Grandsons visit

Riley's mom was taking a cruise with her mom and Jason was going to move this week from an apartment to a house, so Granny and Opa got to visit with our grandson for seven days.

First day before dad left was to try a little fishing from a dock on the Siuslaw River right at the mouth before it dumps into the ocean.

A  4 year old is just too young for the patients it takes to fish, come to think about neither are 64 year olds. :-)

While Jason may of had the patients to fish he certainly didn't have any luck today.

Shortly after this photo was taken the rain started coming in horizontally, powered by 40 mph winds. Riley and I hightailed it to the car to play PC games.

 Dad left us the little bundle of joy and off we went looking for things to do. Here we are at the Sea Lions Caves a few miles north of Florence but just like fishing, we struck out. It seems during the spring and summer the sea lions are out to sea all day.

Next day it warmed up and we headed for the ocean sand dunes. Besides playing with his sand toys and monster trucks, bubbles were next.

The brisk ocean breeze kept the bubbles in the air for quite a long time.

Even a 4 year old can enjoy the pleasant bloom from the scotch broom plant.

There were miles of small trails all made by dune buggy enthusiasts but my only concern in hiking them too much was encountering a speedy sand-rail but luckily I never heard one and they are extremely loud which helped us stay safe.

After a days outing, you can count on a quiet ride home because within a mile or so Riley would be asleep in his car seat.

This was a busy time for the Elks in Florence because of the Rhody Days Festival that takes place all week long. 

So while Opa was off rubbing chickens for the Elks Barbecue with Harry and Ed,   Riley had to stay around the campground with Donna. (honest, we did laundry and that is a clean shirt) (note from Granny-this is Opas sense of style-- scary).

If it was cold or too breezy Riley had no problem using grannies iPad to play games on.

So when Opa wasn't helping with the Elks dinner then Granny worked on the float that the Elks build every year for the parade on Sunday. We brought Granny down and got a tour of the work area.

Here is Granny tying branches onto the side of the float...in the rain of course.

The week long festival has car shows, RV show and motorcycle run. This car, owned by one of the Elks, cost nearly $200K to build...the guy must really like his car.

All of old town Florence was filled with bikes...I miss mine :-(

Sunday was parade day. Riley was looking so forward to this day all week. Opa put out chairs at 6 am so we'd have a good spot to watch.

This is the float Granny worked on and without being biased in anyway we thought the Elks float was the best one.

The lighting was bad so it's a little hard to see but the float had mechanical seals, a pool with a fountain, orca, pine tree and a large mounted elk and several carved animals...good job Granny!

Riley loved all the school bands, floats and horses but especially the candy and beads thrown to him.

Just like this float says...we will be back next year too.

Our week with Riley has ended and in the morning Granny took Riley back up to Portland. It is eerily quiet now, which is not to say that is a bad thing at all, but I already miss our energetic grandson.