May 2024 Check-In's

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Sonoramics Classic Rock Cover Band At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Jonathan's Birthday
Thursday, May 2, 2024

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Ragdoll Classic Rock Cover Band At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Friday, May 3, 2024

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Your Wines By Dena Wine Club Pickup Party At
Bourbon Street, Fullerton, California
Cinco de Mayo, Sunday, May 5, 2024

Is that a burrito or a meatloaf? That is one big burrito!
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Trailer Park Flamingos At
Paddy's Station, San Juan Capistrano, California
Cinco de Mayo, Sunday, May 5, 2024

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The Red Wine Flight Of This Week At
The Twisted Vine, Fullerton, California
Monday, May 6, 2024

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This Is A Maserati?
What In This SUV World Are We Coming To?
Monday, May 6, 2024

Dinner With Our Daughters, Jodina & Sherica, At
Baran Mediterranean Restaurant & Bar, Anaheim Hills, California
Monday, May 6, 2024

Taco Tuesday With Live Music by David Burns at
Versai Kitchen & Wine Bar, Yorba Linda, California
Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Trailer Park Flamingos Every Tuesday 9 PM till 1:30 AM At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Dave Fruth, Barbara and Me
Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Barbara dancing to the music of The Trailer Park Flamingos Country Rock Band
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Your Wines By Dena Chilean Wine Diner
Les Amis Lebanese Restuarant, Fullerton, California
Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Sonoramics Classic Rock Cover Band At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Wednesday, May 8, 2024

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The Springsteen Experience Tribute Band At
CampusJAX, Newport Beach, California
Friday, May 10, 2024

Crossroad Poets was the opening band for The Springsteen Experience Tribute Band



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Sonoramics Classic Rock Cover Band At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Friday, May 10, 2024

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Northern Lights That I Missed Viewing
By Not Being At My Home In Vancouver At The Time
Friday, May 10, 2024

The Northern Lights are rarely ever seen from Vancouver, Washington, but
were visible at this latitude due to a Solar Storm that peaked this weekend.

Mother's Day, Sunday, May 12, 2024

Mother's Day flowers from Jason Lopez (above left) and Stephen (above right).

Mother's Day Gifts From Stephen To Barbara
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Hypoallergenic 14k gold-plated cubic zirconia charm on an 18 inch sterling silver chain.

Gold plated brass cuff handmade in Israel that says: "Emunah TIkvah Ahava" which means "Faith Hope Love."

Mother's Day Dinner At
Tavern House Kitchen & Bar, Newport Beach, California
Jason, Dylon & Linda Lopez, Brian & Sherica Chuchua, Barbara & Stephen

Citizen O'Kane Classic Rock Cover Singer & Guitar Player At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Sunday, May 12, 2024

Mike DeBellis (Sax) Jazz Band At
Paddy's Station, San Juan Capistrano, California
Every Second Monday Of The Month 6:30-9 PM
Monday, May 13, 2024

It was more like a Jazz Jam with members of the audience coming up to play with the band.
At point there were 3 people playing saxophones at the same time. Being at the train station
you can see a train outside the window in the first two photos. Click on each photo to view a
larger and clearer image so you can better see the train out the window.

Dinner At Kenos Restaurant
With Sax Player Robert Verdi
Anaheim Hills, California
Linda Lopez, Barbara & Me
Wednesday, May 15, 2024

I brought my own wine from OC Wine Mart

Southwest Flight To Portland, Oregon
Thursday, May 16, 2024

Leon Cotter: A Tribute to John Coltrane
Jack London Revue, Portland, Oregon
Thursday, May 16, 2024

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Leon Cotter (saxophone), Alan Jones (drums, Social Music), Matt Sazima (piano) and Garrett Baxter (base).
This was a tremendous performance with a lot of energy.

Montgomery Park
Portland, Oregon
Friday, May 17, 2024

We had an appointment today in a really nice, but strange building called Montgomery Park. Inside it looked like a brand new building. It had the biggest atrium I've ever seen in a commercial building. We could see that there were balconies on every floor overlooking the huge atrium. We went up two long escalators overlooking the atrium, but then had to use one of the glass elevators to get the rest of the way up to the 4th floor. As we walked to the office of our appointment we noticed that the hallway was very very wide, as well as long. I've never seen a hallway so wide in a commercial building other than indoor shopping malls. I was wondering if maybe the building was designed to be an indoor mall, though there were very few walk-in stores in this huge building. Once we went into an office, we noticed that it had a door to a private balcony overlooking the huge atrium.

When we got back to our car, I noticed that the exterior design of the building actually looked more like an old warehouse even though the inside appeared very modern. Then I got to thinking that maybe this building was an old abandoned warehouse that had been remodeled into a modern office building. That would account for there being so much open space inside the building. Then it struck me. The building is called "Montgomery Park." Maybe it was once a "Montgomery Ward" warehouse which went out of business years ago. Taking a second look, I realized this could have been two identical warehouse buildings where during the remodel they connected them with an indoor atrium. That would account for the atrium being so huge and why the hallways are so wide. When I got back home, I looked up "Montgomery Park" on the web, and sure enough, it did used to be a Montgomery Ward warehouse!

Click here to read about the history and renovation of this building on Wikipedia. It was built in 1920 and is on the National Register of Historic Places under its historic name Montgomery Ward & Company Building." It was the former Montgomery Ward mail-order catalog warehouse and department store. The building is the third-largest office building in Portland with 756,055 square feet. Changing the huge sign on top of the building from "Montgomery Ward" to "Montgomery Park" was very inexpensive as all that had to be changed were the letters "W" and "d" to "P" and "k"! Most of the renovations to the building were completed in 1986.

Bobby & Friends Band At
Celebrities Parkway Grill, Fairview, Oregon
Friday, May 17, 2024

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Bobby Ferrante (drums), Ben Jones (base), Eric Rabe (sax), Eric Johnson Savage (guitar), Special Guest Sarah Lodge (vocals). This was a great band. They even played one of my favorite songs, "Crazy", that I have not seen played live since the Vino Nostra Wine Bar in Fullerton closed. Most of the performers plays with other bands and at other venues. Bobby & Friends plays here at the Celebrities Parkway Grill every other Thursday.

The Celebrity Parkway Grill is a great venue but I don't know how they stay in business. They rarely ever have a cover charge, even on Friday and Saturday evenings including this evening. The band did not put out a tip jar but a few people just left tips on the stage. There were very few people in the bar and there were many empty tables. I don't think the restaurant side was even open. Not only they serve standard bar fare, but they also serve quite an assortment of Chinese food that is quite good! They have live music 4 nights every week. I don't know how they bring in enough revenue to pay for the bands.

George Colligan Quartet at
Keys Lounge
Saturday, May 18, 2024

George Colligan-drums, Noah Simpson-trumpet, Max Reynolds-guita, Robert Rodriguez-bass

This was our first time at the Keys Lounge. It is the closest jazz venue to our Vancouver home and they have live jazz 3 nights each week. They have a pretty extensive menu as far as bar food goes and also a very extensive selection of spirits and beers on tap. Being a Saturday night, the place was packed with people, mostly 20 and 30 years olds that were pretty loud. I'm not sure how many were there to listen to the jazz as most kept carrying on their loud conversations through every jazz number, but some were definitely there to listen to the jazz. This was the most crowded venue we've ever been to and the 3 bartenders were overwhelmed trying to keep up with the lines of people placing orders. I think most were just locals and just came here because it was a Saturday night and this is their local neighborhood bar. We are going to have to try this place again for their Tuesday jazz session. Maybe it won't be quite so busy as it won't be a weekend when many of the young people have work or school the next day. I'm hoping there might be more of a jazz audience on Tuesday evening.

Jazz At The Radio Room
Every Sunday 7-9 PM
Portland, Oregon
Sunday, May 19, 2024

Same owners and just a few blocks from the Keys Lounge that we visited yesterday.
Sam Epstein on Saxophone and Matt Sazima on Piano.

Alberta Carts
Food Trucks On Alberta Street Next To Radio Room, Portland, Oregon
Sunday, May 19, 2024

Frenchman's Bar Trail
Vancouver, Washington
Monday, May 20, 2024

This is the first time we've been at this trail for our daily walk. The trail starts out along the Columbia River and ends near Vancouver Lake. Unfortunately this trail is about 12 miles from our Vancouver home. The drive would be shorter if we could take a route over the north end of the Vancouver Lake, but there is no road that goes in that direction.

Spare Room Restaurant & Lounge
Portland, Oregon
Monday, May 20, 2024

Karaoke with Danny Chavez (sax) and Rocking Ray (guitar) every Sunday-Wednesday 9pm-Midnight!

Jazz Jam at Keys Lounge Every Tuesday 8-11 PM
with Alan Jones on Drums
Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Trail at Klineline Pond
Wednesday, May 22, 2024

We walked 15 minutes along a trail that starts at Klineline Pond and then back again. This trail shares a parking lot with the east end of the Salmon Creek Trail. This trail is much more interesting than the east end of the Salmon Creek Trail. It passes by Klineline Pond and then Salmon Creek quickly becoming unpaved. It is less than 2 miles from our Vancouver home and might become our new favorite trail just for convenience.

There are many well documented trails throughout Clark County, but this one that runs east from Klineline Pond is not one of them. Beyond documentation on Klineline Pond itself, I can't find any documentation about this trail. Looking at a Google Satellite map it appears to eventually start running north along Salmon Creek. Hopefully we can start walking on this trail more than 15 minutes one-way and get to explore more of it.

The Mel Brown B3 Organ Group featuring
The Caranto Sax Brigade
Jack London Revue, Portland, Oregon
Thursday, May 23, 2024

The Mel Brown B3 Organ Group featuring The Caranto Sax Brigade.
The 3 Sax players are Renato Caranto, his son Renato Jr., and his grandson, Nat.

First Day Of Portland Rose Festival
On The Portland Spirit Dinner Cruise
Portland, Oregon
Friday, May 24, 2024

Many of the above high rise apartments and condos did not exist when we moved to this area in 2011.
Portland underwent a huge high rise housing boom from 2010 to 2020.

Dragon Boats


This $38 red blend wine was pretty good. Next time I'll bring my own and pay the $25 corkage fee.

Seattle Queen Paddle Boat

Porltand has its share of multi-million dollar riverfront homes.


Hawthorne Bridge (1910); Tilikum Crossing Bridge (2015); Railroad Bridge (1908)

Above Left: Famouse White Stag; Above Right: Live piano music on dinner cruise.


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Best fireworks I've ever seen - Nonstop for 20 minutes!
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The Mel Brown B3 Organ Group At
The 1905, Portland, Oregon
Saturday, May 26, 2024

The above hoagies, salad and desserts were the only food you could order today. No pizza.
The eggplant hoagie was delicious! Click any photo for a larger and clearer image.

Memorial Day at Shelli's House
Vancouver, Washington
Sunday, May 27, 2024

Namaste Indian Buffet
Lunch Buffet: 11am-3pm $16; Dinner Buffet: 3pm-9:30pm $20, Portland, Oregon
Monday, May 30, 2024

This is the BEST Indian Buffet in all of the entire Portland and Vancouver region. I have not found any other buffet that is so extensive, and the food is well spiced and excellent. The ONLY other place I have ever seen such huge buffets with excellent food is in Silicon Valley, California, where there is a very large Indian community.

Devin Phillips Trio At
The Lovely Rita Louonge & Bar At
The Hoxton Hotel, Portland, Oregon
Monday, May 30, 2024

Tope Rooftop Restaurant & Bar At
The Hoxton Hotel, Portland, Oregon
Open Daily 4-10:30 PM
Monday, May 30, 2024

George Colligan CD Release Party
Followed By A Jazz Jam at
The 1905, Portland, Oregon
Friday, May 31, 2024

Above Left: Joshua Madrid, Bar Manager; Above Right: George Colligan, piano

Above Left: Garrett Baxter, Base; Above Right: Chris Brown, Drums

Jazz Jam

You can sit at the outdoor patio without buying a ticket for the jazz performance.

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