Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

May the Lord bless you and yours during this holiday season.

Grover & Goni

November 29, 2009 - Another Day of Infamy

Officer Timothy Brenton

Sgt Mark Renninger

Officer Tina Griswold

Officer Ronnie Owens

Officer Greg Richards

The Pacific Northwest has seen the murder of five police officers over the last six weeks. All of them ambushed by suspects bent on killing police. Seattle Officer Timothy Brenton was killed, and his partner wounded, on Halloween night while they sat in their squad car alongside a city street. The suspect was tracked down by detectives and taken into custody but not before they had to shoot him. Four Lakewood Police officers, Sgt Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, Ronnie Owens and Greg Richard, were shot and killed in a coffee shop in Parkland (near Tacoma) on Sunday morning November 29th. The suspect was caught two days later by a lone Seattle police officer on a dark city street and killed.

I did not know any of the officers but they were brothers and a sister in the law enforcement family. They were people just like each of us. They had a family, hobbies, and a life that was taken from them for no reason. Eleven children will grow up without a father or mother because of these senseless murders. Please remember each child and family member in your prayers.

Between 100 and 150 officers die in the line of duty each year. About half are killed in car accidents and the other half die from being murdered. What is so troubling about these five Pacific Northwest killings is that none of the officers were given a fighting chance. In other words the suspects were cowardly and gave the officers no chance to protect themselves. Much like the attack on Pearl Harbor 68 years ago.

As a retired police officer nothing really suprises me anymore. After 30 years you see the worst of people. These murders weigh heavily on my heart and the law enforcement community. We will get over it but the remembrance will always be there.

So if you get a chance say thanks to a police officer for the sacrifices they make to protect our society and freedoms. For that matter thank all of our public safety folks!

Jesus said:

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

December 7, 1941 - "a date that will live in infamy"

It was on September 4th that I last posted an entry. That post was about our trip to visit the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Well today is Pearl Harbor Day so it seemed fitting to post for the first time in three months and include the above quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Most everyone knows about the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The facts are all in the history books. But as each year goes by we lose more and more of the veterans who were there on that fateful day. After all it was 68 years ago which was long before I was born. Most veterans who were present that day are now in their late 80's.

So it is left to us younger folk to remember Pearl Harbor and the 2,400 serviceman and civilians who died that day (1,177 on the Arizona alone). Our task is to commemorate these men who died serving our country and remember the thousands of others who died fighting World War II.

So reflect a little on the sacrifices of our forefathers that allow us to live free in the year 2009. And tomorrow there will be another fresh blog entry on another group who recently sacrificed their lives for us and society.

Hawaii Adventures #3: Pearl Harbor

On Thursday Grover and his son-in-laws Kurt and Shayne took a day trip to Pearl Harbor on Oahu. The plane left the Maui airport at 06:25 hours which meant we had to leave the condo before 5 o'clock. We arrived at the Honolulu airport and rented a car and drove over to the USS Arizona Memorial. Grover has been to Pearl Harbor but this was the first trip for Kurt and Shayne. For those not familiar with the history of Pearl Harbor the Arizona was one of the ships that was sunk by the Japanese on December 7, 1941.

The above two pictures show the wall at the memorial containing the names of the 1,177 sailors and marines who died on the USS Arizona and whose bodies are still on the ship just below the surface at the memorial.

The two old sailors in the white uniforms were at the memorial after a ceremony on the USS Missouri the day before. Both are Pearl Harbor survivors. The fellow on the right lives in Vancouver, Washington just a few miles from were we live.

We went over to the USS Bowfin site and toured a World War II class submarine. The Bowfin was launched on December 7, 1942, one year to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This submarine served in the Pacific and was responsible for sinking quite a few Japanese ships.

Our next stop was the USS Missouri. On the deck of the Missouri was where the Japanese surrender was signed on September 2, 1945. Kurt's uncle served on the Missouri and was present when the surrender was signed. Grover's father served on a destroyer in the Pacific during the war also.

The Missouri is positioned with the bow pointed towards the Arizona Memorial which shows the beginning and end of American participation in World War II. The Missouri guards the last resting place of sailors who died at the beginning of the war.

The look from the bridge of the Missouri looking towards the USS Arizona Memorial.

The USS Missouri saw service in World War II, The Korean War and the first Gulf War. This ship is huge and was the last battleship built by the United States. It is on permanent display in Pearl Harbor and currently belongs to a non-profit that oversees its preservation.

Kurt and Shayne on the deck of the USS Missouri.

We then headed over to the Pacific Aviation Museum to look at airplanes. The museum is small but contains airplanes used in World War II. The museum is located on the airfield directly adjacent to the USS Arizona Memorial and where many aircraft were destroyed in the Japanese attack.

The airplane above was a Boeing Stearman airplane that was flown by President George Bush Sr during his training in Minnesota in 1943. Many of you may not be aware Bush was shot down in the Pacific and rescued by a submarine near a Japanese held island where several other soldiers were executed by the Japanese.

Above is a fighter like one used in the Pacific Theatre of Operations.

The last picture is of a Mitchell B-25 bomber much like the one used by Doolittle's Raiders who bombed Tokyo within a few months of Pearl Harbor. If you have a chance look into the history of this daring raid and see how the US was able to strike back so quickly.

Our trip to Pearl Harbor ended at about 18:00 hours when we landed back on Maui. It was a full day but we were glad we went. The whole area is full history and is a great place to reflect on the sacrifices of our forefathers.

Hawaii Adventures #2

Hawaii is an amazing place. People are much more laid back and friendly than on the mainland. No rush or road rage here. Hang loose and Aloha are the main themes. And weather has been good with not too many people. I think the economy has hit the tourist business pretty hard here.

When we were on Lanai some Maui FD fire fighters came down to the beach. They went running and swimming on the beach. Then they took out their rescue surf board and did some practice. I noticed there are surf boards on the top of all the fire trucks here in Maui. Tough training day for these guys. We took a bunch of pictures because the secretary at Goni's school loves firemen. We e-mailed the pictures to her and boy did she go nuts! I am sure Shayne and Chris must do something similar when they do training.

We have been traveling around the island a bit and seeing a few of the sites. Since our trip to Lanai we have been to Wailea and up to Honolua Bay. Wailea is where all the rich people must go when they come to Maui. Definitely a different place than Lahaina. We ate at a Cheeseburger in Paradise place at Wailea and the food was good and not too bad for price. Goni enjoyed a virgin fruity drink with an umbrella in it.

Up around Honolua we stopped at a beach and watched some boys practicing the surfing skills in the surf.

Golf courses are everywhere here in Maui. Lanai, which has only 4,000 residents, has two big fancy resort style courses. Since we don't golf it is not a big deal to us but to some it is all they do when they come here. On Maui the locals enjoy going down to the water and swimming or surfing after work. Lots of little parks along the ocean where you will find people visiting with a cold beer and playing in the water with the kids.

There is a bar called Moose McGillicuddy's in Lahaina that is famous for great drink prices during happy hour. So being the big drinkers that we are we went down on Wednesday and each had a Mai Tai. Then we walked around the shops downtown. Got some pictures of Goni on the town with some new friends.

We went snorkeling at Black Rock Beach on Friday but it wasn't as good as Manele Bay on Lanai. There were lots of interesting fish to see and a sea turtle. Goni is fascinated by the sea turtles (called Honu here on the isles). You can see them on the rock beach at the condo. They stick their heads out of the water for a moment to breath and once in a while they will roll over. Took some pictures but the turtles are hard to see so I did not include them.

Hawaii Adventures #1

We arrived in Maui on Saturday afternoon and headed over to Costco to get supplies for our two week visit. The place was a real zoo but then it was Saturday so guess we should have expected that. Drove over the Lahaina where our condo is located. It is on the west coast of Maui. You can see Lanai and Molokai from here.

Our condo is just north of Lahaina on the west side of Maui. It is right on the water and is beautiful and very quiet. You hardly ever hear a car go by during the night, just the ocean lapping on the rocks.

View of our condo from the swimming pool.

On Sunday we drove up the Hana Highway. Thirty miles of curves and slow traffic on a road that is barely one lane wide in places. Goni was not thrilled by the road but she toughed it out. According to her there is no reason to ever drive this road again.

We found out that Charles Lindbergh is buried up at the end of the road so we visited there. The gravesite is very simple next to an old church. Apparently he lived on Maui when he died and wanted to be buried in this particular spot. So as a fellow aviator I had to visit the site.Monday we messed around in Lahaina and did some shopping. Went to Snorkel Bob's to get some gear for snorkeling. Goni almost got eaten by a shark but the shark spit her out. My plans of returning to the mainland with a hula girl were dashed.

We took the ferry to Mandele Bay up on Lanai Tuesday and snorkeled around a bit. It was a great day but we were tired when we got back to the condo. But not too tired to get some sunset pictures from the swimming pool area. If you look closely you can see Goni in the pool.
I've been messing around with Picasa so I might have a link to more pictures with my next post.

Hawaii here we come

We are headed to Maui for a couple of weeks. We leave Saturday, August 22 and come back on Labor Day. We are looking forward to seeing the sites and relaxing around the pool of our condo in Lahaina. Taking along the laptop so we can post updates while there. While the weather forecast is not excellent we are sure to have a little good weather. Aloha!

Hot! Hot! & More Hot!

We have been experiencing extreme heat here in southwest Washington the last few days. High temperatures for the last three days have been 100, 103 & 105. Lows have been in the 70's so we haven't gotten our usual overnight cooling. Sleeping has been tough and Goni is getting cranky.

Today it might be only in the upper 90's but it is still way too hot! This weather is something I would expect in Arizona or Texas. Make it go away!

Return of the Exchange Students

This past week we had the pleasure of visits from former exchange students. Caroline who was our German exchange student during the 2007-8 school year and Emese from Hungary during 1998-99 school year both came for visits. Emese and her husband George are doctors going through medical training and currently live in Chicago. Also visiting was Nathalie from Finland who was not one of our students but was around our house a lot when Caroline was here.

Caroline and Nathalie arrived on Monday, July 20th. Caroline plans to be here for four weeks but Nathalie is going home after 3 weeks. Even though it has been over a year since they were here it was just like old times around our house.

We had a small gathering Saturday at Sandy Larson's house to welcome Emese and her husband George to town. George's mother and two sisters also came. All of them will be in the area for a week visiting various sites including Mt St Helens and the Oregon coast.

George is always taking pictures especially of Emese. We learned that it is genetic because his mom is always taking pictures too.

Caroline wanted to go whitewater rafting so on Sunday we went on the White Salmon River near Mt Adams. Melody and Bruce and Goni's friend Deb went along too. Temperatures were in the upper 90's so the cold river water sure felt good.

Emese, George & Grover going over Husum Falls.

Caroline and Nathalie sitting on the front of the raft over the "bull riding" section of the river. Grover, Bruce & Goni are in the back.

Deb, Emese, George and family doing the "bull ride".

Sound View Camp Expedition 2009

This past week Grover and Goni went on the Sound View Camp Expedition in the Columbia River Gorge. We have been doing this now for the past 5-6 years. Goni does the cooking and Grover sets up the camp and helps with the hiking and canoeing. It is kind of like a working vacation but lots of fun. Here is a picture of Goni's camp kitchen:

This year we returned to the Wyeth Campground in the Columbia River Gorge on Sunday and setup camp for the week long adventure. Wyeth is a fairly primitive U.S. Forest Service campground but we like it. Weather was overcast and drizzly but improved a little on Monday. By Tuesday it was getting hot. We had 10 high school students. Our son-in-law Chris Layton went along because we needed a trained medical person and a fire fighter-paramedic fits that description. He brought along our grandson Noah who had a great time too.

Each evening after the days activities we have a campfire to discuss the day and have a Bible message. Some evenings we have a skit and/or an educational presentation. This year we discussed how the Columbia River Gorge was formed and some geological information.

Monday was a day to hike so we went up to Triple Falls which is a four mile hike round trip. The falls is a beautiful place and there is plenty of room for having lunch while enjoying the falls.

Grover & Goni at Ponytail Falls which is on the way to Triple Falls.
That night we went into Hood River to go swimming at the local pool. It is an opportunity to swim and get a warm shower. They have a Tarzan rope and most of the kids gave it a try.
On Tuesday we went to LaCamas Lake to learn paddling and safety skills. We had three tipovers but it was warm enough that nobody cared. We found a Tarzan rope on one of the islands in the lake and everyone took a try at swinging into the water.Wednesday was the Eagle Creek hike up to Tunnel Falls. This is a 12 mile round trip hike to a great water falls that has a manmade tunnel behind it. We then go a short distance past the falls and have lunch. It takes most of the day and Noah made the entire trip. The tired group then went up to Hood River to the pool again but most of our group was pretty tired. We did go have ice cream at Dairy Queen and then had our camp fire.

On Thursday we canoed down the Sandy River near Troutdale. It was a hot day and everyone enjoyed the opportunities to get wet. We swam in the river and in general had a great time. The river was full of people trying to cool off and it was difficult at times to maneuver the canoes around all the people in the water.

Friday afternoon was the whitewater rafting trip down the White Salmon River. The river starts on the glaciers of Mt Adams and is very cold. Everyone wears a wet suit to keep warm because of the 40 degree water. Because the air temperature was in the mid to upper 90s nobody seemed to notice the cold water.

The tired group helped break camp and pack up on Saturday morning and they all headed home. Everyone felt good about the week and are looking forward to next year.