Travels with Nicky: Tom and Becky's/ Riley reunion 7/7-7/20/09

After spending a lovely night in Seaside,OR we were off to visit Tom and Becky Andersen (Lee's sister and husband).

The Astoria bridge is a beautiful sight isn't it?

We are now on Long Beach peninsula headed to the town of Ocean Park.

We have arrived at Tom and Becky's. Their home is beautiful and the landscaping is breath-taking. They have a lovely front porch to just sit and watch the day go by, have good conversation, or read.

Each area of the country we've gone through seems to have it's resident wild flower. For this area it is the fire weed.

This is us coming down Tom and Becky's lane. We were able to park right next to their garage.

The above collage gives you an idea of how beautiful their home is. There is also a video at the end of this post to give you a better feel for how gorgeous their yard is.

We had a lovely day visit with Tom's brother Dick and his wife Jan and their sweet granddaughter.

Lee and his sisters, Doris and Becky, divided up a box of family photos.

The collage above marks the beginning of the cousins reunion on the Riley side of the family. From this point on it was non stop talking, eating and laughing. I am so lucky to have been born into a wonderful family and also to marry into one. This is the first time I've met any of these cousins and within a Short time I felt like I'd known them for years. What a wonderful time we all had.

Above is a picture of the boys: from left to right--Lee's cousin Bob, his brother-in-law Del, his cousin Rex, and brother-in-law Tom.

Major male bonding was happening around the grill!

Chief grill master,Tom, and his assistant, Rex.

When we couldn't find the men it didn't take much to figure out they must be back in the garage again, guarding the PBR.

The Girls
From left to right: Eriz, Judy, Doris, Becky, Luanne, Janice.

Doris and Janice hard at it.

Here's a picture of three sisters--oooooopps that's Lee in Becky's wig trying to see what the girls are up to. Isn't he a cutie??

While the boys are out in the garage guarding the beer the dinner preparations are being made inside by the girls.

Wendy Riley made a beautiful apron for Becky--she was thrilled!! I look forward to meeting Bob's wife, Wendy, when we get to Canada.

How much more alike can two cousins be???
Luanne and Doris

The girls asked me if I wanted a drink and I said the only drinks I really like are the kind where they had a pineapple wedge and an umbrella in them. Big mistake!!!!!!!!!!
Doris and Becky to the rescue!!

Let's talk about the food!!! Rex is enjoying fried razor clams---boy were they good!!!

The boys are getting the beer butt chickens ready to grill.

Tom's grilled oysters are to die for!!! Fixed with pesto sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Grilled salmon to make your mouth water.

One of the greatest treats for breakfast was zip lock omelets. They are great!! Becky found this recipe on the Internet and it's one I'm sure will be a hit with my family. You put the eggs in the bag and gently mix them up then you add the extras you'd like in your omelet- zip it shut and put it in a kettle of boiling water for 13 minutes.

Our last evening together we celebrated Janice's birthday--she just turned 57 and yet the day before she was carded at the grocery store when she bought beer. How jealous were the rest of us!!!! We can't remember when that last happened to us. Of course, she is the baby of the group and we never let her forget it.

We also celebrated Doris and Delbert's anniversary---Their 56th congratulation!!!!
In this day and age that is something to be very proud of!!!