2013 July 1-3 Seattle area

Monday, July 1 packed up, dumped tanks and left the Oregon City Elks RV Park and headed for the Seattle area.  Saw these sculptures on the way. 

 

 Some beautiful scenery early in the trip with sightings of Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens and Mt Rainier!  Crossed the Skookumchuck River (whatta name!)  Traffic was horrendous and we didn’t arrive at the Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell, WA (about 4 miles from Terry and Vicky Webb’s home in Brier) until 5 PM.  Exhausted and hot – 93 degrees here which is quite unusual.

July 2 was a rest morning. Grocery shopped then went to Vicky and Terry’s for yummy burgers (I had a Salmon Burger and tasted the Chipolte Black Bean burger, also yum), macaroni salad, huge green salad and brownies for dessert! 

July 3, Vicky and Terry picked us up and we drove to downtown Seattle.  Was great having a chauffeur who knew where he was going!  Parked in a parking building and came up into the Securities Building – a beautiful old edifice.

Street scenes as we made our way to Bruno’s for lunch (an Italian/Mexican restaurant where Terry and Vicky used to eat all the time when they worked in downtown Seattle:

Note the Blue trees.  There was live music in this attractive pocket park.

 

Underground grocery store next to Brunos.

  

Then we made our way a couple of blocks to Pike Place Market!  Wow, what a wonderful place of sights, sounds, and smells! 

   

Brick street and covered sidewalk along the market.

Beautiful flowers atop these buildings.

 

and a few places to sit and eat your lunch.

 

 

Dozens of produce markets, flower vendors, fish and seafood, trinkets, art, wine, ice cream, pastries of every variety, fudge, tees, and the original Starbuck’s store.  A pepper work of art!

   

After going about 4 blocks down one side, we crossed the street to the other side and caught views of Puget Sound and the city from this viewpoint.  Beautiful flowers, great area for picnicking and some outdoor vendors.

 

Waterfront sights: This freeway will be torn down soon as it is sinking into the silt.   Will be replaced by a tunnel.

 

 

Mt. Rainier and dome.

   

The flowers were so gorgeous and anywhere from $5 to $15 for beautiful bouquets.

 

Famous Pike Place Fish Co where the employees yell alot to each other and sometimes through fish around.  Didn’t get to see that but certainly a fun place to people watch!

 

After we were tired from walking, found the car and drove to the Mikilteo Lighthouse and surrounding area.

 

This is the ferry that goes over to Whidbey Island.

A beautiful waterfront area where people were picnicking, children playing in the sand or on the playground or in the water…and another picture of Mt. Rainier.  It is SO huge!  And we found wonderful ice cream here, too!

       

A Farmer’s Market down on the waterfront.

Jerry watches the Blender Bike where you can choose your own smoothie ingredients, for $5 then pedal the blender to mix it.  If you want the vendor to bike it smooth, it costs $6!

Terry buys us beets for tomorrow’s dinner.

 

 

Then on the way to our place, we pass the Boeing plant, the largest building in the world (by volume.)  They build 757 and 787’s here, I think Terry said.

 

Back at Vicky and Terry’s were were all happy to just sit and read or play on our computers on their lovely, shaded deck.  Finally about 8 pm we were hungry and ate chicken hot dogs and salad.  A very wonderful, jam-packed day!

2013 June 27-30 Oregon City ++

Thursday, June 27

Dinner at Chuck and Rita’s was the highlight of this day!  Wonderful appetizers, small slider grilled chicken sandwiches with grilled poblano peppers and aioli.  Great special baked beans, and potato salad added to the feast!  Wow.  Dessert was Marilyn’s berry cobbler with ice cream.  Egads!  Great visit out in Chuck’s beautiful back yard full of flowers and birds. 

On Friday, Chuck came around 11 bearing wonderful cinnamon rolls from his neighborhood bakery.  Lunch!  Had another great visit.  For supper, went to the Elk’s RV Park Hamburger Fry.  Good goopy burgers. 

Saturday was a rest day and then to a local bar and grill, The Horseshoe, for a beer and handmade pizza.  While sitting on the patio on a beautiful warmish evening, in came a PGR couple, Mike and Leann.  They sat with us and we had a great time sharing stories and getting acquainted.  They invited us to go with them on Sunday for a ride to Multnomah Falls.  Yes!  They mentioned at in Mollalla, a nearby town was a flag display, so we went to see it.  Two 100% disabled vets, one an Iraqi vet who is the OR State chaplain and Vietnam vet, travel the state of OR putting up around 1000 US flags and give out personalized medals for the OR vets.  Was very moving…they had 812 flags up for this display as they didn’t have enough lighting for all 1000.

 

Sunday, June 30 started bright and sunny and hot.  Here’s a picture of the Mulita River flowing by our campsite.  And a huge geese family walking/swimming up-river.

Met our new friends and two other couples at the Stagecoach Saloon near the intersection of I-205 and I-84.  Mike and Leann introduced us to their friends, Bob and Cat, and Bill and Trudy.  Had breakfast special, a feast for $6.99.  Off to see the Columbia River Gorge about 11 AM.  Already hot!  Took the scenic, shady Historic Route 30 which parallels I-84 along the Gorge to Multnomah Falls

Stopped at beautiful Vista Point, the Gorge Visitor’s Center,  probably built in the 1930’s when this area was developed by lumber barons.  Much of the Historic Rte 30 bridges were built by the CCC.  The interior is all marble and has a gorgeous dome.

 

 

Looking East, North and West below:

   

At Vista Point, we met Britishers Trudy and Andy who live near Lewes, our ancestor’s hometown in England!  It’s a small world!  Mike and Leann invited them to go see the Falls with us. 

Working our way East on Historic Route 30.

One of the beautiful guardrails built in the 30’s

Multnomah Falls!  Visitor’s Center and the Magnificent Falls!  They rank about 4th in the nation in height but you are able to get so close that they really are an awesome work of nature!

 

Leann’s parents have a huge bing and rainier cherry operation in Mosier, just East of Hood River which is further East from the Falls on I-84, so we headed there after the Falls.  Bought some Rainier cherries since we had the bing Cherries all up the CA coast.

 

We were going to cross the bridge and return via the river road in WA, but Mike and Leann and their friends had to go rescue a friend and we got a call to come to Marilyn and Emerson’s home for Sunday night dinner.  So we split up and went our own ways.  Back south and 1-1/2 hr later, pulled into their driveway at 5 PM, very hot and thirsty.  Temps were 93 at that time of day but the asphalt was radiating that sun and it was over 100 degrees on the bike…  took me quite a while to cool down and after 4 glasses of water each, got re-hydrated.

Dinner was awesome with cousin Carolyn there along with her daughter, Kimberly, son in law, Todd and grandson, Logan – 4 yrs old and adorable!  Also there were cousin Chuck and Rita and son Alex, 18 and ready to go to college in Corvallis in the fall.  Got to see Marilyn and Emerson’s daughter Rebecca, too!  Rita’s Mom was there, too so there were 11 for dinner…  Emerson grilled huge boneless pork loins and we had a lovely salad and Carolyn’s wonderful Gazpacho.  Then, as if we needed more, Carolyn had made a wonderful red raspberry pie with graham cracker crust and cream cheese/powdered sugar/lemon juice filling.  Oh my!  We were fortunate to bring home the two last pieces!

Home by 8:30 and fell into bed!  What a wonderful, full day!

2013 June 23-26 Newport to Oregon Beach

Rain, Clouds, Rain, Clouds…bummer.   Started raining in the night and rained off and on all day on the 23rd.  We left about noon to move to the Chinook Casino in Lincoln City – about 1/2 north.  Free camping and a view of the ocean!  Glimpsed some huge kites – part of the kite festival being held in Lincoln City.  Lots of traffic and people!  Weather cleared up in the afternoon a bit. 

June 24 still raining.  Did a bit of shopping at Safeway and then on the road north.  Highway 101, then to SR 18 where there is a scenic corridor through the H. B. van Duzer Forest.  Followed the Salmon R for quite a while, twisting and turning.  Then up to 500’ to a “snow zone”, skirting the Siuslaw Nat. Forest.  Spotted a “Barber Litter Picker” (looks like a street sweeper) cleaning up the shoulders of the highway.  Nice to have those alligators off the road.  Saw a cute sign at the Pendleton Store:  “Shearing our prices.” 

Arrived at the Oregon City Elks Lodge RV Park which is about 18 miles south of Oregon City near the village of Mulino.  Instructions were to look for a small sign above some mailboxes on this narrow winding road.  Yup, there it was, but it was only a narrow winding lane through shrubs and weeds.  We started down it…it said this was it!  No place to turn around if it’s not.  No signs.  Finally after going past a couple of driveways to private homes, we spot a sign Elks and Guests only!  Greeted warmly by Sandy the park caretaker.  She remember our conversation when I called to make reservations.  Led us to our campsite right on the banks of the Mulino River.  What a wonderful green, natural place to be after so many weeks of asphalt parking lots!  We both kind of gave a sign of relief!  Lovely quiet spot! 

Enjoyed happy hour in this beautiful setting.  Then I made delicious shrimp, lime and cilantro tacos…yum.

June 26, we drove to cousin Chuck Hale’s home about 15 minutes north in Oregon City for 11:30 lunch and to look over Lord, Vinall and Hunter photos in his collection.  Found some great tidbits which answered some mysteries in our tree, but we still have puzzles to solve.  Had a wonderful lunch which he prepared, homemade pea soup using frozen peas which gave it the most wonderful fresh taste.  A salad from his garden with garnish of nasturtium flowers and leaves…a wonderful spicy flavor to perk up the salad greens!  Grilled cheese sandwiches were yummy as well…what a feast!  While we indulged in the trip back in time through photos, Jerry took the truck to see about the squeaky brake on the Dodge.  A Napa Care Center in Bend had done the work and we found another Napa Care Center in Oregon City.  Apparently the Bend shop had neglected to grease one of the brake pads. 

Then we traveled about 15 minutes further north to Clackamas and met our Boomer friends Chet and Gaye at the Sweet Tomatoes restaurant for dinner.  Squeaked in before the 5 pm deadline and got our huge buffet dinner for $6.99!  What a deal…  Delicious food and great catch-up conversation!  They invited us to come to the festival they have at their home in Twillingate, Newfoundland the 3rd week in July in 2014!  Wouldn’t that be fun!  Maybe…….

All in all a wonderful day!

2013 June 21 Newport and Cape Perpetua

 

On June 21 we moved from Bend to the coast.   Settled in at the Marina and RV Part in South Beach just south of Newport. 

June 22, we day-tripped south on 101.  Occasional glimpses of the ocean, kites, Seal Rock State Park and Driftwood SP.  Ate lunch there with a beautiful view.  (Oregon has a series of state parks, sometimes just an acre or so right off 101 looking over the ocean.  All are free! 

 

 

Wonderful fresh ocean smell that you just want to take deep breaths and try to memorize it!  To Waldport.  Cute shop called “Upscale Resale.”  Through Yachata and huge cliffs with houses on the beach.

Imagine living in these houses on this spit of land!

 

or on this piece of land perched between the bluffs and the Pacific!

Arrived at Devil’s Churn in the Siuslaw National Forest.   It was not high tide so it wasn’t really churning for us but still scenic. 

Walked down 500’ on a lovely path with wildflowers blooming. 

Here’s a closer pix of the “churn”.

We walked all the way down to the bottom and out onto the rocks by the ocean.  Jerry spotted a tide pool with sea anemones, starfish and sea urchins!  But the batteries on my camera ran out so I didn’t get any photos.  Darn!  Back up the path into to souvenir shop.  Watched a movie which was kind of interesting but very ancient.  Ran into Boomer friends, Tom and Kay…they are Workkamping at a nearby RV facility.  Surprise!  We also spotted a Scott County, Iowa license plate in the parking lot but weren’t able to find the people belonging to it.  Small world!

Stopped at Cook’s Chasm, another broiling spot but wrong timing again for us, as it was very calm.  Back north, crossing the South Beach to Newport Bridge across Yakina Bay and a nice view of the marina and our RV park.  Drove around Newport to explore the village.  Spotted the historic Yakina Bay Lighthouse but it closed at 5 PM so we didn’t get to tour it.