Northern Lights Caught By iPhone -- Taken From Flathead Lake, Montana -- Sunday, October 16, 2024

Photos by Jan.

 

Sophia -- Jiu-Jitsu -- September 4, 2024

 Jiu-Jitsu: Sophia was awarded another stripe on her gray / white belt, September 4, 2024.

Coach Jinho Kim. 

Jinho Academy, Grapevine, TX.

Katie Ledecky -- September 2, 2024

 

Chapter 200: Berlin Trip, Eighth Grade -- Paul, Carl, Bruce -- 1965

In 1965, my dad, age 43, took his dad, Paul, age 79, and me, an eighth grader, age 14 later that summer, on a trip to Norway, as part of a Rotary trip.

Paul had emigrated to America in 1907 and this would be first and only trip back to Norway. Interestingly, my grandfather's physical and mental health was almost exactly on par to that of President Joe Biden's in 2024, though my hunch is that my grandfather would have done better than Biden in "that" debate. LOL.

But I digress.

It was a two-week trip:

• Williston, rail to Minneapolis, after picking up Paul in Newell, SD 
• that leg of the trip alone would have been quite a journey for me; overnight in Minneapolis --
• wow, the hotel was incredible! And it was probably a 2-star hotel in downtown Minneapolis but it was the first time I had stayed overnight in a big city;
• Minneapolis to Oslo, Norway, on KLM
  
• several days in Oslo with our Rotarian host family; wonderful, wonderful stay;
• met the first love of my life; I believe she was a sixth grader;
  
• then, by train to Trondheim, and the Trondheim area where Paul was born and raised; 
• rental car in the Trondheim area
  
• Trondheim to Bergen by ferry;
• then to Copenhagen, on that same ferry, if I recall correctly;
• to Copenhagen, because the return trip to the US by air departed out of Paris
• then to Braunschweig, Germany, some hours south of Copenhagen; 
• our first spur-of-the-moment decision: continue direct to Paris, or a side trip to Berlin,
• I was so excited to see Berlin; my father agreed, and so we went;
• through the Iron Curtain to enter East Germany, and then through another piece of the Iron Curtain to get into West Berlin
• a tourist excursion into East Berlin
• back to the rental car, and back through East Germany
• with no map we headed west; the only thing Dad knew was that Paris was west,
• seriously, he only followed the setting sun each day; I think we saw two setting suns;
• we arrived on the outskirts of Paris on a balmy afternoon;
• he had hotel reservations at the Ronceray Hotel in Paris
• at the outskirts of Paris, he stopped the car and hailed a taxi
• he put me in the taxi and then had the taxi driver lead my grandfather and my dad to the Ronceray Hotel
• Dad called the car rental agency (Hertz) and told them the car would be at the Ronceray.
• the Hertz folks told him he had to bring the car to a Hertz rental site;
• Dad said the car would be at the Ronceray; it was Hertz's choice if they wanted their car back. LOL.
• from Paris back to Minneapolis

Our route: 

Copenhagen, Denmark to Braunschweig, we took the ferry from Bergen, Norway, to Copenhagen, Denmark, and then began our journey to Paris where we returned the car:

Berlin to Paris: a grueling leg; we arrived late evening, Cologne, Germany, but did not recognize it as Cologne -- we only saw signs for Köln and weren't smart enough to know it was Cologne, the very famous WWII-bombed site; stayed overnight in Cologne. Next day, lunch in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and then to Paris, late afternoon -- all with no maps, just literally following the sun. I kid you not. We ended up on some small side roads. Seriously.

*****************
Best Birthday Gift Ever 

For my 73rd birthday. From my middle granddaughter.

Lot For Sale -- Under Contract -- Also, House For Sale -- August 17, 2024

Jan sent this to me.

 

Laura sent this to me, on same street as our lot:

1929 Ford Model A

Restored by Big Bob.

Bob Osborn.

Caleb in photo below.

Photo taken in August, 2024.

From the "oksolflessner" blog:

Carl turned six years old in 1928 and started school later that year. He attended a rural school about a mile and a half northeast from the farm. One teacher was responsible for all grades, first through eighth. Clara, a seventh grader, and Myrtle, an eighth grader, watched out for their brother Carl his first year. His other siblings were in high school. Oscar turned 16 that fall (November 24) and was a sophomore in high school. Eddie turned 17 on June 24, of that year, and was a junior in high school.

The following year, as a second grader, Carl walked to school with Clara while the three older kids rode to high school in the family’s 1922 Model T Ford.

Paddle Board Races This Weekend -- Polson, MT -- July 20, 2024

Today: the "Poker Race" on the lake, out of Polson, MT.

Tomorrow: the "Polson River," -- actually the Flathead River, exiting Flathead Lake at Polson, MT.

The Flathead River, from the Polson Airport, on the west side of Polson, and then south / southwest down the Flathead River, locally referred to as the Polson River.

Getting ready for the first race.