Everson

We arrived at the Richey's on Saturday afternoon, on a warm, sunshiny day. We spent all afternoon outside. Dave's daughter, Morgan, flew in from Arizona on Saturday, as well. Kelsey was there, and Jake, Lindsay and Madi also came to visit, so it was a great family day!

We planned to spend the week there, although we were going to take Wednesday and Thursday, and make a side-trip to Leavenworth, so you will see pictures of that trip on the next post.

Hailey is taking care of Madi this summer while Lindsay works, so we got to see lots of her, which is great. Like all of the little girls in the family, she thought that Papa was the best, and said "Papa" quite clearly!

We were in Everson for Lee's birthday on the 14th, and also for Val's on the 17th. Val made Lee a carrot cake for his birthday, and we made her a pineapple upside down cake for hers! In fact, we made TWO of them, as the first one refused to rise, and instead, was a pineapple upside down torte! Still quite tasty, though.

On the 17th, Val's birthday, Dave's sister Lisa and her husband, Troy came for a visit. They live in Albuquerque, and had not been to Everson since Val and Dave's wedding, which was 5 years ago. We barbequed and all enjoyed Val and Dave's new outdoor dining room table and chairs.

On Saturday, we all headed for Deception Pass, one of the most visited sites in Washington. A post of that trip will follow as well. On Sunday we packed up and headed off to Aldergrove, BC. Following is an assortment of pictures from our great week with Val, Dave, Lindsay, Kelsey, Hailey, Morgan, Madi and Jake!

Here is Miss Madilyn in the Hawaiian dress that her Papa and I got for all the little girls while we were in Hawaii. Isn't she adorable?

Madi and her Grandma

Madi, Grandma, and the mini pony. Madi likes to lead the ponies, with her Grandma's help, but was less sure about riding her.

This is much better! Grandma carrying Madi, who is leading the pony.

And here's the new baby of the family, Maxx, with his Daddy, Dave! Maxx was Dave's father's day gift!

Dave on Annie, warming her up, or, wearing her out, so that I could ride her.

Morgan with Annie.

Here I am, on Annie! It's been decades since I've been on a horse, but I'm happy to report that I was able to get my posterior up on her, without assistance! :). Giddyap, Annie!

Me and Annie, posing for the camera.

Madi and GG, watching Morgan ride Annie. Morgan put her through her paces, and said that Annie was really an easy horse to ride.

Then Madi got brave, and sat on Annie with Grandma. She was quite tickled with the experience, and is pointing at Annie.

Hailey and Morgan at the computer, playing hour after hour after hour of World of Warcraft and IMing with friends.

Grandma and a very happy Madi!

Here's Dave at their new outdoor dining set! It was great!

Papa and GG with wine and salads. Life is good!!

Madi's "morning hair". Her Grandma says that she looks like "cousin It"!

Here's Maxx, naping with the blanket that I knitted for him. Unlike the Corgi's and Rylie, Maxx has short hair and gets cold easily. He liked cuddling with his blanket.

Grandpa and Madi. Note that Madi has Grandpa's phone, and is having a pretend conversation with her Daddy.

Grandpa and Madi. Dave was laughing at something that Troy said. Madi was still pushing buttons, trying to call China.

It was a great evening, and so much fun to be able to spend time with everyone! We're liking this retirement thing, and we're liking this road trip thing, too!

Bonney Lake

After Portland, we headed to Bonney Lake to visit with Lee's good friend, Connie. Lee and Connie worked together at Northwest, and Connie lived on the coast side as well. We hadn't seen Connie since her daughter Holly's wedding in 1997.

Connie and Russ live in Paradise!! This is their back yard - just past the fire pit is their dock, right on the lake! They have a boat, paddle boat, and their daughter Holly and her husband, Louie, keep their jet ski there, as well!

We had a great selection of munchies and a glass of wine on the deck, while we visited with Connie, and caught up with each other's lives.


Here's Louie, readying his jet ski for a spin around the lake. His daughter Katelynn watches. Holly and Louie have two adorable kids, Katelynn and Hunter, ages 11 and 7.

Connie and I, enjoying the beautiful, sunny day! Life is GOOD!!

Holly and Louie, headed out for a spin! What a great thing to do on a Friday afternoon, after a long week at work!

Hunter with his surfboard.

Lee takes a spin on the jet ski!

They had a beautiful trip around the lake, and saw some amazing houses!

Connie waving from the porch. The covered porch allows them to enjoy the outside, even when it's raining!

Lee and Connie - Lee's enjoying a 'smore!

Lee and Pat, with the lake behind us.

What a great reunion we had!

Our time in Bonney Lake was so wonderful! It was fabulous to catch up with Connie. Unfortunately, Russ was away on business, so we didn't get to meet him, but we enjoyed the incredible hospitality and beautiful surroundings of their home. We had pizza for dinner, with Holly, Louie and the kids, and Connie made a great fire in the fire pit. And of course, we all made "smores - what a beautiful evening!

On Saturday morning we went for a walk with Connie, along her usual route. It was such a beautiful day. Connie fixed a fabulous breakfast, and then we loaded up and continued north!

Next stop: Everson!

Portland

We arrived in Portland on Tuesday afternoon, just ahead of the commute rush! Our motel was near the Max station, which provided free transportation to downtown, and many other points in the "fareless square". We headed into town, and had a wander around the downtown area. Portland is a large, cosmopolitan city, there are tons of great restaurants, and great shopping there.

Since we had a well-stocked ice chest with us, we ended up having snacks at the hotel on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday we visited the OMSI (Oregon Mueseum of Science and Industry), which provided shuttle service. We got the shuttle at the Max station, and were delivered at the door of OMSI! This is a great hands-on experience, and we spent several hours there, going through all of the exhibits and experiments, including the CSI crime solvers, in which we viewed the crime scene, gathered information and clues, and then had to determine what had actually happened. The kids LOVED this one!

After OMSI, we shuttled back to the Max station and got on the bus headed to Washington Park. The shuttle driver gave us transfers, which allowed us to travel on the public transportation system in any direction, for no extra charge! Pretty good for our initial $2 investment!

There are lots of things to see and do at Washington Park, but we were headed to the Rose Gardens. Portland is known as the city of roses, and world known for their experimental rose garden. It was a tad bit cool and overcast on Wednesday, but perfectly comfortable for wandering through the roses! We also toured their Japanese gardens, which were just beautiful, peaceful and relaxing!

Here's some pictures of the gardens:

This is the Robertson Tunnel - this is where the light rail stopped for Washington Park. After we came up above ground, we walked to the gardens, which turned out to be almost a 2 mile walk. We discovered that there was an inter-park shuttle, which we took back!

Beautiful, fragrant red roses!

Me in the rose garden

This is a shot of the Japanese Garden. Very beautiful

On Thursday we headed out of town to explore the Columbia Gorge along the Columbia River. It was a beautiful sunny day. We got off the main highway, and on Hwy 30, which meandered along all of the waterfalls and beautiful scenery. Hwy 30 was the first road over the mountains in Oregon, and gave Oregon residents and visitors a way to get to Portland besides the Columbia River.

Here is Multnomah Falls - it was quite spectacular, and the 2nd longest continually running waterfall in the US. The longest is on Mt. Ranier.

This is a picture of the gorge, taken from a lookout at the top of Hwy 30.

Isn't this a beautiful backdrop?

This is the Vista House. It was built at the same time as Hwy 30, to give travelers a place to stop. It's build like a wedding cake. There is a 3rd floor underground, which has a gift shop, museum and restrooms. It's elegant construction, typical of that time period.

We traveled east to Cascade Locks. You can see all of the wind surfers in the background. Apparently the gorge area is known for it's wind!

This is the locks at Cascade Locks. It was a cute little town, with a great deli! We also saw the "Oregon Pony" - the first little steam engine that took passengers by rain to Portland.

Thursday evening we hopped on Max and headed to town, where we had dinner at Kells' Restaurant. It's a great Irish restaurant, and tied for first place of Irish restaurants in the US! Lee had an Irish quesadilla! How's that for mixing cuisine??

Friday morning ended our Portland visit. We loaded up the car and headed into Washington, to visit with Lee's friend Connie, who lives in Bonney Lake. Stay tuned! :)

Vacation - July

Ok, we'd been home for a month, so it was time for more travel! This usually means that we pack our suitcases and head for the airport! But this time, we loaded up our "bent" car and headed off on a road trip!

We left on July 3rd, and headed to Ashland, Oregon, to visit Pat's brother, Geoff, his wife Teri and daughter Emilee. Jon, Sue and Jacob also made the trip, so we had a family reunion!

On July 4th, we had two celebrations - first the 4th of July, complete with a parade in Eagle Point. Emilee was the Rodeo Queen in the parade, riding with her princesses. She looked fabulous, and Hobby (the horse) did great, as it was his first parade.

After the parade, we all gathered back at Geoff and Teri's for lunch, and then split up for different activities. Emilee and River (her beau) went out to lunch, and then to the lake for a swim; Geoff, Jon and Jacob loaded up various firearms and ammo, and headed for the hills to terrorize rocks, bottles and cans. Lee, Teri, Sue and I headed to Lithia Park in Ashland to peruse the arts and crafts booths.

We all met up at 6:00 pm for a bar-b-que and to celebrate Geoff's birthday! He's officially 49, although he denied it, and had me confused for awhile as to his real age. We had a great day, and got some great pictures, too.

Emilee and a very calm Hobby in the Eagle Point 4th of July parade.

Three sisters at Lithia Park in Ashland.

Emilee and Aunt Tish

Emilee and River

Happy Birthday, Geoff!!

The girls!

The guys!

On Sunday, Geoff, Jon and Jacob got up at 0:dark hundred to go fishing, and Lee, Teri, Sue and I had a leisurely morning, then headed off to Jacksonville for some sight-seeing, shopping and lunch. Emilee graciously declined, as she had to feed her horses, and then she and River had plans. She clearly has a life! : )

Sunday evening, Lee and I joined Jon, Sue and Jacob for a play at the outdoor Shakespeare theater - it was Don Quixote, and it was excellent! The weather was great, and we totally enjoyed the experience.

On Monday, we went with Geoff to have breakfast with Teri, who is working at the college this summer. She was able to join us, so it was great to have that extra time with them. After breakfast, Geoff headed off to work, and Lee and I hit the road for Crater Lake.

We arrived at Crater Lake late morning, the weather was clear and beautiful, and the lake was absolutely breath taking! Between the two of us, we probably have 200 pictures of the lake, from various vantage points, but we've only posted a few. Aren't you lucky? We also did the 1.1 mile walk down to the lake, and the 11.1 mile walk back up! I did require several "breathing" breaks on the way up, but every time we stopped, we got swarmed by mosquitos, so we kept our breaks to a minimum.

Following are pictures of Crater Lake:

After spending the day at Crater Lake, we drove to Crescent Lake, where we spent the night in a little cabin! The Crescent Lake Resort has about 24 cabins, boat launch, boat and jet ski rentals and a restaurant. We had a great night there, it was quiet and peaceful, and right on the lake below. The resort is for sale, and we had fun fantasizing about buying it and turning it into a family business.

Tuesday morning we packed up and headed for Portland. Stay tuned for our Portland post. : )

We've decided that we kinda like this road trip stuff - we may do more!