2022 Howard Wilson's 90th Birthday
(12/8/2022)
2022 Howard Wilson's 90th Birthday(12/8/2022)
|
|
On Thursday, December 8th, 2022 Howard Wilson turned 90 years old. This was the celebration 1 week later on 12/17/2022 which was when the whole family could gather. Click on any photo for the highest resolution version.
The first picture below is an iPhone "Find My Friends" screenshot I took I think it funny for several reasons:
Once we arrive in Corvallis, Ari (in from France) and Eli (in from Santa Barbara, California) and myself (in from Austin, Texas) go get supplies for the AirBnB and party the next day. We are in the "Fred Meyer" (food store) that I shopped at when I was growing up, and later as I attended college, all when I was younger than Ari and Eli are in this photo. It's kind of strange for me. It is a place I'm from (but I left about 32 years ago), and it's oddly familiar, but it's not home anymore.
This next picture is totally random, but while looking for wine I noticed Snoop Dogg is selling "Cali Red" wine under the brand "19 Crimes" with his face on the bottle in Oregon. There is a lot to unpack there. Like marijuana is legal in Oregon, and I'd trust Snoop Dogg's recommendation on weed, but I'm not sure I totally trust he knows how to grow grapes and ferment them into wine as well as let's say the French or established vineyards in Napa Valley, California. Then Snoop uses the term "Cali" which is quite controversial in the San Francisco area, a lot of white bread tech workers think it isn't a valid term (but it is old school rap from Oakland valid so I'll let this one slide) and then the brand kind of blows my mind being called "19 Crimes". Snoop doesn't think very highly of the average police intelligence if he literally advertises his company name with the word "Crimes" in it. But I'm kind of with Snoop on that last one, especially if the police allow "19 Crimes" to keep doing crimes and it becomes "20 Crimes" then "30 Crimes" and so on.
At the AirBnB we rented in Corvallis, this is most of us. Howard Wilson (the 90th birthday boy) is in the orange sweatshirt. We're watching a sportsball game of some kind.
Eli is reading a paper book by the fire, and that's Owen in the crib. This is the first time I've met Owen, I am Owen's "Great Uncle" (I think). Owen's grandmother is my sister.
Owen Hoffmann entertained by the world around him.
I think the last time we all got together in one place was when Owen's parents Nathanael and Elizabeth got married.
Ramey Echt holding Owen.
Make your own lunch situation. Katherine is mugging for the camera, Nathanael is amused by Katherine's antics.
From left to right: Cheryl Hoffmann (my sister, Owen's grandmother), Mark Hoffmann (Cheryl's husband, my brother in law, Owen's grandfather), and Nathanael Hoffmann (Cheryl's son, my nephew, Owen's father) and Owen is the little one held by Mark.
Cheryl, Mark, Elizabeth (Owen's mother) and Nathanael.
Below is a 45 second movie presenting the cake with candles while singing happy birthday. Click here for the highest quality version.
A cake and a home made apple pie.
Howard got a gift for his 90th birthday.
It is a peanut flavored whiskey named "Skrewball". Also important - in the background of this picture is the beer "Electric Jellyfish IPA" from Pinthouse Brewery in Austin Texas. I smuggled in a few cans because you absolutely cannot get Electric Jellyfish from anywhere except Austin, Texas.
Below is a family portrait. The picture hanging on the wall behind us is Catherine (Catie) Grace Hoffmann, Nathanael's sister and Owen's aunt, who could not make it. I Photoshopped her into the picture, LOL.
Mark holds Owen while talking with Katherine Chung.
Eli holding Owen.
When the party was over, it was time to pack up and go home. Below Owen is getting packed up for the drive.
Some big hugs and goodbyes until next time.
Katherine, Ari, and I stayed in the AirBnB one more night, then Katherine and I drove to the Portland Airport to drop Ari off. On the way we said goodbye to Howard one more time in his residence at "The Caring Place" in Corvallis. Notice the masks? They are required for visitors here, a hold over from the Covid-19 pandemic of late 2019 and most of 2020, now endemic in our society forever. Although I'm pretty sure anything less than an N95 that is properly fitted has been shown to have very little benefit, we always follow whatever establishment rules prefer.
A technical problem on my father's cable TV. Channel "420 PACOR" plays college games, and we could watch it in the AirBnB but not in his room at "The Caring Place". I'm trying to figure out how to enable that.
After dropping off Ari at the Portland Airport on her way back to France, Katherine and I (Brian) stopped at Karl Dohan and Tamera Dohan's home in Sunny Majestic Tigard, Oregon. Brady Nilsen (seen on the far right of the couch below) was there also. In the picture below Karl and Brady are trying the "Electric Jellyfish IPA" I smuggled in from Austin for them. I quite enjoy it, and I wanted them to try it.
Karl and Tamara served us this wonderful dinner of "Raclette" - a traditional Swiss/French concept - the rough idea here is you melt Raclette cheese on little plates (the handles are sticking out of the oven device at the center of the table) and the melted cheese is scraped off the heating plates onto potatoes. The name "Raclette" even comes from the French word meaning "to scrape". It's very social, and look at this ridiculous spread of food they put out for us. Raclette is traditionally served in Switzerlandwith a "Chasselas/Fendant" wine, and the French often serve a Savoy wine (which is similar to a Riesling).
I barely got Brady in the picture on the left of this, but it shows everybody that was there, and how you can also grill/warm things on the top of the Raclette Oven.
That night Katherine and I stayed at "The Nines Hotel" in Portland, not far from Karl's house and not far from the airport so that we could catch a flight the next morning (Monday morning flight, 12/19/2022). So Monday morning my niece (Ari) texted me that she had arrived home to France, so I texted this picture below back to her at 7:40am 12/19/2022 saying we were about to leave for our flight home. Ari actually made it all the way to France BEFORE we got home to Austin. That is how small the world is now. The picture below is the only picture I have of "The Nines":
Ari fired back this picture from her business class flight 1 minute later:
And finally, that night I'm home and here I am chilling on the couch with my dog who was very happy to be back in his regular location and safe with his pack once again:
That's it! That's all the pictures and movies.
Notes about Renting a Tesla: (this isn't for you! Stop reading!
I'm old and forget things.)
- There is nowhere to "hang" an iPhone running WAZE - the air vents are not
normal
- Press and hold "P" button for a long time to engage parking brake
- Teslas don't have keyholes, you badge in on the side of the car in a
mysterious unmarked location
- You have to place the Tesla badge in a bizarrely bad location for the car to
start, then the key/badge falls somewhere you cannot find it
- Everything is buried 6 levels down in menus, you cannot operate the windshield
wipers without drilling through menus.
- If you ask the hotel to charge your car, check if the car still has the
charging cable afterwards. "The Nines" hotel stole mine, LOL.
All done!