Jamison starts school again today. No longer do I get to be there to take the picture so I texted Jamison, asking if he’d take a selfie for me. This picture was the result.
Above and beyond! :-)
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Jamison’s first day of school 2019
Category: family
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Visiting Ecola State Park
Another weekend, and the last before Jamison heads off to college. What to do? What to do? Ride bikes around Hillsboro? Longboard Mount Tabor or the Banks-Vernonia trail? Visit Cannon Beach? We loaded our longboards in Jamison’s car and headed west. By the time we got to Cannon Beach, we’d decided to visit Ecola State Park just north of Cannon Beach.
We took a quick stop at Ecola Point but apparently, there’s been some storm damage so the trails are closed. Back in the car and off to Indian Beach. Although it started raining, we headed to explore the south end of the beach. By the time we got there, the rain had stopped. Jamison and I climbed Bald Point and took some more pictures, then rejoined Suzi and took some more.
After the park, we went to Cannon Beach, stood at the end of Second Street and watched the ocean some more. Can’t get enough!
Another great day at the Oregon coast!
Photo credit. Jamison Logan took the two pictures of Suzi and me hiking near Ecola Point. Used with his permission. Thanks, Jamison!
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Cannon Beach Sunset
“Mom’s going to be home from work soon. Wanna go to the beach?”
Oh, that ranks right up there on my list of favorite questions. :-)
Doing the math, an hour fifteen there, we would have about 15 minutes at the beach before sunset, stay at the beach a while longer, then an hour fifteen back.
“Yes, that sounds like fun! I’m in!!”
Suzi got home, we packed up the dogs and headed to Cannon Beach.
As we got there, the sun was low on the horizon. Ecola Creek headed South quite a ways before joining the Pacific. So we joined the dogs in wading across the creek and out to the ocean. The dogs played in the water, we took pictures and enjoyed the beautiful weather and gorgeous sights.
Yet another fantastic time at the beach! :-)
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Cannon Beach with Mousse
It had been too long since we’d visited Cannon Beach. This weekend, we corrected that. :-)
We took our chairs and a ball and thrower for Mousse. At home, she can take it or leave it when it comes to fetching. At the beach, she must fetch.
What a beautiful day!1Checking the weather report, we saw that it dumped in Portland.
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A day in the gorge
Biking
Coming to the weekend, Jamison said he wanted to try biking a new section of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. It sounded like a lot of fun, so we loaded up our bikes and headed to Wyeth. Turns out, it was opening day for this new section of trail.
We discovered a couple of waterfalls we didn’t know existed. We stopped and waded at the base of Hole-in-the-Wall Falls, then continued on to Starvation Creek, where we turned around.
Mitchell Point
When we got back to Wyeth, it didn’t feel like the day was over, so we continued east. There was a sign marked Mitchell Point, so we exited 84 to explore. Not much to see other than a great view of the gorge. :-)
Hood River
After Mitchell Point, we continued to Hood River where we watch the kite sailors while the sun went down behind the hills.
Corbett View Point
On the way home, we stopped at the Corbett View Point. I’ve stopped here before, just as the sun was setting. This time, we were a little later in the day, but it was still beautiful.
Another great day!
Photo credit. Thanks to Jamison Logan for the photos of Suzi and me and of the kites!
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Sunriver family vacation — 2019
Friday
Five bikes on the car and we’re ready for fun. We have arrived at Sunriver for our summer family vacation of 2019.
Warning: This is a long post with lots of pictures.1Credits: Although I took most of these pictures, some of the best I borrowed with permission. Thanks to Ashley for the pictures of the doggies swimming in Sparks Lakes on the first Saturday and to Heather for the picture of Gilligan rolling in the meadow by Todd Lake on Tuesday. Major Kudos to Jamison for finding a bunch of typoes and bringing them to my attention. Enjoy! ;-)
Unlike some of our earlier visits to Sunriver, we have no biking mileage goals. Our goals are relaxation, fun, and family time. Ashley and Kevin will be here only for the weekends and Jamison only for the final weekend. We’re saving our kayaking until then.
Saturday
We rent the same place as last year.2It would appear that I posted no pictures from last year. As I have some, I’ll need to fix this. Done! It’s on the north side of the community. That means it’s farther from the village and main pool.3Which we end up not even visiting. For that matter, we don’t go to the north pool either, but we biked by it daily. Although it’s a bikeable distance to the village, I doubt we’ll bike there for a bag of coffee or some chapstick. For that, we’ll likely go to the north store. It’s also quieter here and our neighbors are largely owners. This means I’ll be able to watch people aerate, thatch, rake, and mow their lawns on my vacation. Sweet!
In the morning after breakfast, we drive to the village with the pups, get some drinks,4Yeah, that’s a daily thing. Probably the last time I mention it. and walk to the lodge. We’ll discover this trip that we walk a lot more instead of biking as we don’t have any way to transport the dogs while biking.5I try to convince Heather to get a bike trailer for dogs and practice with Gilligan. I’m not sure I succeed. And we don’t want to leave the dogs cooped up all day. Even so, we’ll do a fair amount of biking. Today, we bike to Lava Lands, a place I’ve biked to before. Why I remember this as a level ride, I don’t know. Lava Lands is a cinder cone in the midst of a shield volcano. It makes sense that the ground rises as we get closer. The rise isn’t steep, just persistent. Next time, we’ll reserve this ride until later in the week.
Ashley rented an e-bike for the weekend. Wow! It’s magical! As a plus, it looks like a regular bike. She has no problems with the incline. :-)
Heather’s friend Kristin is with us this first weekend. She asks whether we’ve been to Sparks Lake. Why, no, we haven’t. At her suggestion, we load the dogs into cars and head to the lake. Mousse and Gilligan have such a good time, they’re nearly frantic playing fetch and swimming in the water. As the sun nears the horizon, Kristin leads us on a walk to where we have a great view of South Sister and Broken Top on the far side of the lake. Beautiful!
The hot tub calls my name…
Sunday
We walk the dogs then ride our bikes to the Lodge for brunch. Mmm…
Kevin and Ashley aren’t staying the whole time, reserving their vacation time for later. We say good-bye to them. Kristin leaves as well.
Monday
A nice quiet day. Isn’t that what vacations are for?
Tuesday
Sparks Lake was so much fun that Suzi, Heather, Melissa, and I decide to go back with Gilligan. On the way back, we stop at Todd Lake, too. Gilligan approves!
In the evening, I finish reading The Fifth Witness6The Fifth Witness is written by Michael Connelly, the same author of The Lincoln Lawyer that I read some years back. Although I enjoyed the book, I was disappointed spoiler alert that both books share a similar plot twist at their ends. I bought in the village a couple of days prior. Or maybe it’s after midnight…
Wednesday
Today, we decide it’s a good day to bike. We bike to the lodge for brunch, then bike all the river loops. Suzi makes our reservations for kayaking. This is gonna be fun! We’re so looking forward to kayaking! Melissa gets a snowcone. I should’ve got one, too. I’ll remember that for next time.
In the evening, we take a quick bike ride to the footbridge to see the sunset. There are definite advantages to this place.
Thursday
Yet another day at Sparks Lake! Mmm… This time, we meet Grandma Penny, a sweet old doggie whose owner is pretty nice, too. We relax and go to the Village Bar and Grill, watching the guy play keyboards and guitar and work to get audience participation. Getting four couples up for a twist dance contest is impressive.7I’d have to take up drinking to do that, and even then…
Friday
This is another good day to ride. We bike the east side to the village. It has more hills but we power through. Then through the south side and all the river loops. Essentially, we bike the perimeter.
In the evening, Suzi and I head to Bend for a little shopping and to pick Jamison up at the airport. Let’s see how much Sunriver we can get in during the short time he’s here.
Ashley and Kevin return, too. :-)
Saturday
Everyone is here! Today is the day we have been waiting for. Today, we kayak.
The route we kayak is on the Deschutes River from LaPine State Park to S. Century Drive by Big River Campground. Allegedly, this can be done in about 2.5 hours. Being founding members of the dry-paddle drifting kayakers, we take nearly 4 hours.
In the evening, we bike to the footbridge at the end of the day and take family pictures. Ashley ignores the “No Jumping” sign to take a jump shot. ;-)
We finish the day with a trip to the Village for Goodies. It’s probably not a trip to Sunriver without ordering and waiting for a milkshake.
Sunday
It’s our last day. We know we want to go for a bike ride today and yet we need to check out in the morning. Last night, we packed as much as we could to prepare.
We bike to the Nature Center. Sunriver’s new swan family is on the island when we arrive, then swim toward the eastern shore. Then we bike back and finish getting everything loaded back into our cars.
We drive to the village and have lunch at El Caporal. Gilligan had such a soulful face. She knows we’re packed to go and doesn’t want to. Can’t we just stay a little longer? :-(
Suzi finds a sweatshirt, Jamison finds some T-shirts, and I find a coffee mug.8If only I needed a coffee mug. Yet, it makes me happy. c[_] :-) One more smoothie and we’re on our way home.
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#allhoppedup Fourth Fireworks
A few years ago, Suzi and I went to the Hillsboro Hops game on the Fourth of July and watched the fireworks afterward. This year, we decided to do the same thing, but with even more family.
We were a little farther from the baseball action this year, actually beyond the outfield instead of along the third base line. That resulted in being even closer to the fireworks. It seemed like they were directly overhead.
I was back to having only my cell phone to take pictures. It’s not what you want for fireworks, but they remind me of the fun we had, so mission accomplished.
What a great time!
I love me a good parade and Hillsboro has a great one!
The Fourth is my one day of the year I feel comfortable taking strangers’ pictures. After all, they literally paid to be in public, wearing what they’re wearing, doing what they’re doing. And most don’t seem to mind. Hopefully none of those I posted. I’m not going to post a picture of someone that puts them in an unflattering light. Many of these shots are of people who saw what I was doing and waved and/or smiled in response. One actually told me to take her picture (and then it didn’t turn out well, so I didn’t post it).
I know some of these are not as sharp as they could be. If this was my full-time gig, I’d certainly have a different camera. Or, I’d actually have a camera rather than borrowing.1Thanks, Ashley! You know how much being able to borrow your camera made this day for me. :-) This exercise certainly informs what camera would be a better fit for me.
Once again, I got to shake Ron Wyden’s hand. Turns out, he’s in one of the pictures, too.
I have some recommendations for you:
- Go to Hillsboro’s Fourth of July parade. It’s just a bunch of fun.
- Take a camera with a longish lens. The camera I was using is an APS-C with an 18-135mm. I found myself using both extremes of the range, though it’s telling that I didn’t end up posting anything at the short/wide end. Maybe a 70-210 on a full-frame camera would work.
- Sit on the curb. The kids know where it’s at. You’ll get a better, unobstructed view — and more candy!
- Find a place closer to the beginning of the parade. You’ll get more candy and those in the parade are still full of energy and having fun. We find a spot on Second, between Grant and Bagley Park.
I hope you had a great Fourth!
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Longboarding the Banks to Vernonia trail
As a last hurrah of Jamison’s spring break, he invited me to longboard the Banks to Vernonia trail with him. It’s a nice, long, gentle ride. The weather was wonderful and the trail was dry. Jamison also took some videos with his phone.
Thanks, Jamison for the invite! That’s my boy. :-)
Photo credit. The tall, skinny pics are screen grabs from Jamison’s videos. Posted with his permission.
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Remembering mom, two years on
Two years ago, I lost my mom.
In our family room hangs her oil painting of me in the redwoods when I was a child. On our kitchen drainboard sit the orchids I got after going to an orchid show with her and dad. Outside our kitchen window, the muted chimes resemble those in the gentle tree guarding where she rests. And the moon watches over all.
They all remind me of mom.
Yet, it’s not just things that do.
When I iron a shirt, when I cook a favorite recipe, when I mop the floor and make my bed.
She taught me how to do all these; they remind me of mom.
But it’s not just housework.
When I send a card, when I take the time to help, when I volunteer, when I say a kind word, when I’m at my very best.
That’s my mom. That’s who I remember.
And I’m thankful.