AIR FORCE ONE........we saw it ... up close and personal!!
As we wound up our vacation, we traveled south to Portland from Seattle, and made our way to Boeing Field in hopes of possibly getting a glimpse of Air Force One as President Obama was scheduled to be in Seattle making appearances at fund-raising events. We had very little details (gee, can you imagine why?!) but knew that he should have landed about 10:30, and was going to be in Seattle for a few hours. Garmina assisted us in getting to Boeing Field at the King County Airport. No big black cars or SUVs were visible, only a few police officers cars -- didn't seem to "out of the ordinary" to those of us from the Big City.
We were able to park, walk in to the terminal (this airport is about half the size of Hobby Airport) and stand about 60 feet from AIR FORCE ONE! There was a layer of glass between us, but we had a basically unobstructed view of that beautiful bird! All of the hooplah associated with the 28-vehicle motorcade we missed, but who cares about that anyway? We were tickled just to see the plane! We talked with several folks who were there and told us about the big gray bird that landed about the same time, had it's back end open up and Mr. Obama's limosine backed out of it....okay so that might have been cool to see as well....We gawked a while, took more pictures, then departed.
While in Seattle, we had purchased the CityPass and used it to see several of the attractions but still had coupons left.....one for the zoo, and one for the Museum of Flight and since the museum was very close to Boeing Field, we decided to visit. Boy were we glad we did! Not only did we see the current Air Force One, we saw the ORIGINAL one as well! We watched a short film on The Concorde, then toured the museum and saw a lunar rover and an Apollo capsule), then we got to see the big birds! The original Air Force One is open for inspection (please don't do anything other than breathe in this relic....) and we also saw the first Boeing 747 to fly. We climbed up into the first Concorde - man that thing is small inside!! After doing our part to improve the economy in the area, we headed back south to Portland.
This area of the country is known for the gray skies and cooler temps. We have proof that the sun does shine here (and yes, it did get HOT!) and that it does not rain every day! The cooler temps returned today and we experienced a 20 degree drop by just traveling 10 miles. We have had a blast and experienced lots of things.....way more than I could have put in this blog, but suffice it to say that I would recommend you visit the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
New photos have been uploaded.....enjoy them - and we will be home on Wednesday night!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=764755549803%3A1467771256&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Monday, August 16
Today we went to Vancouver, British Columbia and explored in the heat....felt just like home!
We visited Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Center and saw a totem pole that was carved about 100 years ago by Charlie James (http://discovertotems.com/node/81). We also walked along the pier and saw numerous sea planes arrive and depart. Rachel even gave a dance performance on the circle platform we found! Vancouver is an "art friendly" city - there is a beautiful sculpture at the Vancouver Convention Center named "The Drop".... (http://www.vancouversun.com/Entertainment/drops+into+convention+centre/1958106/story.html) that looks like a really big rain drop falling from the sky.
Since the Winter Olympics of 2010 were just held here in Vancouver and Whistler, their stamp on the area and rememberances are all around. We could see Whistler Mountain and an area that could have been used for the ski jumps as well as what looks like the torch lighting structure from the opening ceremonies. There are also many totem poles located in the largest city park in Canada - Stanley Park. We explored here for a short while and went to the overlook.
After this we headed back to Bellevue, WA. We stopped at Billy McHale's in Bellingham, WA and enjoyed Ryan's antics building nachos. This place has good food - and lots of it for a really reasonable price! Not to mention the 31 flavors of margaritas.....lime was good but cherry was better! My question.....do they have a place like this in TEXAS??
More photos have been uploaded - check them out! (Got to go get clothes from laundry...use the link on yesterday's post! :) )
While driving around downtown Vancouver we saw plenty of sites - the Tiffany & Co. store (I was not allowed to go in this store.... :) or the Coach store!) and a cement truck whose tumbler was covered in a "skin" that looked like a bunch of asparagus. Can't imagine why!
We visited Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Center and saw a totem pole that was carved about 100 years ago by Charlie James (http://discovertotems.com/node/81). We also walked along the pier and saw numerous sea planes arrive and depart. Rachel even gave a dance performance on the circle platform we found! Vancouver is an "art friendly" city - there is a beautiful sculpture at the Vancouver Convention Center named "The Drop".... (http://www.vancouversun.com/Entertainment/drops+into+convention+centre/1958106/story.html) that looks like a really big rain drop falling from the sky.
Since the Winter Olympics of 2010 were just held here in Vancouver and Whistler, their stamp on the area and rememberances are all around. We could see Whistler Mountain and an area that could have been used for the ski jumps as well as what looks like the torch lighting structure from the opening ceremonies. There are also many totem poles located in the largest city park in Canada - Stanley Park. We explored here for a short while and went to the overlook.
After this we headed back to Bellevue, WA. We stopped at Billy McHale's in Bellingham, WA and enjoyed Ryan's antics building nachos. This place has good food - and lots of it for a really reasonable price! Not to mention the 31 flavors of margaritas.....lime was good but cherry was better! My question.....do they have a place like this in TEXAS??
More photos have been uploaded - check them out! (Got to go get clothes from laundry...use the link on yesterday's post! :) )
Sunday, August 15
Today was spent 'sploring in Seattle again.
We went to the Seattle Aquarium and saw starfish bigger than dinner plates, sea otters, lots of fish and an octopus longer than Rachel is tall! Lots of touch pools allowed us to feel the different sea animals and the COLD water. Ryan was pretty good at calling out the names of different animals -- so much so that one of the volunteers asked him where his blue volunteer t-shirt was!
The kids got to "surf" on the back of a killer whale and listen to the whale songs. We saw a couple of sharks feeding (remote feeds to monitors - way cool!) as well as a diver in the 20ft tall glass tank. We were able to identify halibut as well.....so now we know what they look like as well as how they taste!
After seeing all the sea life, we went on an Argosy Harbour Tour. Just before we left port we saw a sea gull trying to eat a red star fish....was kind of like, "now you see it, now you don't", and then, "why do you have such a lump in your throat?" While on the harbour tour we saw two really huge cruise ships - one in port and one just left port - that carried almost a thousand passengers each. Man, did those big ships make our boat feel tiny! We also got a good view of the Space Needle and an ocean-going container ship that could carry what seemed to be a thousand containers!
We strolled down Alaskan Way (street that runs along the piers) and made our way to Pike Place Market. This is where the fish mongers have been known to throw fish through the air and where you can get fresh produce and flowers directly from the growers. We bought some local cherries, grapes, pears and a peach and had our very own fruit snacks! No trip would be complete without some sort of chocolates, so we stopped and got a pecan caramel apple and enjoyed that back at the hotel as well.
We returned to the Space Needle after dark to see how Seattle looks all lit up....and she is a beautiful city in the lights.
Monday we are heading to Vancouver, British Columbia to explore.....
More photos have been uploaded - take a peek!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=560857939803%3A1450826427&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
We went to the Seattle Aquarium and saw starfish bigger than dinner plates, sea otters, lots of fish and an octopus longer than Rachel is tall! Lots of touch pools allowed us to feel the different sea animals and the COLD water. Ryan was pretty good at calling out the names of different animals -- so much so that one of the volunteers asked him where his blue volunteer t-shirt was!
The kids got to "surf" on the back of a killer whale and listen to the whale songs. We saw a couple of sharks feeding (remote feeds to monitors - way cool!) as well as a diver in the 20ft tall glass tank. We were able to identify halibut as well.....so now we know what they look like as well as how they taste!
After seeing all the sea life, we went on an Argosy Harbour Tour. Just before we left port we saw a sea gull trying to eat a red star fish....was kind of like, "now you see it, now you don't", and then, "why do you have such a lump in your throat?" While on the harbour tour we saw two really huge cruise ships - one in port and one just left port - that carried almost a thousand passengers each. Man, did those big ships make our boat feel tiny! We also got a good view of the Space Needle and an ocean-going container ship that could carry what seemed to be a thousand containers!
We strolled down Alaskan Way (street that runs along the piers) and made our way to Pike Place Market. This is where the fish mongers have been known to throw fish through the air and where you can get fresh produce and flowers directly from the growers. We bought some local cherries, grapes, pears and a peach and had our very own fruit snacks! No trip would be complete without some sort of chocolates, so we stopped and got a pecan caramel apple and enjoyed that back at the hotel as well.
We returned to the Space Needle after dark to see how Seattle looks all lit up....and she is a beautiful city in the lights.
Monday we are heading to Vancouver, British Columbia to explore.....
More photos have been uploaded - take a peek!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=560857939803%3A1450826427&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, August 14
This day was full of fun!
We started out at the Space Needle and went up 520 feet above Seattle and got a panoramic view of Elliott Bay, Union Lake, downtown Seattle, and could even see Mount Baker and Mount Rainier. A short walk around "the pancake" (as Rachel named it....) we saw both Safeco Field and Qwest Field (where the Seahawks downed the Tennessee Titans 20-18 - yeah Seahawks!).
After taking photos from almost every compass heading, we went inside and enjoyed the interactive displays provided. Most of our time was spent with the live camera shots which allowed us (read: RYAN!) to pan around and sea planes landing in Union Lake as well as oil tankers leave and arrive at the port of Seattle. We were able to check on our parked car as well as scope out the restaurant that we were meeting friends at for dinner.
After enjoying the "height" of Seattle, we ate lunch in the plaza as there was a music festival and lots of vendors hawking wares. BBQ up here is not as good as back in Texas, but it was tasty. One thing Iwould make a mint of money with up here would be those frozen lemonade type drinks -- could not find any kind of frozen drink to enjoy!
We explored the Pacific Science Center ( www.pacsci.org )where we visited the dinosaur exhibit (Ryan even showed how he was as long as a duckbill's footprint!). We spent time looking at the Puget Sound Exhibit and saw how fresh water from rivers and tributaries makes its way to the Puget Sound and mixes with the salt water of the Pacific Ocean. We watched a laser light show that featured the music of The Beatles....really cool how they made it appear like the night sky on the inside of the dome! We went through the "Insect Hut" and found many items that made our skin crawl....and utterances of "ew gross" permeated the air! After seeing a model of an Imperial scorpio, we decided that we did not ever want to encounter one of those in the wild! After making our way through the insects, we were treated to the Butterfly Garden. Hundreds of sub-tropical butterfly specimens were fluttering and flying around.....red, black, blue, orange, white dotted their wings. We even saw two Common Blue Morphos chasing each other through the folks in there.
We then headed down to the piers and found Station 5 of the Seattle Fire Department. So far we are 50 of 50 for seeing a fire truck in every locale that we have visited! We strolled along the pier and found pier 55 and the Water Taxi which would take us to Alki Beach to enjoy dinner at Salty's. After realizing that we had more than hour to spend before boarding the taxi, we strolled along Alaskan Way and enjoyed some ice cream and people-watching. We even say a bride and groom and their bridal party board a boat for a sunset wedding....they must have had a beautiful wedding!
We met friends Dave & Kathy Vrshek and Dave's sister Nancy and her husband Norman for dinner at Salty's. They got to ride in a black shiny limo while we got to enjoy the skyline of Seattle at sunset on the upper deck of the water taxi! We met a nice family - The Monroe's - and enjoyed the antics of our kids interacting with theirs - oh, to have half of their energy!
What a view! What food! We enjoyed halibut ("Just for the Halibut" is their summer campaign!) and shrimp, and Nancy had King crab legs -- divine! After dinner we were treated to a limo ride back to the pier....man, 6-1/2 and already riding in limos.....what next? :)
As usual, new photos have been uploaded -- http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=178880639803%3A301800175&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
We're off to enjoy more of Seattle and the area - Seattle Aquarium and then a harbor tour! Talk to you later!
We started out at the Space Needle and went up 520 feet above Seattle and got a panoramic view of Elliott Bay, Union Lake, downtown Seattle, and could even see Mount Baker and Mount Rainier. A short walk around "the pancake" (as Rachel named it....) we saw both Safeco Field and Qwest Field (where the Seahawks downed the Tennessee Titans 20-18 - yeah Seahawks!).
After taking photos from almost every compass heading, we went inside and enjoyed the interactive displays provided. Most of our time was spent with the live camera shots which allowed us (read: RYAN!) to pan around and sea planes landing in Union Lake as well as oil tankers leave and arrive at the port of Seattle. We were able to check on our parked car as well as scope out the restaurant that we were meeting friends at for dinner.
After enjoying the "height" of Seattle, we ate lunch in the plaza as there was a music festival and lots of vendors hawking wares. BBQ up here is not as good as back in Texas, but it was tasty. One thing Iwould make a mint of money with up here would be those frozen lemonade type drinks -- could not find any kind of frozen drink to enjoy!
We explored the Pacific Science Center ( www.pacsci.org )where we visited the dinosaur exhibit (Ryan even showed how he was as long as a duckbill's footprint!). We spent time looking at the Puget Sound Exhibit and saw how fresh water from rivers and tributaries makes its way to the Puget Sound and mixes with the salt water of the Pacific Ocean. We watched a laser light show that featured the music of The Beatles....really cool how they made it appear like the night sky on the inside of the dome! We went through the "Insect Hut" and found many items that made our skin crawl....and utterances of "ew gross" permeated the air! After seeing a model of an Imperial scorpio, we decided that we did not ever want to encounter one of those in the wild! After making our way through the insects, we were treated to the Butterfly Garden. Hundreds of sub-tropical butterfly specimens were fluttering and flying around.....red, black, blue, orange, white dotted their wings. We even saw two Common Blue Morphos chasing each other through the folks in there.
We then headed down to the piers and found Station 5 of the Seattle Fire Department. So far we are 50 of 50 for seeing a fire truck in every locale that we have visited! We strolled along the pier and found pier 55 and the Water Taxi which would take us to Alki Beach to enjoy dinner at Salty's. After realizing that we had more than hour to spend before boarding the taxi, we strolled along Alaskan Way and enjoyed some ice cream and people-watching. We even say a bride and groom and their bridal party board a boat for a sunset wedding....they must have had a beautiful wedding!
We met friends Dave & Kathy Vrshek and Dave's sister Nancy and her husband Norman for dinner at Salty's. They got to ride in a black shiny limo while we got to enjoy the skyline of Seattle at sunset on the upper deck of the water taxi! We met a nice family - The Monroe's - and enjoyed the antics of our kids interacting with theirs - oh, to have half of their energy!
What a view! What food! We enjoyed halibut ("Just for the Halibut" is their summer campaign!) and shrimp, and Nancy had King crab legs -- divine! After dinner we were treated to a limo ride back to the pier....man, 6-1/2 and already riding in limos.....what next? :)
As usual, new photos have been uploaded -- http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=178880639803%3A301800175&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
We're off to enjoy more of Seattle and the area - Seattle Aquarium and then a harbor tour! Talk to you later!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13
Mount Rainier......o m g!
We've been visiting National Parks, Monuments, Historical sites, etc. for several years collecting stamps at various spots in our National Parks Passport. We've been to the Grand Canyon, Pipe Springs National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation area and today, we traveled to Ashford, WA to see Mount Rainier and get a stamp.
Heading south from Bellevue (our base for all excursions in WA), we stopped just across the street from the Boeing plant and ate lunch at Red Robin Gourmet Hamburgers (you were right, RRD, this place is great!). We were entertained all during lunch with Ryan singing the "Red Robin" commercial....he's got that intonation down pat! Burgers are really good too!
Back on the road we used our Garmin (named "Garmina" for lack of my imagination...) and wound our way through almost 50 miles of forest to the National Park. At the Visitor's Center we watched a short presentation on the creation of the park (it was officially named as a National Park in 1899 - fifth oldest of our National Parks) and the flora and fauna found here. After this, we went hiking to see it for ourselves. We hiked part of Skyway Trail, then on to Myrtle Falls. We saw chipmunks and an elk just resting on a hillside and then we heard an eagle calling. We saw lots of moths and butterflies enjoying the wildflowers. We got to see lots of waterfalls which were created by the melting snow. While at Myrtle Falls we looked around and saw parts of three different water falls....but we did not see the end. I'm sure that we probably drove over some of them without making the connections though....
The roads in the park have lots of bridges over rivers and streams and we even went through a few tunnels. At one point I was trying to get a photo of one of the tunnels and a motor home came through it....Chuck asked when I got back in the car "so, you saw the light at the end of the tunnel?" and I said, "no, I saw the light at the beginning of the tunnel and started running!"
We ended our day in the park by climbing down to river level on the Ohanapecosh River and throwing rocks. We even saw a man trying to catch a fish from up high on the banks, but maybe he was just trying to untangle his fishing line from a bad cast.....he surprised us though!
Saturday we go in to Seattle and meet the Vrshek family for dinner and hear all about their Alaskan Cruise.....we will ride a water taxi to Salty's restaurant...can't wait!
I've updated the photo album .... check it out! http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=246656239803%3A763640195&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
We've been visiting National Parks, Monuments, Historical sites, etc. for several years collecting stamps at various spots in our National Parks Passport. We've been to the Grand Canyon, Pipe Springs National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation area and today, we traveled to Ashford, WA to see Mount Rainier and get a stamp.
Heading south from Bellevue (our base for all excursions in WA), we stopped just across the street from the Boeing plant and ate lunch at Red Robin Gourmet Hamburgers (you were right, RRD, this place is great!). We were entertained all during lunch with Ryan singing the "Red Robin" commercial....he's got that intonation down pat! Burgers are really good too!
Back on the road we used our Garmin (named "Garmina" for lack of my imagination...) and wound our way through almost 50 miles of forest to the National Park. At the Visitor's Center we watched a short presentation on the creation of the park (it was officially named as a National Park in 1899 - fifth oldest of our National Parks) and the flora and fauna found here. After this, we went hiking to see it for ourselves. We hiked part of Skyway Trail, then on to Myrtle Falls. We saw chipmunks and an elk just resting on a hillside and then we heard an eagle calling. We saw lots of moths and butterflies enjoying the wildflowers. We got to see lots of waterfalls which were created by the melting snow. While at Myrtle Falls we looked around and saw parts of three different water falls....but we did not see the end. I'm sure that we probably drove over some of them without making the connections though....
The roads in the park have lots of bridges over rivers and streams and we even went through a few tunnels. At one point I was trying to get a photo of one of the tunnels and a motor home came through it....Chuck asked when I got back in the car "so, you saw the light at the end of the tunnel?" and I said, "no, I saw the light at the beginning of the tunnel and started running!"
We ended our day in the park by climbing down to river level on the Ohanapecosh River and throwing rocks. We even saw a man trying to catch a fish from up high on the banks, but maybe he was just trying to untangle his fishing line from a bad cast.....he surprised us though!
Saturday we go in to Seattle and meet the Vrshek family for dinner and hear all about their Alaskan Cruise.....we will ride a water taxi to Salty's restaurant...can't wait!
I've updated the photo album .... check it out! http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=246656239803%3A763640195&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Featherston Family Frolics!
Hi there from the Pacific Northwest!
We're on our family vacation enjoying the great Pacific Northwest. We left hot, humid Houston for a week or so to enjoy the cooler temps .... but like the plans of mice and men (oft go astray), Mother Nature thought that we would miss the temps in Houston so she brought them up here for us to enjoy (?)!!
Our first stop was Portland OR where we drove on Sunset Highway (at sunset no less - beautiful!) then we went exploring. We found "CDEDBD Party Shop" in Yamhill, OR. It's a combination party store (invitations, balloons, decorations) and coffee shop....and the owner Carla is a very friendly lady! Made us feel very welcome in her shop....and the nice young lady that happened to be there heard we were interested in visiting Tillamook (and Carla is from there!) gave us a tip to follow Meadowlake Road through the mountains to Tillamook....what a journey! Lots and lots of "S" curves, streams, creeks where we threw rocks, and at some points we were over 1000 feet high! Sheer cliffs covered with Sitka spruce and other trees (looks like a Christmas tree farm on steroids!) as well as flowers and ferns for miles and miles.
After we got off Meadowlake Road, we road on Highway 101 - the same one we drove on a couple of years ago in California. It is known as the "Pacific Coast Highway" but, darnit!, it sure took us a while to finally see the Pacific Coast!
Our travels took us through the Oregon Dairy Land and, inadvertently, on to the Tillamook County Quilt Trail. (http://www.tillamookquilttrail.org/about.htm). There are historic barns and other buildings that have distinct "quilt squares" on them that identify their barns and buildings for travelers. It was really fun to spot them. While in Tillamook we went to the Tillamook Creamery and got cheese samples (really SQUEAKY cheese curds!), some "pudge"....and best of all, homemade ice cream. They have 38 flavors, and we sampled 4, so we only need to go back 9 times to taste them all!
Leaving Tillamook we headed to the coast. We visited Cape Meares Lighthouse (http://capemeareslighthouse.org/) as well as the "Octopus Tree" and then went to Oceanside Beach. It was during these travels that Rachel declared that she wants to live up here.....
Thursday we went in to Portland and rode the Willamette Jet Boat ( http://willamettejet.com/ ) up and down the Willamette River. We saw some small houses, some big houses and some REALLY HUGE houses....one that was over 40,000 SF! We saw several of Portland's bridges - all from the underside - as well as several ospreys and their nests and even one Columbia Black Tail deer on an island....he'll have to swim off ... or catch a ride on a boat! We visited a bald eagle nesting area and saw a female eagle and her nest. We then got to enjoy the antics of Capt. Bob - who managed to get every one of us on the ride wet.....I think he only gets paid if we all get wet! I was soaked for most of the rest of the day! He spun that boat for six 360 degree turns just to make us all feel the coolness of the river. Not all in succession, but it was fun!
After enjoying Oregon we have packed up and headed north and are going to enjoy Seattle for a few days......stay tuned!
Here is a link to our photo gallery on Kodak Gallery....http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=791841829803%3A1200274544&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
More later!
Marie
We're on our family vacation enjoying the great Pacific Northwest. We left hot, humid Houston for a week or so to enjoy the cooler temps .... but like the plans of mice and men (oft go astray), Mother Nature thought that we would miss the temps in Houston so she brought them up here for us to enjoy (?)!!
Our first stop was Portland OR where we drove on Sunset Highway (at sunset no less - beautiful!) then we went exploring. We found "CDEDBD Party Shop" in Yamhill, OR. It's a combination party store (invitations, balloons, decorations) and coffee shop....and the owner Carla is a very friendly lady! Made us feel very welcome in her shop....and the nice young lady that happened to be there heard we were interested in visiting Tillamook (and Carla is from there!) gave us a tip to follow Meadowlake Road through the mountains to Tillamook....what a journey! Lots and lots of "S" curves, streams, creeks where we threw rocks, and at some points we were over 1000 feet high! Sheer cliffs covered with Sitka spruce and other trees (looks like a Christmas tree farm on steroids!) as well as flowers and ferns for miles and miles.
After we got off Meadowlake Road, we road on Highway 101 - the same one we drove on a couple of years ago in California. It is known as the "Pacific Coast Highway" but, darnit!, it sure took us a while to finally see the Pacific Coast!
Our travels took us through the Oregon Dairy Land and, inadvertently, on to the Tillamook County Quilt Trail. (http://www.tillamookquilttrail.org/about.htm). There are historic barns and other buildings that have distinct "quilt squares" on them that identify their barns and buildings for travelers. It was really fun to spot them. While in Tillamook we went to the Tillamook Creamery and got cheese samples (really SQUEAKY cheese curds!), some "pudge"....and best of all, homemade ice cream. They have 38 flavors, and we sampled 4, so we only need to go back 9 times to taste them all!
Leaving Tillamook we headed to the coast. We visited Cape Meares Lighthouse (http://capemeareslighthouse.org/) as well as the "Octopus Tree" and then went to Oceanside Beach. It was during these travels that Rachel declared that she wants to live up here.....
Thursday we went in to Portland and rode the Willamette Jet Boat ( http://willamettejet.com/ ) up and down the Willamette River. We saw some small houses, some big houses and some REALLY HUGE houses....one that was over 40,000 SF! We saw several of Portland's bridges - all from the underside - as well as several ospreys and their nests and even one Columbia Black Tail deer on an island....he'll have to swim off ... or catch a ride on a boat! We visited a bald eagle nesting area and saw a female eagle and her nest. We then got to enjoy the antics of Capt. Bob - who managed to get every one of us on the ride wet.....I think he only gets paid if we all get wet! I was soaked for most of the rest of the day! He spun that boat for six 360 degree turns just to make us all feel the coolness of the river. Not all in succession, but it was fun!
After enjoying Oregon we have packed up and headed north and are going to enjoy Seattle for a few days......stay tuned!
Here is a link to our photo gallery on Kodak Gallery....http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=791841829803%3A1200274544&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
More later!
Marie
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