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!1
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.1
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. :-)
After Mitchell Point, we continued to Hood River where we watch the kite sailors while the sun went down behind the hills.2
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!
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.1 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.
We rent the same place as last year.2 It’s on the north side of the community. That means it’s farther from the village and main pool.3 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. Which 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,4 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.5 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…
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.
A nice quiet day. Isn’t that what vacations are for?
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 Witness6 I bought in the village a couple of days prior. Or maybe it’s after midnight…
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.
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.7
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. :-)
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.
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 are 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.8 One more smoothie and we’re on our way home.
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!
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 tooks some videos with his phone.1
Thanks, Jamison for the invite! That’s my boy. :-)
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.
Weather in the upper 60’s plus the backyard fence being just posts while it’s being repaired equals a walk with Gilligan to Starbucks and Suzi’s work to deliver a special treat.
Five miles later, we have a tired doggie. Success!
This past weekend, Suzi treated me to a weekend in the Sound. We stayed in Tacoma, at the same place we’d stayed a few years ago.
We got much-needed rest and explored Point Ruston and Point Defiance Park. A ferry ride to Vashon Island sounded like a good idea.1 We visited the lighthouse at Point Robinson Park and ate in Vashon.2 On the ferry ride back, we were one of eight vehicles. There’s not a lot of people headed from Vashon Island to Tacoma late Saturday night.
The next day, we decided to head to Seattle. Somehow we ended up in West Seattle, along Seacrest Park. I’m sure the view of downtown would have been spectacular if the tops of the buildings weren’t dipping into the clouds. Since we were already pretty much there, we stopped by the Alki Point Lighthouse, then headed back downtown where we caught a larger ferry to Bainbridge Island. We walked downtown, exploring a cool little bookstore, some fun little shops, and the local art museum. After eating, it was time for the drive home.
Thank you, Suzi, for a fun birthday weekend!
Any time of the year is a great time to visit Cannon Beach. In fact, we have a tradition of visiting the beach the first weekend of the new year. As our kids have grown up and moved out and away, it’s more difficult to do with everyone. This year, it would be impossible. So, rather than admit defeat, we went when everyone could — on Christmas day! After stockings and opening our presents, we loaded all of us and the dogs into a couple of cars and headed off.
Unsurprisingly, the weather was great and the company better. We skipped our normal visit to Insomnia1 and went straight to the beach. The dogs had a great time running around the beach and into the water. We walked to the Rock, took some pictures, and Jamison and Kevin flew Jamison’s drone.
After getting the tree home yesterday, we washed it, shook it, and left it outside to dry. Then we put it in a stand in a different corner of the room than usual. Lights, ribbons, candy canes, and an angel later, we paused to take it all in.
Mmm… It’s a little taller than we’d expected. Not a bad thing.
It might be time to get some presents.
