Day 6 - WOW

This is where I had to blog in Oregon: The house we stayed at didn't have internet, but if I went up the hill and sat on this log, I could piggyback on a nearby unsecure internet to do my blogging! Kind of funny. It only worked the first day. When I went back up there the next day, the signal was too weak and I couldn't connect.

First I have to say that our host here in Oregon has been so great. He set up some really fun activities for our family - things I'm sure we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise and probably will never do again. We are very grateful for his kindness.

Today he got us up early for a fishing trip on the lake right out the back door. Sadly, no fish were caught. But it was fun anyway!

When we got back from fishing, he had a surprise for us. His friend, who owns a small prop plane, had agreed to take us up over the ocean (and by "us" I mean "them." My feet stayed firmly planted on the ground!).

They had some awesome views of the ocean and the beach.

The best part - Lindsie and DJ got to actually fly the plane (you see why I stayed on the ground!)

This video shows DJ turning the plane.

This video is during take-off when Lindsie was at the helm (the pilot handled take off/landing).

After the plane ride, we thought we had done it all. But, wait, there was more! We got to take some ATV's out on the sand dunes. That was great fun! I even drove one BY MYSELF with Jarod as my passenger. It took me awhile to get the hang of it - I kept crashing into the bushes. But once I got the feel for the machine I was off. Lindsie is old enough to drive one by herself. After flying a plane and driving an ATV, she thinks she is ready for a driver's license (heaven help us).

While Lindsie had her turn on the ATV's, Dean, DJ, Jarod and I played on the beach. The boys jumped right in the water. It was way too cold for me. I was content to just hang out on the beach and make sand castles. Just a tip - don't make a sand castle too close to the water when the tide is coming in. My castle didn't last long! I am a day behind on posting because we couldn't connect yesterday, but it is late and I am too tired to post anymore. Today we drove down the coast into California. We saw some incredible things. Stay tuned . . . .

Day 5 - Oregon Coast

Today we spent the day driving up the coast and seeing the sights. We went to the sea lion caves and even saw a whale swimming off shore! We hiked to a forest that opened up into Hobbit Beach and walked over to a lighthouse. We are VERY tired. Time for bed!! We watched this racoon eat his dinner right outside the window while we ate our dinner. He wasn't afraid of us one bit.

We saw this lighthouse from across the cove, then drove over and hiked up to it.

There's no better sunset than over the ocean.

We drove up to cape perpetua - the highest point on the west coast. It was an awesome view.

The ocean sure is beautiful in Oregon. Pine trees just suddenly turn into ocean!

The kids found lots of sea shells and even a couple star fish on the beach.

Couldn't keep Jarod out of the water - even fully clothed! It was so cold, I can't believe how wet he got.

See lion caves. I've never seen sea lions except on TV. They sure make a lot of noise.

Tomorrow - sand dunes!!

We are stopping for a bite to eat in Eugene at a restaurant that has internet access so figured I'd blog quick. What an incredible day today. We saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I can't believe how green everything is here. I don't know if I have ever seen so many trees. It feels like a rainforest. We took 112 pictures today. I'll try to pick a few good ones. The first falls we stopped at - horsetail falls.

This is multnomah falls. It falls into one pool, then runs over into a second fall. Together they make the second tallest waterfall in America. We hiked up to that bridge. Really neat.

Trees like this everywhere. Moss grows on all the trees. It looks so cool.

Beautiful girl, beautiful place.

This was our favorite waterfall - Latourell Falls. It dropped straight down without even hitting the cliff. It looks like it is coming out of the top of a heart shaped rock!

Aren't we cute!?!

It was a cloudy day, but the view of the river was incredible.

Day Three - Mt.Hood

Rain, rain go away . . . Still raining. It seems the rain is following us. But here in the mountains it is actually really cool. The thunder echos off the mountains and sounds really cool. Kids are still bummed about no swimming, though.

Our first view of the Columbia River. Not very pretty at first. The further we went into Oregon, the greener things got.

Really cool windmills on top of the hills above the river. Miles of them.

We got lucky and got an incredible deal on a condo in Mt. Hood. Took us about 45 miles off the freeway, but totally worth it. We are nestled right in the heart of the mountains. The kids thought it was really cool that we drove right through the clouds to get here.

This is the view outside our condo right on the golf course.

Our condo has upstairs and downstairs, two seperate bedrooms, two living rooms and a full kitchen. This is us having dinner tonight. We could stay here the whole vacation and be totally happy! But tomorrow we head out to the coast. Not sure if we will have any internet access between now and next Thursday, so if we don't post that is why. Having a great time, even in the rain!!!

Day Two - at Grandma's House

Well, the forecast was for rain and lightning all day, so we cancelled our trip to the water park. Then it ended up being nice all day. That's what you get for trusting a weather man! Oh well. It probably would have been too cold to swim with a high of only 70, so we went to a 3D, glow-in-the dark miniature golf place. It was cool. I've never seen anything like it. The kids all got a hole in one on the last hole and won a prize, so it was a successful afternoon!

The black light makes this picture look kind of funky - the boys look like shadow creatures! We had a great time. Now it's off to bed so we can get up early and head to Oregon - the part we are so excited about! Hopefully we'll see some fun things tomorrow, but Saturday will probably be more fun as we head down the Columbia River Gorge and see all the waterfalls.

Vacation Day One - Salt Lake City to Boise

Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain

We thought if we left Utah we would leave the rain behind. WRONG. It rained almost the whole way here. I think we brought it with us. No water park tomorrow!! Oh well. Hopefully this rain won't follow us the entire trip.

Pictures tomorrow. I'm going to bed.

A bright spot in the dark clouds

A lot of afternon rainstorms the past week, but that also means we get to see lots of really cool rainbows!