Archive for the ‘Oregon’ Category

Another trip home, moving to the beach

Wednesday, September 14th, 2016

I made another trip  home for Stephanie’s best friends bridal shower.  It was beautiful and I had a wonderful time helping put it together.  Then back to Portland and then a move west.  We are in Tillamook Oregon.  The weather is pretty nice and we took a walk on the beach near Oceanside.  The tide was low and the birds were enjoying the sunshine.

Oceanside

oceanside

We arrived quite early to watch the sunset. (Paul is only good for about an hour in the sand!)  The above photo was taken about 2 hours before sunset but the sun was so brite on the water that I got this fun shot.

 

That was yesterday!  Today we went to Cape Lookout which is only a few miles south of Oceanside.  What a difference a day makes.  Today was all about the fog!

Cape Lookout SP

                                   Cape Lookout SP

It was a wet, misty, damp, windy day.  Not good for whale watching which is part of the reason to hike the 2.4 miles to the point but it was still beautiful.  We did see plenty of the banana slug

capelookout3

capelookout6

The trail was a mess.  We did a lot of jumping over puddles and tree roots.  It was an exciting hike through the trees and sometimes you were right at the cliffs edge.  The best part about the fog was you did not get warm.  A beautiful day for a hike in the woods.

capelookout7

 

Sisters, Oregon

Tuesday, July 21st, 2015

No signal lights, highway 20 is Main Street where there are lots of eateries, shops and galleries with lots of pretty things to buy.  That is Sisters Oregon, within 20 miles of Bend and very popular if you gauge by the campgrounds are full even on a Tuesday and traffic on Main Street never stops.

There is plenty to do especially if you like to get out and enjoy nature. Biking, hiking, canoeing, fishing, skiing, birdwatching, horseriding and then there is just taking a drive and watching the beauty.   They have an amazing trail system that starts right in town and is for pedestrians, bikes and horses.  PRTrail in Sisters is a very well maintained, well marked systems of trails.  I took a walk along a 3 mile section and had it all to myself most of the time.  There was the occasional group of bikes and a couple joggers.  I didn’t see any other walkers or hikers – I’m thinking I was moving so fast they couldn’t catch me.

PRTrail, lots of nature

PRTrail, lots of nature

It is a lot of nature and nothing around.  The good news is I only saw a couple chipmunks, a couple lizards and no snakes!

Most evenings Paul and I take a walk downtown with the treat of frozen yogurt for our efforts!  Not exactly on the diet but we are walking to get it!

Deer, right in town

Deer, right in town

Tonight we got a treat of seeing this little guy who was very curious about us however his mom in the bushes was definitely watching!  He had a little sibling that was shy and stayed in the shadows with the mom.

Sisters has a lot to offer and this was our second time here.  This is on our list of places we really like to visit!

 

On the road again

Saturday, July 18th, 2015
Bird Condominium

Bird Condominium

Driving along the highway near Junction City, Paul spots this, tells me it is a bird condo!  I have no idea what he is talking about so he makes a u-turn on the highway (in the car!) and takes me back telling me to get my camera!  Yep,  we stop for stuff like this.  There wasn’t a single nest in any of the other poles.  I think birds are like most people, they like to be close to others!

Saturday was a relax and get ready day.  We took a nice long walk along the Willamette River that runs right through Eugene, OR.  The hike took us right through the University of Oregon.

willemetriver

It was hot and we got a late start but we made it about 5 miles and called it a day.  Tomorrow we get to get back on the road and head to Sisters, Oregon.  We’ve been there before and can’t wait for a couple of days enjoying the mountains.

Riding the rails

Saturday, July 18th, 2015

My brother and mom were settled back at the RV for a few days of recovery before heading back to Hanford and I headed to San Jose Wednesday afternoon on the Caltrain from So. San Francisco.

Thursday was a rest day while I prepared for my 16 hour journey by Amtrak to meet Paul in Eugene Oregon.  My train was scheduled to leave at 8:23 pm from San Jose arriving in Eugene at 12:29 Friday afternoon.  The kids and I went for a great dinner at Mod Pizza, where you can have any or all of their toppings on your own personal 11″ artisan pizza crust for only $7.97!  The toppings are interesting, fresh and plentiful.  I love this place!

While we were eating our pizza I got my first text from Amtrak,  my train is late.  No big deal and I expect it as trains are not known for their on-time record.  I ended up with 3 texts and my train finally took off at 9:48 pm.

Arriving 30 minutes prior I was met by the station host who gave me all the details about boarding, the train, where I would be sitting, where I could venture on the train.  It was very nice since I had not been on a real train and overnight!

 

All Aboard!

All Aboard!

Yep, they really blow the whistle and shout!  I found my seat and the train headed north towards Oakland.  Since I will be on this train overnight and it was not even 10 pm I decided to check things out.  The observation car is really the only place to go at night besides the snack cafe or the bathrooms.  Walking was difficult and going throught the first door from one car to the next I stubbed my toe!  So much for my pedicure!

Lots of seating and large windows!

Lots of seating and large windows!

I grabbed myself a coke from the snack spot and took a seat in the car.  The problem was there wasn’t much to see so I read awhile and a few people came in, but mostly it was quiet.

As soon as we left San Jose the conductor told us that it was quiet time and that all noise making devises needed to be off in the cars so people can sleep and that we are going to be delayed in Emeryville to add some cars and fix a couple maintenance items that need addressed!  Great, now we are two hours behind- but they can make up time!

About 11:30 we are leaving Emeryville and I decide I could probably sleep now.  The seats recline and there are footrests.  I go back to my seat and the person that is suppose to be in the window seat is still not there.  I assume they found somewhere else to sleep and proceed to spread out and take up both seats.  I’m pretty comfortable and get right to sleep.  I hear the train stop but no announcements are made because it is quiet time so I go back to sleep.  This will be a piece of cake sleeping on the train.

I’m resting peaceably and about 1 am I hear someone saying oh there is my seat, #58.  Whoops thats the empty seat!  If I stay asleep surely they will find another seat as there are plenty of empty seats!  She leaves!  But wait, about 1:30 she returns, taps me and says I have to move!  Great, at least she let me take the window and she quickly slipped into her seat.  I got back to sleep but not as comfortable.

At 4 am I wake up and feel the train leaving a station.  I check my phones map to see where we are,  Sacramento!  What!!!  Apparently we sat on the tracks somewhere near Martinez for 2 hours for who knows what!  Anyway the person next to me is not there but their bag in on the seat, I look down and she is curled up in the floor below her seat!  Geez!  I was able to get back to sleep and didn’t wake up until 7:15.  Time to start the day!  My seatmate moved to the seat and we chatted a minute.  Apparently she had found another car that was really empty and took a seat thinking she would be fine and could rest. The attendant told her she had to take her own seat and had to go back.  When she got back she found out attendant and he made her wake me!  Geeze.  Plenty of empty seats but they have thier rules.

The bathrooms are not fancy and slightly messy from passengers but they had a small changing area in the bathroom so there was room to change.  I got changed, and cleaned up a bit and made my way to the dining car for breakfast.  There was a 30 minute wait but once I got into a seat, breakfast was pretty quick and pretty good.  Basic eggs, bacon and a biscuit but hot and fresh and the coffee was great!

No one eats alone!

No one eats alone!

Right out of the movies except with the modern conviences of cell phones.  Most of the time I had pretty good service, no wifi, but cell service was good.

My breakfast mates were a single lady from Monterey and a couple from Southern CA.  The couple had a sleeping car but didn’t look as rested as me!  I think they really didn’t want to travel by train but airfare at the last minute to Seattle was very expensive.  They really didn’t like that the train was 3 hours late!  After breakfast I returned to the observation car and enjoyed the views of the morning.

Mt. Shasta

Mt. Shasta

We made it to Shasta by about 9 am!  That is nearly 12 hours!  Even Paul and I in the RV make better time than that!  Oh well.

Another nap about 11:30 and we made it to Oregon!  Three stops in Oregon and I arrived in Eugene about 4 pm.

EugeneTrainStation1

Public art at the station

Public art at the station

Not the fastest mode of transportation but you do get to see some landscape.  If you can’t take the slow route in an RV this would be a good alternative.

 

Burrrrr…..

Wednesday, October 30th, 2013

Bend is a beautiful small town in Eastern Oregon with lots of fun stuff to do near by.  This is our second trip to Bend and the weather is amazing for the end of October.  Saturday we took a drive into the mountains and finished with a nice 3 mile hike near Tumalo Falls.  There was not much wildlife to see but we did pass a lot of mountain bikers that were very kind about giving us the right of way on the trail.

Tumalo Falls

Tumalo Falls

Tumalo Creek

Tumalo Creek

Tumalo Falls again!

Tumalo Falls again!

A really nice falls that you can get pretty close to and then the walk downstream was very nice.  Bend has lots of space for people to enjoy the out of doors with hiking, biking, off roading, skiing and lots of lakes and streams near by for fishing.  It is a great community and big enough to have real shopping and nature in one place – I love it, and the pine smell in the air is so refreshing!  It smells like Christmas everywhere.

After a spectacular weekend  Monday brought us a big dose of winter!

A dusting of the white stuff!

A dusting of the white stuff!

Only a dusting but it was cold!  Down to 20 overnight!  Burrr

Only a dusting but it was cold! Down to 20 overnight! Burrr

Snow doesn't stop Duke from playing Ball

Snow doesn’t stop Duke from playing Ball

So with the snow I spent Monday and Tuesday nearby the RV and got some quilting work done that I had been putting off! While I enjoy sewing when the weather warmed up on Wednesday Duke and I were back out walking and playing fetch while Paul worked.

 

 

 

Wait, there is more!

Sunday, August 11th, 2013

After the balloons and a nap we were ready to head to our next stop, Sherwood Oregon.  A suburb of Portland that to our surprise has a great rural area.  There are lots of farms and winery’s.  We parked the RV at the Elks lodge overlooking a beautiful field and headed out.  I wanted to get out to the coast so Tillamook was our destination for the day.

Along the way we found some men from a halfway home that washed the car while we watched one of them drive a ladies beautiful Jaguar into a row of garbage cans!  Too funny, no one even noticed.  He parked the car, got out and proceeded to wash ours!  He never even looked to see if there was damage.

Lots of nice scenery of the Tillamook State Forest.  We made it to Cape Meares but is was really cloudy and cool so not really a beach day.  We did find a great little place for lunch , Brewin in the Wind, thanks to YELP.  Great fish taco’s and fish n chips but the most interesting thing on their menu was the soup of the day, a  peanut soup.  We had a sample and it looked like peanut butter so I wasn’t excited.  The taste was very Thai, like a peanut sauce.  It was good, I am not sure I needed a whole bowl of it.  The views of the beach were very nice.  After we took the short ride to Cape Meares where we walked out to the lighthouse.

Cape Meares coast

Cape Meares

Cape Meares

It had been a long day so when I wanted to stop at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory to ty their Brie Paul opted for a nap in the car!  Great little gift shop and wonderful cheese.  Back on the road, we headed north only to Nehalem Bay and headed back inland.  We hit an amazing rain showers and lightening.  Arriving back in Sherwood, it was clear and warm.

Sunday was a relaxing day, we headed out to some of the farms where I cut my own flowers, Paul bought corn from a unmanned stand,  we picked blackberries and bought some amazing peaches.

Farming

Farming

We stopped at one winery, Ponzi Winery.  The Pinot was good but the good stuff was $60 a bottle.  I had a glass of a $35 bottle for $12 which seemed expensive but the setting is amazing!

View from PonziThe tasting room is newer and very nice.  They had really plush outdoor furniture, the sun was out and we just sat for awhile enjoying the views.

A view from a farm in Sherwood

A view from a farm in Sherwood

There is more!  We met our friends Keri & Gene from Vancouver Washington for dinner in town.  It is so nice to get to sit and enjoy an evening with friends.

 

 

There is more to the weekend!

Saturday, August 10th, 2013
This is what the sun coming up looks like!

This is what the sun coming up looks like!

We were up at 5:30 am waiting for the Balloons to arrive.  It was a little windy and we wondered if the balloons would lift off!

Evergreen Dawn 2

Evergreen Dawn 1Evergreen Dawn 4

My favorite

My favorite

The balloons were off and we were back in bed by 8:15 am!

How was your weekend? Mine….

Friday, August 9th, 2013

Portland for the weekend, On the way we found  the Evergreen Airplane Museum in McMinnville Oregon where the Howard Hughes Spruce Goose resides.  A very nice museum with lots of planes and space exhibits.  The plan was to see the museum and then move closer to Portland however the museum was having a hot air balloon flight over the weekend and they allow RV’s to spend the night in the parking lot!  So we saw the museum including one of Pauls favorite planes,

SR-71 Blackbird

One of the world’s fastest aircraft, this high-altitude reconnaissance plane flew at the very limits of the earth’s atmosphere at speeds well over 2,000 miles per hour.

Evergreen Paul's favoriteHe even bought the souvenir shirt!

This is my favorite!

This is my favorite!

Or, maybe this one!

Or, maybe this one!

Landed!

Landed!

The museum has 4 large buildings with this one being the indoor water park!  We didn’t venture over there as Oregon weather is a bit cool for us and indoor swimming just doesn’t make me excited!

Evergreen Main attractionThe Spruce Goose,  No way can you photograph this one but that is a full size US flag flying above it!

After several hours walking among the planes we enjoyed a 3-D movie about the Universe.  The movie was very interesting and the glasses were pretty cool too!  Now it is time to relax!

Looks relaxing!  Where is Denise?

Looks relaxing! Where is Denise?

We had the perfect spot with a nice view of the field where the Balloons were scheduled to fly from; we had a cocktail, some snacks and then the sprinkler system decided it was time to water the trees!  It wasn’t very green so I don’t think they water all that often we just got lucky!  The chair lying down is covering the rainbird so Paul can continue his Happy Hour!  Duke and I headed into the RV which was the only place out of the water and sun!

The water stopped after about an hour and a couple other RV’ers came by to chat and then the rain came!  Not very much, just enough to wet the ground and bring us a very nice rainbow!

Two!

Two!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scandinavian Festival

Friday, August 9th, 2013

Apparently a large population of Scandinavian people live in the Eugene/Junction City area because this festival was hopping on a Thursday evening.  The Junction City Scandiniavian Festival has lots of dancing, music and food.  Lots of people were dressed in Scandinavian clothing and you could even buy little vests or aprons so you too could get into the spirit.  We spent the evening enjoying everything Scandinavian!  We had these really fun little pancakes called  Aebleskiver, really tasty little pancake balls!

Aebleskiver!

Aebleskiver!

These people were working their little tails off rolling these little pancakes until they were done.  They were served with some awesome Strawberry jelly.  We had Swedish meatballs with some rye breadsticks,  and swedish pancakes with some lingonberry jelly which tasted a bit like cranberries.  I was still looking for some real food!  We found the spot!  Meat Pies.

I hope the wait is worth it!

I hope the wait is worth it!

Wait!  That was only 1/2 of the line!

Wait! That was only 1/2 of the line!

Wow,  after waiting 20 minutes we were giving our order!  One pie is $7.50 and it didn’t look very big but we shared it and it was amazing.  A sour cream pastry filled with ground beef, cheddar cheese, onion, carrots, potatoes.  They were cooking them as fast as they could and it was pipping hot when we sat down to try it!  Not sure it was worth the 20 minute wait or the $7.50 but it was pretty good.

This is definitely an enjoyable time that was very unexpected.

 

 

 

Enjoying the cool breeze of the Oregon Coast

Thursday, August 8th, 2013

We arrived in Port Orford Oregon to a gust of wind!  The locals tell you this is unusual but we have been here three times and it seems the same to me, hmm???  We still love it here.  The town is small and there isn’t a Walmart for 50 miles!  Yeah!  Of course Paul did have to visit it – he just can’t seem to not need something they have.  It was for a good cause though because our friends, Ed & Peggy needed an IPad and Paul is the guy to set it up!  Needed might be an exaggeration but they need to have more options for fun!  I also got a new Iphone 5 as my old, perfectly good Iphone 4 decided while in Port Orford that it would start deleting some of my contacts.  It did this before but we were not sure until I am calling my mom on her birthday it decides it will delete MOM right before my eyes!  That’s it!  I am ready for the upgrade.  I love my Iphone cause even with this new one all I had to do was get all those noises off that are default and it seems like my old phone.  There is no learning curve when you get the same phone and that is good for me.

We spent 4 wonderful days with our friends, eating, drinking, connecting technology and playing games but the road is calling and we left on Wednesday am, heading north.  We traveled along the Umpqua River which was beautiful.  When you travel these smaller highway’s I am always delighted with the names of towns along the way.  Here is one…

This is for real!

This is for real!

A cute little farm town right outside of Eugene.  We will be staying just north of Eugene in Junction City for the next couple of days while Paul fills all his customers heads with lots of very useful information.  I will be enjoying some quiet time for reading and sewing!

This is the life!

This is the life!

It just doesn’t matter what else is happening in your day when you look at this!