A dog's life!

Snug as a bug in a rug! Don't let her fool you, she's really a killer!

Lilly has been getting lots of R & R. She is spoiled because we only have one dog out here in Oregon. Toby, her brother is at Grandpa's in Iowa. I will be in Iowa for two weeks starting Aug. 4th so be looking for a blog or two on Toby. I have lots of loves to give him, we miss our bubba!

Rooster Rock Beach

So our last adventure on Sunday was to hit the beach at Rooster Rock. Our plan was to get a little R & R, read books, and watch the world go by on boat.

We go thru to the lady working the booth and pay our $ 3.00 fee to enter. We say to the nice little gal who is about 16, "So which way should we head for the best part of the beach?" She says, "Well it is hard to know because the water level is up a bit." We say, "ohh, well we will check it out and find a good spot." So we drive left once we are thru the gate, after a little while we see a nice bathroom and decide it would be nice to be close to it if we need it so, we pull in and park. We proceed down the stairs to the beach area where we find nothing but rocks which are immediately met by water. There is no beach to sit on. We say to ourselves we will just move on down the beach, it has to be better. We get all the way down to the "Rooster" which is at the boat launch, decide to take a picture and mean while the park ranger is writing us a ticket because we are parked in the boat trailer only area. Not like there weren't 20 other spots open if a boat really came! Adam proceeds to run back to the CR-V and thankfully the ranger was nice enough not to give us the ticket. "But if you had been a couple more minutes I would have had to give it to you." So we still have not found any "beach" to be had, plenty of picnic dinners going on but not by the water. We drive all the way down to the opposite end in hopes of finding beach only to be told by some other park tourists that the only "beach" area that actually has beach right now because the water is sooo high is the nude area! How rude!! We ask ourselves why the little gal working the booth would not tell us this when we asked, we decided her sole purpose is to collect $ 3.00 not tell you that you can't sit on the beach, at Rooster Rock Beach!! We left quite sad that we had not beached it that day, but we did get a picture of the rock!

Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls is gorgeous! This first shot is what you see right when you walk in the park. We walked up to that bridge for a closer view, but we did not take the 6.8 mile vertical incline to go to the top of the falls.

This view is from the bridge. It is really kind of neat to watch a water drop from the top to the bottom, it takes a few seconds.

This was our view for dinner at the Multnomah Falls Restaurant. Pretty breath taking, and they don't even charge you extra.

Larch Mountain

Sunday's adventure started at Larch Mountain. Where on a clear day you can see the Cascade Mountain, Mt. Saint Helen's, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adam's, Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson. It is said that on a really clear day you can also see the Three Sister's. Today we did not see the Sister's but it was still a breathe taking view. As you can see there was a bit of haze from the forest fires that are happening right now.

This is Mt. Hood, it is our favorite and was the easiest to get a good picture of this day.

Steve Straw these dead wood shots are for you, courtesy of Adam scaling the side of Larch Mountain. :)

My favorite shot.

Boys will be boys!

So we are driving along and Adam sees this rock on the side of a mountain and says to me: " I have always wanted to climb that rock, every time I have driven by I think I should stop and climb it. " So on our way back from University Falls we pulled over so Adam could "climb" this no name rock. Meanwhile, I am taking pictures from the CR-V and hoping this does not result in a trip to the hospital, because as you can see this is a rather steep rock.

So he gets part way up no problem, then starts strategizing on how to make it to the top.

He did not make the rest of it, thankfully he came back to the car and says: "I did not want you to see me kill myself today, so I decided not to do it." Thank you honey! I was getting worried.

University Falls

We hiked to University Falls on Saturday. It was a nice short hike with a beautiful view.

Adam was adventuresome and climbed one of the huge fallen trees, I stayed on solid ground and took the pictures.

Flowers

There are all kinds of gorgeous flowers that grow wild around Oregon. I just thought these were pretty, and they are purple which is my favorite color. We found them on our way to University Falls, which is going to be my next post.

Tilla Tilla Mook Mook

Saturday we went to Tillamook OR, home of the cheese curd. aka squeaky cheese (I don't actually know if that is true but I know I love them and they are hard to find.) So cheese curds are made fresh daily at the cheese factory, the cheese is not aged at all. They are only sold at the cheese factory too, so if you want them you have to drive to Tillamook.



Outside the cheese factory.

Here we are watching the ladies, weigh, slice and package block cheese. It is pretty neat to watch.

So they also have ice cream here too, I would kill for the marion berry pie ice cream. You have never had so may fabulous flavors in your mouth at one time! Rich creamy vanilla ice cream, tart and tangy marion berries and a little sweet pie crust to round out the experience all nestled inside a delicious waffle bowl. This girl's in heaven!!! Adam had the chocolate peanut butter which I hear is also amazing, but I can't be sure as I only have eyes for one kind when we are in Tillamook.

If y'all come out and visit us this will be on the list of must taste places!

Lilly Loves The Hondo Dog Park!!!

Lilly has really enjoyed the Hondo Dog Park here is Hillsboro. It is only a couple minutes from our apartment and I try to take her everyday.

Hey, Mom, I got something here, I am going to run after it!

She gets so excited about all the butterflies and birds to chase around.

Now I am thirsty, prepare for landing at the watering hole.

So the watering hole is the safe zone, all the dogs know it, the only thing allowed here is water drinking and butt sniffing. (Lilly's friend Duke there is a 9 month old Greyhound, he is not a racing dog)



Lilly got the water hole to herself and is trying to decide how much trouble she will be in if she lays down in that puddle of dirty water.

Back out on the field, Lilly wants to know why the dogs over there can't play with her, because they are in the shy/timid dog area, and you don't qualify as shy or timid.

Resting with Dad after a long day at work and the park.

Who says I am not shy and timid, ohh right, only when I sleep! :)

Mc Menamins

Sunday we went to the Kennedy School for dinner and a movie. The Mc Menamins have quite a few unique eateries around Portland. So this place is an old elementary school that they have transformed into a hotel, restaurant, a few bars, soaking pool, movie theater, and a working brewery. The movies are shown in the auditorium and it is lined with couches and overstuffed chairs with small tables so you can eat your dinner while watching the show. We saw Maid of Honor and ate chicken mediterranean pizza and fresh cut fries with malt vinegar. Doesn't sound like much of a combo but it totally rocks!

Check out this website for some good pics of the place.
http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php

Birthday Surprise

Many of you know that my birthday was July 3rd. We were traveling from South Carolina to Oregon on my birthday so Adam planned a day trip for us to celebrate once we got here. On Saturday we went to Sauvie Island for the u-pick berries. He sure knows the way to my heart! You go and pick rasberries, blueberries, marionberries, and cherries. That is what is in season now, but, later there are peaches and pears and a ton of veggies. We also went to the Columbia River Beach. It was hot but the water was sooooo cold. Adam got all the way in I just went up to my waist. The sand was great, salt and pepper color and smooth.

Showing off the new pedi. :)

There were sail boats and sail surfers. This little guy was building a dam.




We picked all these berries ourselves, I am standing in front of a pear tree.

Happy as a clam with a box full of berries while we explore Sauvie Island.

All the cherries that were low enough to pick had been taken so we had to buy our cherries, but they still taste amazing. We also got some fresh garden tomatoes.

We went to the Sauvie Island wildlife area to check out the hunting so Adam can take Lilly there for training while we are in Oregon. These cows just roam free out there, we saw some horses too.

What a fun birthday surprise. I am not sure if Adam will be able to keep me away from the u-pick places. I think there may be an addiction forming. Just means I won't buy fruit at the grocery store and the u-pick places are sooo cheap!

American Idols

On Friday we went to the American Idols Concert, our first adventure since we arrived in Oregon. (though I can tell you that the task of getting settled in a new state is an adventure in itself) Selma Oregon is home for Kristy Lee Cook, I think her entire hometown was there, they LOVE her! Some obvious hard to listen to moments were Ramiele, Carly, and Jason along with the row of teenie boppers behind us that shrieked at decibels I am sure I have never heard before. Although I should say that Jason's version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow was quite good. Highlights include Syesha, Chekezie, and David A. The real show stoppers were Michael Johns, Brooke White, and David Cook. If I have to pick one shining star it would be Brooke, she has lost all of her nerves since the show and was a natural, totally in her element.