Here's part of why I'm so late posting today ...

Portland's Rose Festival started last night, with the opening of the Waterfront Village, a sort of state fair/carnival. I got off the bus after work, intending to take a few photos and catch another bus home. When I saw Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #88 and found out that admission was free, I decided to roam around, taking photos and waiting to get my photo taken beside the car.

Here I stand with a young member of the National Guard, right beside the car, still able to smell the exhaust fumes. Yes, friends, another man from Hendrix Racing started that baby and gunned the motor several times. Mighty fine loud sound! I loved it!

After about five hours, I got home, too tired to blog. I hope that some of the photos I took will be neat enough to share.

A symbol of one of the secret ingredients rests outside the building

Outside the Tillamook County Fairgrounds rests a symbol of one of the things the area is best known for--cheese. That's a giant baby loaf of Tillamook medium cheddar cheese in the grassy circle surrounded by National Guard vehicles. And how about that American flag, flying high over the whole thing? Neat.


As Mama and I left the fairgrounds after the Chef's Blackbox Cooking Competition, I noticed that cheese and pulled into the next driveway so that I could walk back and get these photos.

Lamont's efforts, and those of his brother Leland, were judged second to his competitor's at the competition. All of us took the decision in stride. We went over there to have a great time, and we did--even the guys who worked creatively hard at something they love to do.

Stay tuned. I have loads of photos to look through and details to get straight with the guys so that I can post them for you in the next day or so.