artist who carves antlers. Mostly moose and elk. His work is absolutely amazing, and I had to include a couple of photos of some of his carved antlers.

This is a carved elk antler. Really beautiful.

This moose antler has amazing detail carved into
the forest scene.

On the way back to Swift Water, we saw a sign that we just had to  get a picture of. Apparently there was a gold mining town on the river called Lucile. I guess they just didn't know how to spell properly in the late 1800's. Having a precious daughter named Lucille, named for her precious Aunt Lucille, we had to get a picture.  The town had been relocated at one point, and so there was an old Lucile, and a  Lucile about two miles down the road. We made a u-turn and took the shot. We love you Auntie Lucille!

The Lucille sign was about two miles down the road.

We had a great time during our stay at Swift Water. Barbecuing, riding, relaxing, and exploring. The park had WiFi, but it was too weak for me to pick up in the Ahwanee. I had to sit in the laundry room and bring myself up to date with events  in the world.

Katy's sister and brother-in-law came to visit from Lewiston.
We had a nice BBQ with them. 

Waiting for the laundry to finish as I surf the net at Swift Water.

This sunflower was near the White Bird Battlefield. I included it because...
well because I just liked how it came out!

Before we left Swift Water, we took a trip on a jet boat up the Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area on the Salmon River. It was really spectacular. I will dedicate a post to that adventure soon. However, I cannot guarantee that it will be in any particular order!

That's  All!

Off We Go!

I apologize for the disruptive order of my blog posts. I realize I am jumping all over the place, but have so may things I want to share that are "old news" that I have to mix and match as far any sort of chronological order goes.  Please bear with me.

Finally October arrived and we headed out for Spain to become grandparents. It is always such a long flight, and very uncomfortable especially for a guy my size. So, Kim put her considerable planning talents to work and developed a strategy.  Split the trip up. One leg to New York, and after a few days, head out over the Atlantic for the final leg to Espana. Shorter times crammed into airline seats, a little time to acclimate to the changing time zones, sounded good. So off we went to New York!

The first leg was still quite a haul. We left Reno at around 9:30 AM and arrived at La Guardia via Chicago at around 10:30 PM local time. We were a little worried about getting to our motel so late, but it was a pretty easy cab ride away. Te guy sitting next to me was a professor at a business college in New York, and he was helpful in getting our bearings in a strange city.

We had a two hour layover in Chicago, so we relaxed and toasted our adventure!

We took this picture, at the arrival gate at LaGuardia
in New York before deplaning, for Brother Mike. 

We planned to spend the entire next day in New York, so the next day we took off for Times Square and Broadway.  We took the A train! The station was only a few blocks from the hotel, but there was some construction going on and we had to take a shuttle buss to get access to the train. The ticket agent was very helpful in getting us squared away, and we were off!

We took the A Train to 42nd street, and humped the 2 blocks to
Times Square.

 The streets were jammed. It was a real zoo but navigable.  I would not want to be here on new years eve!! Kim was wistfully hoping that we would be able too take in a play, so we checked at the first theater we saw for tickets. The Lion King was sold out, but the guy told us to check for cancellations at another  theater down the street. We shouldered our way through several blocks and found the place. The show was starting in 5 minutes and it didn't look good. However, a guy was there with a couple of tickets to get rid of. So he gave one to Kim and took me to the ATM to get enough cash to pay. I picked up some food from a street vendor (some kind brochette, probably chicken, in a bun). I figured they would not let me in with it, so I wrapped them up in foil and jammed them deep into my jacket pockets. The guy we bought the tickets from was nice enough to escort me back to the theater so I wouldn't get lost. I made it inside only missing a few minutes of the play.

Kim has been wanting to see the Lion King (the play) for years, She finally got her wish!!

Took this picture of the curtain call at the end of the performance.
It was a great show, and well worth the trouble and cost. Recognize any of the characters?

Mufasa looks down on us as we left the theater.

It was a fabulous show. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and were glad that we had lucked into the guy with the tickets. Checking on prices later online, I think we paid pretty close to the going rate. They were excellent seats, center stage, about one third back.

 After the show we headed back out into the sea of humanity outside, looking for a place to get some dinner.

The sidewalks were very crowded with sightseers and vendors.

That's the big ball that falls down every January first at 0000 in the center of the
photo, upper third.

Pretty busy place!

We found a Chevy's restaurant almost directly across the street from the subway, and decided on some New York Tex-Mex.

Kim checks out the menu at Chevy's New York. We ended up with a
sampler plate and a fajita salad. YUM!

This photo was taken after Kim's second margarita... 'nuff said!

The train ride back was uneventful. We got back pretty late, but managed to make
it before dark.

We got back to the room with little trouble. Next day we had a leisurely start, and finally a 2:30 shuttle trip to JFK and our final leg: New York to Dublin to Malaga to La Roda de Andalucia! More to come.

That's All!