Blackhams go to Bellevue

 

Grayson is quite the traveler ... me, not so much. But when I saw that Colton and the Clackamas crew were scheduled for some games at the Bellevue Jamboree (preseason scrimmages), and that they wouldn't be streamed for me to watch from home, I suggested to Gray that we make a quick weekend trip out. He said okay. 

We flew out on Friday, November 7 ... this was the day the airlines had been instructed to cut flights due to the government shutdown. Luckily, we had no issues at all. Grayson was pretty excited to try out the new Delta SkyClub, which had had just opened. It was very nice. He'd also booked us first class, and as I didn't care for the food included in-flight (picky eater me!) Grayson got double!

Gray had rented a car, and we drove from the airport to our hotel, which was very close to the college where the basketball games would be played. The Clackamas crew had a 3+ hour drive, so their games didn't start until a little later in the day (Nov8). Gray started his Saturday with a six mile run at Gas Works Park. We then grabbed some breakfast, and did a quick drive by the college so we would know where to go (which building). We saw a group of basketball boys unloading from a bus ... and it was Colton and the Clackamas Crew! Fun to bump into them as they arrived.

We still had an hour or more until the games started, so we let Colton rejoin his team while we went back to the hotel for a bit. These games were mini-match ups, just 20 minutes (no halves or changing sides). As I hadn't been able to make it out last year for the family trip, this was my first time seeing Colton play college ball in person (I had watched every game on the live stream). I had my video camera up and recording. It was fun to meet his roommate and coaches, who I felt like I already knew (just from pictures and Colton talking about them).  Gray found some pickleballs around in the bleachers.

Here's the highlights from the games ...

Clackamas vs Bellevue

Clackamas vs Yakima

Clackamas vs South Puget Sound

The first game ended in a tie (no OT in these scrimmages), and the other two were losses. Colton got some points in the second game, but had early foul trouble in the third game and didn't get as much playing time there. He was a little under the weather, fighting a cold, and his stitches would come out the next day. It was fun to be there to see him play in person though, a little better view than the live stream (although I appreciate having at least that!)  After the games, the team headed home and we went back to the hotel. 

Lovely fall foliage on the college campus ... 

GB had to stop for a photo, and I snuck a picture of him! 

We had breakfast, and then dinner, at a nearby diner. 

The breakfast was really good ... the dinner not so much. 

Early flight out (5:15 ... so we got up and on our way around 3:30). Returned the rental car. Again, no issues getting through security, and Gray had timed it perfectly so that as soon as we arrived at our gate, we were boarding the plane. 

Landon and Valentina had gone on a weekend getaway to Las Vegas ... and they were returning home at almost the same time we were! Only 10min or so apart in our arrivals, but I didn't notice until a a bit later after Gray and I had already headed home. It would have been funny to bump into each other there at the airport!

The Blackham Bunch is planning another trip to see Colton play at the end of the year. Clackamas will be hosting a tournament after Christmas, three full games. I plan on making it this year ... getting more video and seeing Colton's college, apartment and stomping grounds!

Cal and K8 Go to Italy

In May 2025, Cal and Kate had a vacation to Italy in the books.  They took a lot of pictures and Callahan even kept a journal to share with me, documenting their adventures.  You can read his recap below ...

Italy Trip, Rome/Positano/Naples

May 4 & 5 (Monday & Tuesday)

We flew out at 9pm from SLC to Amsterdam, connecting flight from Amsterdam to Rome. First flight was 9.5 hours, and the second flight was 2 hours with a 2 hour layover in between. We arrived in Rome around 7pm on Monday night so it was seemed almost like 24 hours of travel, but it was only around 14 hours because Rome is 8 hours ahead. After we took a taxi from the airport to our Air BnB, we wandered the streets a bit and got dinner. I got fettuccine Alfredo that was pretty good and Kate got a pesto pasta.

May 6 (Wednesday) 

We didn’t have anything set in stone this day because we wanted to walk around the city and get ourselves more acquainted. We started at Trevi Fountain, got some croissants and OJ right by it. This was around 8:30am, and it was already pretty busy. But we did walk by it again around noon and it was even more crowded. After Trevi, we walked to the Pantheon and stopped by a church along the way. The church buildings don’t do anything for me, but in a construction sense it is pretty amazing the detail in the paintings and the architecture in general. The church buildings generally spook me out more though. After that, we went to the Spanish Steps.

We went back to the AirBnB for a bit to chill, and take a nap. Then we went back out to a lot of the same sites to see them at night. We went to Osteria Da Fortunata for dinner, this was probably the best overall dinner of the trip. I got Fettuccine Ragu and Kate got the carbonara. Both dishes were very good, but for dessert we got a slice of cheesecake and it was so, so, so good! We went and got some gelato from Giolitti (my favorite gelato place that we tried) then walked back to Trevi Fountain to see it a night. It was very busy once again and they do small “light shows” every 15 minutes or so. We stayed and watch one light show, then went back to our AirBnB

May 7 (Thursday)

Before we started our tour for the Colosseum, Kate and I were walking around and a photographer asked if we wanted to do a free photoshoot (we could buy the pictures later if we wanted to) so we did that for 20 minutes before our tour.

Our tour guide had a pretty thick Irish accent which made it difficult to understand a lot of what he was saying. I think Kate was able to understand more, but I think I understood 50% or less of all the words out of his mouth lol. The Colosseum was pretty cool, it would’ve been a better experience if I understood the tour guide. Got gelato this night from Gold Ice, still very good but I thought Giolitti was slightly better. Most times I’m getting some sort of Carmel flavor for my gelato. (Later in the trip I got more fruity ones)

May 8 (Friday) 

We did a cooking class in Rome where we made 2 different pastas and tiramisu. There were 10 total people in the class, all spoke English but none of them were from the US. In pairs of two, we all made some dough for the pasta, just had to measure our flour and water and mix it together. All that dough got mixed together in the end and Chef Max cooked the pasta as we started to make the tiramisu. The ravioli was really good, and the spaghetti was dished up with a pesto sauce that we helped make as well.

Dinner at Roma Sparita, really good pasta in a parmesan bowl. We only got 1 and shared it, but we should each got our own because it was that good. We branched out and tried the grilled lamb chops as our 2nd dish to share, and that was a mistake. The lamb had no flavor and was charred along the whole exterior.

May 9 (Saturday) 

We checked out of our AirBnB in Rome and took a train to Naples. Kate booked this train a while ago, and it was a nice, comfortable ride. We had reserved seats, the seats were bigger than your standard airplane seats. Private car from Naples to Positano, our driver played “Ghetto” by Akon and then “No One” by Alicia Keys right after. Seems like a good start to this part of our trip. I’m glad I didn’t have to do any driving in Italy. These drivers are crazy. In busy areas it would be really difficult because there are so many pedestrians and motorcyclists, and they all kind do whatever they want and just trust that the cars won’t hit them lol. There were multiple moments on our car ride to Positano where Kate and I would look at each other after our driver did something sketchy.

The town is very walkable, road are very narrow and seems like the roads can get backed up easily because of pedestrians. Walking from our AirBnB, down to the beach was pretty easy and only took us about 10 minutes. It’s all downhill and/or down stairs. The walk back up to the AirBnB is slightly more difficult, but it just helped us get our steps in.

Positano and Naples are famous for their lemons and limoncello (alcohol). I don’t care too much to try the limoncello, but I am going to try the lemon sorbet dessert that they serve in a scooped out lemon. You can buy them at basically anywhere that serves food or snacks, and they are really good.

May 10 (Sunday)

We rented an umbrella and two loungers out by the beach of Positano and spent most of our day out there. They were rented for the whole day so we started by laying out in the sun for a few hours, we got in the water for a little bit once I was too hot. It was only high 60’s, low 70s our whole trip, but it felt very hot when the sun was out. The water in Positano was very cold so we weren’t in it long. I always forget how salty the ocean is, so once I put my head underwater I was ready to get out. Getting all that salt in your eyes and mouth is no fun.

We got lunch at a restaurant names Lulu’s and got some fish and chips. Everything in Positano is really expensive, but the fish and chips were only 14 Euros and they were pretty good. At this point we were pretty much over pasta and pizza. We ate our lunch by the beach and laid out in the sun some more. Kate really loves to lay out in the sun while on vacation which is fine with me. I thought I was going to get pretty sunburnt, but I think I put just enough sunscreen on.

We went to dinner at Restaurant Bruno and had an overpriced meal. (Everything in Positano is expensive unfortunately) For most dinners we have been sharing 3 different dishes, usually one appetizer and 2 other dishes. For the appetizer we got a chicken Caesar salad and for our other dishes we got gnocchi, then we got “Meat rolls, filled with cheese and an onion sauce.” The gnocchi was good, and the meat was fine but it didn’t have much flavor and 75% of the plate were onions. There were only 4 “rolls” of meat.

May 11 (Monday)

Got on a ferry at 9:30 to go to Capri. Ferry ride was about an hour, much smaller than the ferries we would ride in Seattle. We did a kayak tour of some caves along the island, at 11am. We were very late to our tour because the ferry arrived slightly late and we were waiting for a few other ferries to leave before we could dock.

Once we got off the boat we started walking to our kayak tour, which was on the other side of the island, lol. So our whole walk was up a bunch of stairs or walking up an incline, until we got close to the top, then we started going downhill and down a bunch of stairs to the beachfront on the other side of the island. It was quite a walk, and since we were already running late we were kinda stressed. I didn’t wear my Fitbit this day because I thought I’d forget to take it off when we did the kayak tour, but I’m wishing I wore it just to know the distance we walked.

We got to our tour about 25 minutes late, but it was no issue because only 2 other people signed up for the tour at this time. We knew the weather wasn’t going to be great, it showed clouds basically all day, but we were not expecting rain. We got out on the water in our kayak and the water wasn’t too cold so it seemed like it was going to be a good time. We saw 2 caves before it started raining. The ride back to the shore felt like forever because it was raining pretty good and we were freezing lol. Once we got back to the shore we dried off, but were still pretty cold. We did not prepare very well for the possibility of rain. We didn’t have any other plans in Capri and both of us were ready to go back to our AirBnB in Positano.

I’m writing my recap for this as we are on the ferry back to Positano and Kate is asleep next to me. I didn’t expect her to sleep on the way back because it’s kinda hard to sleep on a boat in my opinion. (And I’m a very good sleeper lol)

The NBA Playoffs have been going on the whole time we’ve been in Italy. The NBA makes it very difficult to watch games internationally. Even though I pay for YouTube TV, I can’t watch it when out of the US, which I didn’t know until I tried to watch games in Italy.

I found a bar in Positano that was streaming the Denver/OKC Game 4 and I stayed there the whole time to watch it lol. Italy is 8 hours ahead of SLC, so the game was going on at 1:30PM in Denver (and SLC) but it was 9:30pm for me. I was so happy when I stumbled upon that bar and was able to watch the full game.

May 12 (Tuesday)

Today we left Positano via our private driver at noon. We checked out of our AirBnB at 10 and spent our last two hours in Positano by the beach soaking up the sun. Our drive back to Naples was around an hour and a half. Hard to sleep in the car when driving out of Positano because the roads are so windy.

Naples was the city I was least impressed by, at least when comparing it to Rome and Positano. It just seemed gross, loud and busy all the time. Our AirBnB in Naples was pretty nice though. This was our first AirBnB to have Netflix which we were excited about. We weren’t able to relax and watch much tv at our last two AirBnBs.

Our first meal in Naples was a pizzeria that was very close by. Most of the pizza tasted the same to me and I wasn’t super happy with it. All of it was good, I was just expecting it to be better to be honest. After we ate, we explored the city a little bit, got some small desserts if we saw something that looked good. Kate got a cup that had sweet bread and chocolate in it, hoping to fill her chocolate craving but it did not, the top of the bread must’ve been soaked in some sort of liquor, so the whole thing was disgusting. I took one bite and was repulsed lol. We also sampled the famous “limoncello” alcohol this same night, and seriously just one sip of it made my stomach turn.

 ... an assortment of the edibles ;)

May 13 (Wednesday)

Today we took a train from Naples to Pompeii for a guided tour that started at noon. We got to the train station around 10am to get a ticket and make sure we knew where we were going. This train was much more crowded and less comfortable than the train we took from Rome to Naples. The train had far fewer seats, no reserved seating and was much more like a Subway. Kate and I had to stand for our whole ride, which was about 30-40 minutes.

We got to Pompeii a bit early so we ate at a restaurant right outside the train station. We both got a form of chicken sandwich (at this point I wanted something that wasn’t pizza or pasta) I thought it was pretty good.

Our tour guide for Pompeii was MUCH better than the one we had for the Colosseum in Rome. She still had a good Italian accent, but it was easier to understand than our previous guides Irish accent. Our guide’s name was Rosanna and she was very friendly and kept getting stopped or interrupted by other guides during our tour. It seemed like she knew people everywhere we stopped lol. She was very good at enunciating which made her easier to understand.

Once our tour was over, we wandered around Pompeii a little longer by ourselves, but at that point I was ready to get off my feet. We got back on the train and headed back to our AirBnB once again. Not much to say about this train ride, it was similar to the ride there. Train loaded with people, most of them are standing, lots of them have luggage with them. This train seemed to “stop and go” more than the last which frustrated a lot of the passengers.

Our final dinner was pizza, once again. I wanted to get something else, but didn’t have much luck looking at menu’s of restaurants that were close to our AirBnB. Kate was pretty happy with the pizza so I didn’t have an issue going one last time.

Then it was back to the AirBnB to pack up because our flight was at 6am the next morning. We had a taxi booked for 4am to take us to the airport for our long travel day home.

L&V ~ Portland Getaway

Landon planned a trip to Portland, just a quick weekend getaway. He sent me some updates along the way, so here's the trip details in his own words...

Valentina came over last night since we had our flight first thing in the morning. All went well with our flight and we landed in PDX. We picked up our rental car and left to Kolby and Jami’s house. We said “hi” to Kolby, who was the only one home at the time, and met the animals for the first time. We dropped off our stuff and left for Cannon Beach.

The drive to Cannon Beach was wonderful. It was about an hour and half drive through tons and tons of green trees and vegetation. We were excited since we saw the temp for Portland in the low 70’s for the day and thought that would be perfect while we are at Cannon Beach. Turns out, it is a good 10-15 degree difference there, colder than Portland. It was a breezy day too.

We did not have any breakfast, apart from sharing a little sandwich from a coffee shop by K & J’s. So as soon as we got in to Cannon Beach, we went to the fish and chips spot that Jami recommended. They were scrumptious! We devoured them as we sat on the rooftop deck of the restaurant.

From there we walked the beach awhile. Walking down about a mile to get close to Haystack Rock. The amount of people we saw with dogs was incredible. Of course we loved it and said hi to as many as we could. We walked back to where we parked, but went through the town instead of back through the beach. We took our shoes off to walk barefoot in the sand, but that ends up roughing them up a bit. Valentina wanted to get a little gift for K & J for letting us stay, so we visited a little wine shop there and picked up a bottle.

Being an hour and a half out of Portland, we wanted to make sure to take advantage of Cannon Beach while we were there. But other than eating fish and chips and walking the beach, there wasn’t much more for us to do. We made our way back to the city, where we had plans for dinner at Bamboo. I was super excited to have Valentina experience the Green Machine. Our first date was for sushi and it continues to be one, if not her favorite food.

It was still a bit early for us to go to the restaurant, so we stopped at a mall and browsed some shops there until it was time for our reservation at Bamboo. Once at Bamboo, we ordered up a couple of Green Machines, and a couple other rolls. I wasn’t aware of the variations for the Green Machine when they add fish to it. Valentina really loves her salmon, so we ordered one with salmon, and the other one was a classic Green Machine. I was shocked how quick they were to serve us. It wasn’t even a half hour that we were in the restaurant!

After dinner, we obviously needed dessert. From the little time I’ve spent in Portland, I did notice that wherever there is a Bamboo, there tends to be a Salt & Straw close by. We went over, but with the nice weather, everybody around had the same idea. Instead, we went back to the house to say hi to everyone else we hadn’t seen yet. Maddie had the idea that we go bar hopping that night. Valentina and I just needed a bit of a nap before going out since we already had a loooong day.

We left in an Uber along with Mia to go closer to where Maddie lives, as it is a great spot for a pub crawl. First up was Quarterworld, which is a bar/arcade. We played around for a while and had a few drinks. I kicked Valentina’s butt at the arcade basketball as usual. Right across the street was our next stop at Spaceroom. We didn’t play anything there, but we had some good conversations. And from the Spaceroom we went to Zak’s Shack. Some of the people were hungry and ordered some hot dogs. We made it to about 1 am until we called it a night. Valentina and I were sooooo wiped. It was a looooong day for us and it was loads of fun in Portland.

It was a slower start to Saturday after having a late night and long day yesterday. We made a plan to leave to see a waterfall in the late morning. While we were driving in that direction on the freeway, we saw a sign that said the exit for the waterfall was closed and that the parking was full. Instead we decided to turn back around to head to the city for some lunch, as we were getting hungry.

There was a Mexican place called “La Cocina” we found and wanted to try. On the menu they had mole Poblano, which I was pretty skeptical of, as I’m very critical of it being authentic. Luckily, it was quite authentic! We ordered chilaquiles as an appetizer, then ordered enchiladas de mole and enchiladas poblanas and shared between the two of us. Very delicious.

The rest of the day was practically wide open for us. While we were already in the downtown area, we went to the Saturday market as Kolby recommended it. We toured through all the little shops and found a couple of cute items to bring home with us.

From the market, we left for the Portland Japanese Gardens. Valentina found it recommended on TikTok, so we went to check it out. It was a really nice place to go to just be surrounded by all green. We simply wished people would be more quiet and it is supposed to be a more reflective experience as you wander through it.

Before heading back to K & J’s, we needed to make our second attempt at Salt & Straw. We found one nearby and went. We were not in a rush to go anywhere luckily, so we got in line to order. The line appeared long, but it was maybe only 15 minutes to get our ice cream. I ordered a mint chocolate chip, which Valentina did not appreciate, as she doesn’t care for it. Whoops hahaha. While she ordered the coveted Salted Caramel Ribbons. Still easily the best flavor in my opinion.

Back at the house, we took a quick cat nap before Colton came over with his girlfriend, Haley. Kolby prepped some mussels with the same recipe he made from years ago and I loved it. It was a little appetizer for the dinner we had. They as grilled some chicken and it was a great night.

Sunday, it was Easter ... Landon didn't do a write-up but said they had a relaxing morning, and then headed to the airport for the flight home. He was grateful for Kolby and Jami's generosity in letting them stay there, and Landon was so excited to get in some time with their animals! 

The Blackham Builder Boys (IBS2025)

 

Being in the home building business for 30+ years, Grayson has been to the International Builder's Show many times. As the older boys have been getting into construction careers as well (Landon with LKL in their roofing dept, Cal and Keaton at Camson Electric) Gray had thought it would be a lot of fun to attend together with them ... so he made it happen. So February 2025, the four of them were off. 

I was updated with some pictures along the way, 

and Landon wrote up his memories for me ...

Monday, February 24 ~ Everything went smooth as it could for our arrival. We landed, got off the plane, and collected the rental car. We didn’t even need to wait in line at the rental kiosk! Simply found the car reserved for us, loaded in, and took off for the hotel. It was late by the time we checked in and didn’t have any plans for dinner. But everyone wanted to eat. We walked to and on the Strip for a while. It ended up being quite longer than I expected, which was unfortunate for me as I didn’t have my good walking shoes on. So my feet were beat up a bit, but it was fine. We first stopped for some tacos from a restaurant I had visited during a previous trip. They were pretty good. We continued walking until we found Haute Doggery. We ordered some corn dogs, fries, and cheese curds. The curds were my favorite. Callahan then realized we were close to the big candy store, so we made a stop there. I bought some gummy peach rings and sharks. Yummy! We walked far out enough that we decided to get an Uber back to the hotel. I was very grateful, as my feet were done for the night.

Blackham Boys at Blue Man

Tuesday, February 25~ We started the day fairly early. Had breakfast at the hotel, where it appeared that Home Depot must’ve rented out the rest of the hotel complex. Just loads of them. After breakfast, we walked to the convention center for the opening ceremonies. There were some cheesy speakers talking about the building industry, interesting music performances, and a finale of an appearance by David Spade. No joke, it appeared that the guy got out of bed with a minute to spare to get on stage. He had bed head and dark circles under his eyes. But it was still a good time with some jokes. From there, we split up to explore our the different exhibits we wanted to see. I saw a few of my vendors and after that I was ready for lunch. I ended up taking the car for a bit to a burger place off the Strip. It was a simple spot with smash burgers and tots. I was enjoying myself and ordered some for Dad, until I realized I had less than a half hour to get back to the convention center for our tour of the New American Home. I rushed back to leave the car at the hotel and started running to the convention center. Made it with two minutes to spare. The New American Home tour was really cool. Just a home that is totally decked out with the latest technology and design trends. My favorite part was probably the kitchen and back patio area. The tour took a little longer than expected, especially with traffic coming back from the house. We had reservations at Del Frisco’s for dinner and were a bit nervous we could miss it. But we made it just in time luckily. This wasn’t my first time at Del Frisco’s, but it was only my second time. We ordered too much food as usual. The food was good, but honestly the highlight is just the butter cake. To finish out the day, we went to the Luxor Casino, which is the one built like a pyramid. There we had the show for the Blue Man Group. I was stoked as I hadn’t been to one of their shows before. It did not disappoint! Low key, I was most impressed when one of them ended up catching over 15 marshmallows in his mouth.

Memorable moment from Primal "Careful, it's going to be light on fire!"

No "no hat" rule like DelFrisco had - much to Cal and Keaton's chagrin!

Wednesday, February 26~ A much more relaxed start to today compared to yesterday. I had time in the morning to take care of some work things before we headed over to the convention center. While yesterday we split up to check out our different interests, today we went to check out the kitchen and bath section together. First we stopped by the Truewerk booth so Cal and Keaton could sell Dad and I on it. The kitchen and bath area was really neat. Loads of high tech appliances, clever cabinetry designs, and sinks with gadgets. Then we split up for lunch as I had an appointment with a vendor. We met at the Peppermill and had some decent food. One of the guys I was with ended up ordering a fruit plate that was meant for five people, and there were only three of us. I had a shrimp scampi that was tasty. After lunch, I was close to the casino I stayed at last time I was in Vegas. I played for a bit at a blackjack table that was pretty brutal. At least I saved some chips for Dad’s collection. From there, we relaxed a bit back at our rooms until it was time for dinner. We went to Primal Steakhouse, which I’d say I preferred overall compared to Del Frisco’s. We had some tasty appetizers like ibérico ham, which Keaton really liked. Instead of everyone ordering their own steak, we ordered one of the bigger ones to share. But Cal still ordered his own lol. Again, we went back to the hotel for a bit until it was time go visit the Sphere. It was incredibly cool! Inside the architecture was very interesting. But once we actually sat down for the show, is when it was truly impressive. Basically a panoramic screen with insane pic.

Thursday the guys packed up, headed to the airport and flew home. Cal had missed his Monday Men's League basketball championship (and without him, they lost) and he hadn't even made it home before he got a call that he was urgently needed for his Thursday night Men's League - he went straight there, didn't even get to go home first (they ended up winning the championship). 

IBS 2025 in the books ... and on the blog! 

 

Visiting Clackamas

When the basketball schedule came out (Clackamas Colton) I saw that there were three games at Clackamas the weekend after Christmas. I wanted to visit and check out Colton's apartment and area in person, and getting three games seemed like the best time to plan for, to cheer him on in person and get some video. Gray was on board, and I suggested taking Cooper (who had the week off work anyway) and Keaton (who hadn't used much of his PTO). Then we figured we'd see if Landon and Cal&Kate wanted to join. Kate decided to stay home with Vera, but everyone else was on board. Grayson booked the flights, found a place to stay, typed up an itinerary ...

In the week before Christmas ... Keaton wasn't feeling well. After a few days he bounced back. Then it struck Cooper. If the thermometer was reading right, he hit 105° and yes, tested positive for Covid. Then Gray said "I'm feeling poorly" ... both missed the Westra Christmas Eve party. Christmas was low key with just the family. Gray and Coop were both feeling better and the trip was going on as planned. Except the morning we were to leave, I got sick. I didn't feel like I could spend the day traveling and sadly decided to sit the trip out. It was now a BlackhamBOYS activity, with me vacationing vicariously.

Originally, we were all flying out together, but Colton had a practice and had to be back earlier, so he had flown out at 8:00 in the morning. The rest of the crew was scheduled to fly out at 5:15. The flight was delayed almost an hour, but they made it to Portland. With one less person, it actually made the travel a bit easier, as the rental car could fit five people (maybe not comfortably, but they fit). As they went to check into their VRBO ... Gray realized he'd been ghosted. No responses from the host.  Luckily, they were able to find three rooms at a hotel that wasn't too far. That was Thursday (Dec26).

No game on Friday (games were Saturday, Sunday and Monday) but Colton still had practice in the afternoon. The gang got together for breakfast, Colton joining the crew. After eating, Colton gave the family a tour of the college campus and gym. The boys humored their father, going to Benchmade (a knife store. Gray likes knives. A lot) and then dinner out at Oswego Grill. 

Up next? Salt & Straw, an ice cream shop Gray and Keaton had visited when they dropped Colton off in August. As the trip had been coming up, Keaton had said "I'm SO excited to go to Oregon... I'm going to eat so much ice cream!" And they did.  They went to Salt & Straw four times...

Cal and Keaton tended to stick to a favorite flavor - salted caramel. Gray was a little more adventurous (olive oil ice cream anyone?) and liked to take advantage of the free taste samples. Of course Salt&Straw was dessert. There was lots of eating out for meals. Here's a peek ...

The group had McDonalds a few times. Breakfast at various locals to try pancakes, eggs benedict and hashbrowns. For more meals; Oswego Grill,  Din Tai Fung,  Bamboo Sushi, more than once ... the Green Machine rolls were a hit. 

The hotel worked out (and was about half what the VRBO cost was) ... A Safeway and McDonalds next door. A gym ... both Gray and Coop hit the treadmill there. Cal and Keaton shared a room, Landon and Cooper shared a room, and Gray had his own. 

No central location to hang out, so they'd just pick a room and gather there to watch a show together, or to play their nightly game of The Great Dalmuti. 

Originally part of the plan was to go visit Kolby and Jami at their new house in Portland. But with the recent sickness, that got shifted to another time (they had just barely moved in too, hadn't really unpacked and settled yet). 

The gang hit Ground Control, and old school arcade instead. 

Oh course the REAL reason for the trip, was to cheer Colton on in his tournament!

The Clackamas Holiday tournament ... Clackamas played Green River on Saturday, Walla Walla on Sunday (you can see the BlackhamBoys in the stands a few times here, and Clackamas got the win!), and Edmonds on Monday.  The games were livestreamed, so I was at home watching, and sharing texts with the crew.

The guys were good about keeping me updated on everything. Pictures and texts, and even write-ups of how things were going. Grayson had an itinerary that he added his personal thoughts/memories to (see it here), and both Cal and Keaton wrote up their memories of the trip. It's so fun to get the different perspectives, see what mentioned (or not) by each person, and to hear their unique voices!

On Tuesday (Dec31) it was time to return home ... sans Colton.

Some pictures of the travel along the way ... the flight into Portland, stuffing into the rental car, the Delta SkyClub on the return trip home. Wrapping up 2024 and welcoming in the new year. 

Catch of the Day in Cabo

Landon had been taken on a work fishing trip to Louisiana in October (Big Fish), and then in November, he and a couple co-workers were treated to Cabo! More fishing!  Again, Landon sent some photos and a little write-up of his experience ...

(Thursday, November 14, 2024)

We ended up having the trip moved forward one day due to poor weather expected on Sunday. The vendor changed our flights and everything to make it happen, which we were very thankful for. Not that we’re going to be here an extra day, but simply moved forward a day.

Juan (coworker) and I left from SLC at about 7 am. Our flight was to Denver and then to Los Cabos. While in Denver, we met up with Johnathon and Kyle (the vendor that invited us on this trip). It was a quick layover in Denver with just enough time to get a quick breakfast sandwich to go. We boarded and then arrived in Cabo around noon.

Kyle got us a shuttle and we were off to check in to the hotel we were to stay. It was about a 45 min drive, so I bought one of my favorite snacks for the ride: Japanese peanuts. Not sure why they’re referred as “Japanese” as they’re entirely Mexican. The only thing that matters is that I can enjoy them once again.

We settled in very briefly to our room and left to go meet the crew at the boat. “Bull Rider” is a 60’ boat and has more square footage than my apartment lol. It is so big that the mileage for it is reversed.. Not how many miles you go with one gallon of gas, but it is actually four gallons to go one mile. Yikes.

No fishing today, but simply a quick trip around the bay to sight see. It was a beautiful day and perfect weather to do so. This was the first time I met Rick, the owner of the company sponsoring this trip and owner of the boat as well. He’s a great guy with many stories.

For dinner, we went to one of the restaurants near the dock, where Rick gave them some of the white fish they had caught last week to prepare for us. Some of it grilled and some battered and deep fried. It was all delicious.

We finished up dinner, made a plan for tomorrow, and then Johnathon, Juan, and I left to see a bit of the town. Probably stayed out a bit later than we should’ve, but it was a fun time.

(Friday, November 15, 2024)

 Up and on the boat early setting out by 6 am. Johnathon, Juan, and I were exhausted and not feeling well from our drinks last night. Whoops. This was also my first real test with motion sickness, so I was a bit nervous how it’d go.

The guys brought us some breakfast, but none of us were ready to risk eating yet. We all opted to take a nap while we set out for a 50-60 mile ride off the coast.

Once the sun was up, I woke up, but was feeling awfully woozy. At this point, I couldn’t tell if it was the hangover or sea sickness. I went to the upper deck to go get some fresh air that helped a lot. I had taken Dramamine and put on some motion sickness patches too to hopefully prevent getting sea sick.

Luckily, it ended up just being a little hang over for me. A couple hours in I was feeling much better. And then it was time to chum up the waters and set the lines.

Right away, we had something on one of the lines. And it was big. It was a blue marlin. Juan went to work it first, because they told us the blue marlins fight hard. Juan lasted about five solid minutes before he tapped Johnathon to take over. For a fish this big, you have to use the boat controls to help you bring it in. They got the marlin in right beside the boat before it came loose. It was a bummer, but you can’t keep the marlins anyway.

It took some time to get the next fish on the line, but sure enough we did. And then I was up. Mine was a striped marlin. Not as big as the blue, but at least we got mine up for a nice pic. Because of you didn’t get a pic, it didn’t happen lol. The striped ones don’t fight as hard as the blues, so I got it in by myself within five minutes. But my arms still had a nice pump.

We were struggling to find tuna for a while. Then on the radio someone called out where they were biting, so we headed that way. Then it got crazy.

To increase your odds, you put out more lines. Most of the day we had five lines out at one time. Once we found these schools of tuna, we would have them on the lines every few minutes. It was awesome. We sit for a minute, then there’s a bite and everyone jumps into action. Then another bite, and another! We had three fish on at the same time and it was chaos, but so fun at the same time.

I honestly got to the point where I started to dread the sound of the reels of another fish on the line. My hands and arms were so tired and needed every second of rest they can get.

Our haul was mostly small yellow finned tunas. Roughly 18” and weighed 15-20 lbs. I ended up bringing in the biggest tuna of the day. Just over 24”.

When we finally called it a day, we headed back to shore with our haul. We went back to the hotel room, cleaned up, and left again for dinner. Rick took us to this Italian restaurant that was delicious. I ordered a shrimp scampi, but when I saw the lasagna that Johnathon order, I’ll admit I was jealous. It was a solid brick of lasagna. He shared a bit with me, but kept the rest and I don’t blame him. Luckily, Rick ordered a few to go to take as our lunch on the boat tomorrow.

To end the day, we went back to the boat just to watch the Paul v. Tyson fight. It was quite underwhelming in my opinion. Rick and Johnathon fell asleep during it. Nor was it the outcome we hoped to see Tyson win.

*****************

I didn't get a write-up from Saturday/Sunday, but heard from Landon that they went back out Saturday, didn't catch anything. There was a LOT of tuna from Friday though ... and they sent it home with the guys. Packed it up with dry ice and had them take on the plane (seems like maybe it would have been easier to have it shipped?) So back at home, Landon has been giving out some tuna steaks, and looking up recipes!

Landon ~ Big Fish

Landon works for L.K.L. Associates in the roofing department. One of the shingle manufacturers had a trip planned for for several guys from L.K.L as well as some of their customers. They were off to Louisiana for some fishing! A four day trip, he headed out Monday, October 21 and returned Thursday October 24, two days traveling, two days on the water. Landon checked in with a write-up and some pictures ...

Day one ended up being a long day. We landed in New Orleans and had to wait roughly an hour for a car rental. After that, we were all quite hungry. We went to Texas Roadhouse simply because it was on the way to our destination and had a big group. We finished eating, but I happened to be with the subgroup that stayed out late to visit Bourbon Street. That ended up going much later than I had hoped. We didn’t get to our lodge until 3 am and we needed to be up by 5:30 am for breakfast before heading out on the water.

So after a mere two hour nap, we got up to get ready. The three who had been drinking didn’t get up in time to join us on the water today. I was paired up with one of the customers we invited and started catching speckled trout right away. Before I started catching the trout, I first caught a catfish, which needed to be released. The next fish I hooked after that I believe was the fish of the day for the whole group. It was a red fish bull, “bull” meaning it was too big to keep. It was 40” which is a gnarly fish to reel in. My partner was reeling in the trout super easy, but I had to fight this bull for a solid five minutes. My arms were so tired once I finally brought it in. I was a little nervous I wouldn’t be cut out to keep fishing the whole day, but that was by far the biggest fish I hooked.The spot we were getting the trout was amazing. We hit our limit of 30 within an hour. The rest of the day we looked for more red fish, but they were harder to find and trickier to reel in. Still an awesome time.

Finishing off our time on the water, we returned to the lodge, showered up, and took care of a bit of work. Then for dinner they prepped some of the trout we caught and it was glorious. I wanted more, but was completely stuffed. The rest of the evening was pretty chill. A bit of drinking and playing games, but I was so ready to hit the hay.

Day three was basically the same deal as day two. I was with two of the guys that missed the first day of fishing, so compared to them, I was feeling like a pro. We launched from a different area where there was a lot more open water. The first two spots we went to treated me so well. I’d cast my line and within seconds I’d have a bite. There were lots of small fish that we couldn’t keep, but I didn’t care. Just hooking a fish and reeling it in was a blast for me. Especially when I had a decent streak of five or six casts that I got to reel in. I didn’t hook anything crazy like the 40” red fish from day one, but I did reel in a decent 29” black fish that put up a fight. We made a competition of course for the biggest fish, but also for the fish with most spots. I thought that was lame compared to the biggest fish, until I reeled in one with 17 spots. Our guide hyped it up a lot and got me excited about it. To finish out the fishing for the day, we went to a very open area where we hooked up bigger fish. Oscar, one of the customers we invited on the trip reeled in the biggest fish on our boat. About a 31” red fish. To end the day back at the lodge, some of us tried to catch up on work and others just relaxed. A great day.

Thursday they finished up and made the flight home in the evening.

Back to work!

Cal&K8 ~ San Diego

 

Cal and Kate arranged for dog-sitting (Kate's mom taking care of Vera) and they jetted off for San Diego (October 5-7). As Grayson has made several trips there (earlier this year with friends, last year a trip with Landon in January, and then with Coop and Keaton in August) he had some recommendations of things to see, places to eat. One was Del Friscos, and he said he'd even pay for their meal.

They went to Del Friscos.

Kate said the butter cake was 10/10.

Some additional food photos ... and yes, the traditional finger photo with ice cream.

It's a Blackham thing.

Off to Oregon

After entertaining a few offers from colleges in the NWAC, Colton committed to Clackamas Community College in Oregon City. So at the end of August ... it was off to Oregon! Gray was in charge of getting him there, and brought Keaton along (Keaton is great at putting things together and was an extra driver for the travel there). So Colton squished in as much as he could. He could take whatever the Charger would carry (leaving room for two passengers and their luggage). 

The iconic Multnomah falls ...

...lots of eating out along the way and after they arrived. 

They stayed for a few days to shop and get Colton set up ...

... as Colton hadn't had much room to bring things with him, and the apartment was unfurnished, they had quite a bit of shopping to do! Fred Meyer and Ikea. No sales tax, but no shopping bags either. And STILL not much room in the Charger to transport purchases. Poor Keaton got squished more than once! Luckily one of Colton's new roommates had provided a lot of the community/kitchen items. You can see Colton's apartment HERE. 

... a few more pictures

Then Sunday, September 1st ... Colton drove Dad and Keaton to the Portland airport. He dropped them off ... then drove away. On his own in Oregon. 

Mexico 2024

The very end of April, the first week of May 2024 ... Kolby and Jami had planned a family trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Gray thought it sounded like a good time and extended the invitation to the boys. Landon and Coop took him up on it (although Landon was newly recovered from ACL surgery, and we had to hurry and get Cooper a passport). 

As always with a vicarious vacation, GB was good with sending photos and updates ...

From Grayson: First morning in Mex. I slept pretty well I think. I’ll send you a video walk-around of our flat. It’s really nice. I gave the boys the bedroooms - each one has its own bath. I’m in one of the common areas on pull out bed. You’d laugh at how bad the mattress is which surprised me at how well I slept. Maybe a long travel day took it out of me. The nighttime temps were such that I just left my sliding glass door open all night. It was perfect. I have both a ceiling fan and AC, but didn’t need the AC. It will warm up a bit in the day but wasn’t particularly toasty. There’s a rooftop pool area as well - also extremely nice and seems to be very well maintained.

Dinner last night was really good. Not sure if you’ll be able to tell from the photo but we dined in the water. We removed shoes and sock and stepped into the dining area which was in about 10” of water. Delightful.  I got up and wandered for a little while this morning. Went to the beach, which is about a 5 minute walk away. Trying to determine a running route so I can get a couple of workouts in. First impressions of Puerto Vallarta are very favorable.  Not sure of our plans today. And don’t particularly care. Just relax.

I also got an update from Landon ...

First full day. We kept it pretty low key. Everyone was up fairly early. We went to breakfast at a little restaurant located right outside of the building we’re staying in. The dish most had was the chilaquiles. So delicious. After breakfast we chilled at the pool for a while. I started doing some of my little exercises to stretch out my knee in the water, and it was surprisingly nice. A few hours later, it was getting warmer and warmer. So we all decided to go back to our rooms for a bit to get out of the heat. We made a little store run to have some stuff at our room to snack on. Mexico has their Labor Day today, so a few places were closed. Including the beach club that Kolby and Jami went to last year and loved. So that’s why most of the day was just simple and pretty relaxing and I am okay with that. For lunch we had tacos by our building. Again, deliciosos. By that time of the day, most went to go nap for a bit. I walked around for a while and went back to the room a bit later, but didn’t sleep at all. I would feel that a bit later. Once everyone was ready to rally for dinner, we found an Italian restaurant close by. We walked there and I ordered a pizza. It was okay. I don’t come to Mexico to eat pizza, but this pizza was just meh. Had a tough crust. The restaurant was tucked in this alley a bit, and there were like 5 cats just lounging around there! When we finished, everyone but Kolby and Dad went to go see the cats. They were adorable. One was quite small still and was very nice.  By the time dinner was done, it was late and we returned to the building. I stayed up for a while with Kolby and Maddie which is always enjoyable. 

From Gray: Yesterday was almost entirely beach. I really enjoyed it. I think Landon did too.  I don’t think it was Coop’s vibe. Texted you a couple pics of my parasail. You take off AND land from the beach. It’s very cool to watch and fun to experience. I asked Coop a couple times if he would give it a try. That’s a no go for now. Doing some laundry here. One of the nice things about an AirBNB (video tour of the AirBNB and some of the parasail HERE). Eating quite a bit. Oye. Both mornings I wake up still feeling full. Need to pull that back a bit. I haven’t found a run route yet.  I’ve just lounged around the pool - haven’t gotten in yet. They seem to keep it very clean - it really looks nice. I think the rest of the afternoon/day will be low key. I need to give my head a rest from the sun. I’m going to peel like crazy, methinks. Funny. 

Yes ... he did. Very a-peel-ing!

I asked Grayson if he put on any sunscreen, to which he responded he had not. Landon had checked a bag on the flight, just so he could take the particular brand of sunscreen that he likes. 

From Gray: We had a fun morning at the flea market which is only Saturdays. Coop found a couple of things he wanted to buy and bring home. Not totally sure if they’re gifts or his souvenirs. Doesn’t really matter. Got a T-shirt. He seemed happy.

Uncle Kolby - Mr Monarch

Not sure of the story here ...

From Gray: We’ve cleaned up and packed. Coop got a nice long soak this morning.Flight is at 4:00 - we’ll head to the airport around 1:00. Cooper needs to check-in in person. I can’t do it over the app. Probably the new passport. Last night’s dinner was my favorite. We only ordered appetizers and they were really good. We were at a table on the beach. Generally things haven’t seemed that busy. Never had any problem getting seated. It’s been nice.

... a few flower photos too

Mexico 2024 in the books ... and on the blog (if belatedly).