Oregon Coast Motorcycle Trip ~ September 2013 ~ Part Two

Lots more pictures here of our trip. I love looking at the pictures and reliving the trip.

Day 5 (Tuesday September 10) Florence, OR to Brookings, OR

We headed out of Florence for our last full day along the coast. We stopped in Bandon for lunch. What a pretty little town. My aunt and uncle moved there years ago, and my uncle still lives there. Unfortunately we didn't stop and see him. I just loved riding along the ocean. We need to go back and do this trip again. Our stop for the night was in Brookings. As usual our motel was right on the ocean. I looked out my window and saw a whale playing just a little way out in the water. I grabbed my phone (camera) and ran out on the beach. Gayle and I watched that whale cavort right in front of us for twenty or thirty minutes. If it had been warm we could have swam right out to that whale--it was that close. Instead we were wise and just took a bunch of pictures, hoping just one would turn out. 

Judy and Hal

Karen and Scott

Gayle and Fred (Bandon lighthouse)

Ray and Diane

Gayle and Tamara

Parked on the street in Bandon (Ray and Dave in the background by the house)

Diane and Ray

Judy, Karen, Tamara, Gayle, and Diane

 

The whale. Or at least its spout. (on the right)

Day 6 (Wednesday September 11) Brookings, OR to Shady Cove, OR

From Brookings we headed south into California. We stopped at Trees of Mystery - a great place to view some beautiful redwood trees.  From there back north, and into Oregon again. At this point we headed northeast, into the more central part of Oregon. We rode right along the Rogue River. Beautiful. We went from pretty chilly weather along the coast to 105 degrees by the time we got to Shady Cove. We were shedding layers like crazy. The first thing we did was get into the pool when we checked in for the night. We had a delicious dinner at the Rogue River Lodge. We sat outside right on the river. It was a lovely evening.

Riding among the redwoods

Our group in front of the Cathedral tree.
L to R: Gayle and Fred , Ray and Diane, Tamara and Dave, Judy and Hal , Scott and Karen.

Gayle and Fred riding the gondola up to the top. Gayle and I don't like heights. We rode together. 

Ray and Diane in the gondola.

Ray and Diane - overlooking the tops of VERY tall trees.

Day 7 (Thursday September 12) Shady Cove, OR to Sisters, OR

We did a lot of riding. It was beautiful country. We stopped at Crater Lake, which I'd never seen. (I'd never seen any part of this trip before besides a little bit of the ride in Washington). It was beautiful. We stopped for lunch at a diner out in the middle of nowhere. We had Mexican for dinner in Sisters. You could tell it was not the busy season there. Everything shut down by about 6:00 PM.

Diane at the parking lot of one of the viewpoints at Crater Lake

Diane and Ray with Crater Lake in the background

Day 8 (Friday September 13) Sisters, OR to Cascade Locks, OR

We rode some beautiful roads past Detroit Lake. We stopped and took a few pictures along the river. Then Ray and I cut out from the group while they did some more scenic riding and we went to see my niece Lucy and her family. It was the highlight of our day! Lucy is the same age as our daughter Audrey. A few years ago she lived with us during a rough patch in her life. It was an honor to have her with us. She feels like one of our own! She has a darling family and a very cute home. Now when I think of her I can see her in her own place in my mind's eye. I love that. 

We met up with the group at the Crown Point view of the Columbia river (barely 10 minutes away from Lucy). Then on to Multnomah Falls, from there to our stop in Cascade Locks.

L to R: Ray, Diane, Gayle, Fred, Karen, Judy, Hal, Tamara, Dave

Elna, Lucy, Diane

Ray. Columbia River in the background.

Dave, Ray, Scott, Fred, Hal

Diane and Ray at Multnomah Falls

Our group waving their arms. I elected to stay behind. That whole heights/bridge thing. 

Day 9 (Saturday September 14) Cascade Locks, OR to Boise, ID

It was hard to say goodbye to our friends in the morning. I cried. They rode back to Seattle, and we began our ride home. This was our least enjoyable ride - all freeway to Boise. We were like horses heading back to the barn at this point. The view for as long as we rode along the Columbia was stunning. And crossing the Blues Mountains was pretty too. It's just more rough when riding on the freeway with the buffeting from the cars and trucks around you. We arrived at Jeanie and Bob Peck's just in the nick of time. A big thunderstorm broke about 20 minutes after we got there.  We had a lovely evening and dinner in our home away from home.

Day 10 (Sunday September 15) Boise, ID to Sandy, UT

Big storms were predicted along our route, so we planned on getting an early start for home. Ray and I both woke up at about 3:00 AM and couldn't sleep. We decided to get going on our way. It was a cold but beautiful ride. There was almost no one on the freeway, so the ride was smooth. The sky was as clear as could be and filled with constellations. Ordinarily we don't choose to ride at night if we can help it, but this view was stunning. We made it home and never encountered any storm along the way. It felt good to be home again.

All in all I would say this was one of the best trips/vacations I've ever had. Great times with great friends--who could ask for more? It was very relaxing and believe me, that's just what I needed.

Oregon Coast Motorcycle Trip ~ September 2013 ~ Part One

This was maybe the best September of my life. Okay, second best, because it was the month of September when I started dating and fell in love with my husband. 

While I was spending time with Debra's family that first week in September, Ray stayed home and worked a couple of days then he drove the motorcycle up to Seattle. Scott Perry met him in LeGrande, Oregon and they rode the rest of the way to Seattle together, taking a lot of very fun back roads. 

Friday morning, the 6th of September, we took off on a motorcycle trip with several of our friends. What a glorious trip. It was so beautiful and relaxing. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed it. 

We started out with six couples:

Doug and Denene Crandall

Dave and Tamara Badger

Scott and Karen Perry

Hal and Judy Hartzell

Ray and Diane

Fred and Gayle Mackenzie

Actually the Hartzells joined us on Monday. John and Tammy Jacobson (no picture) started out with us, but left to return home on Sunday morning. The Crandalls left to return home on Tuesday morning. 

This post has a lot of pictures. Some were taken with my phone, and many were taken with the little digital point and shoot camera that I wear around my neck while we ride. I just snap away and hope that a few will turn out in focus. It's easy to tell which camera I was using. If we are off the bikes, it's my phone. If we're riding, it was taken with my other camera. 

Day 1 (Friday September 6) Kirkland, WA to Cannon Beach, OR

We all met in Kirkland and rode to Edmonds to catch the ferry over to Kingston. It was raining, so once we were on the ferry we put on all our rain gear. The sun peeped out a couple of times during the day, but every time we took our gear off, we ended up having to put it on again.  We rode along Hood Canal a good portion of the time. We had lunch at a little burger stand along the canal. When we arrived at the Columbia River, we had to cross a long, tall bridge to get to Oregon. Bridges are not my favorite things, and we crossed a lot of them on this trip. I survived, but they made me nervous. We ended up in Cannon Beach and had dinner at the Lumberyard Rotisserie and Grill. Delicious food. I recommend it.

I took this picture while crossing the Columbia River.  On that long, tall bridge.

Putting on Rain Gear

Day 2 (Saturday September 7) Cannon Beach, OR to Lincoln City, OR

We took our time getting out of Cannon Beach in the morning. It gave us a great opportunity to walk the beach. Cannon Beach is one of the prettiest areas I've ever seen. We had breakfast at the Pig 'N Pancake, then off we went. We stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and did the self guided tour, had some great cheese curd samples, and ice cream. I don't need to stop there again. There was a pretty big crowd, and I think I would have rather kept going and bought some good Tillamook ice cream in a regular store. After the Cheese Factory we went to the Air Museum just outside Tillamook. It's one of the places they housed blimps during World War II. I learned some interesting things there. Then came the best part of the day. The Three Capes Scenic Drive. It took us through some state parks and we saw the Cape Meares lighthouse, which is very pretty. We finished up in Lincoln City. We had a hard time finding a place to eat that was close to where we were staying and still open. We ended up in a pizza place that was pretty good. We were able to catch the BYU game on TV while we were eating. 

Karen Perry and Diane in front of the famous Haystack rock

Out for a morning walk: Dave and Tamara Badger, Gayle and Fred Mackenzie, Karen and Scott Perry

Low tide!

Diane and Ray

One of our viewpoints along the way. Diane and Ray

Pizza for dinner. L to R: Scott and Karen Perry, Doug and Denene Crandall, Fred and Gayle Mackenzie, Tammy and John Jacobson, half of Tamara Badger

Day 3 (Sunday September 8) Lincoln City, OR to Florence, OR

We attended church first thing in the morning, then started on our next leg of the trip. We stopped in Depoe Bay for a few minutes and saw a few whales. They were easy to spot because the whale watching boats followed them around. We continued down the coast and had lunch in Newport. I can't remember the restaurant, but the food was great. We ended in Florence, right on the river.

The Badgers

The Crandalls

Another bridge! This one is in Newport.

We saw clouds like this all along the coast. It was fascinating.

Day 4 (Monday September 9) Florence, OR

We stayed in Florence for the day. Did a little laundry, relaxed, and went on a day trip on the bikes up the Umpqua River. We saw some elk, and the river is beautiful. We ate at the Noti (pronounced no tie) Pub. 

We saw these signs all over the place along the coast.

Tamara, Karen, Gayle, Diane

Along the Umpqua River

All along the way we marveled at what a beautiful world we live in. The view from a motorcycle is amazing - no confines. I love the ocean and can never get enough of looking at it, hearing it, and being near it. This trip was wonderful for that. We rode all along the coast for most of the trip. It was wonderful.

I'll post the second half of the trip in a couple of days.

Meet Katherine

 This was our first view of Katherine:

It's also when we found out she has some fairly big heart problems. (The doctors originally thought there might be some other genetic problems, but no, just her heart.) She had several fetal echo cardiograms and ultrasounds after that first ultrasound at 20 weeks. 

She was born today, and all went well. She came out and cried right away, which was a relief--breathing on her own! Her apgar scores were good. She weighs 7 lbs, 15 oz. They whisked her into the NICU right away. No chance for Audrey or Joseph to hold her.  Ray and I brought the kids up to the hospital and we were all lucky enough to see her for about two minutes when they transported her over to Primary Children's Medical Center.

Katherine will have open heart surgery in the next couple of days. The doctors are very positive. It will be a huge relief when that is done and we know everything is on the mend. 

Isn't she beautiful?

Seattle Trip ~ September 2013

I arrived on Saturday morning. Debra and the children were there to pick me up at the airport. The talking and fun started right then, and didn't end until I left. 

I always have a food agenda when I go to Seattle, and I managed to squeeze in a couple of favorites while I was there. We did King Charley's the same day I got there. I just love their burgers. The best in Washington.

My friends were kind enough to accommodate my craving for a beef gyro at Pizza Bank and joined me there with a fun evening of cards afterward. And when Ray arrived in town we hit Spud's Fish and Chips one night. 

I had such a fun time with everyone--so much fun I didn't take enough pictures. But I did get a few.

Jonathan and Diane

Diane

While I was there, Madeleine had her first day of school--kindergarten. It was such a thrill for me to share that with her. I always loved school and I'm ever hopeful that my grandchildren will too. 

Madeleine and Diane

Madeleine, Randy, and Diane

Madeleine and Debra

My girl and her girl

The walk to and from school looks like this.

That pretty much wraps up the week. We walked Madeleine to and from school every day, and Debra and I worked on a few projects. Mostly the family digital photo album.

I can't wait to go back!

BYU Football ~ Fall 2013

We love going to BYU football games. (Perhaps that's why we have season tickets.) We missed the first game this season because we were out of town, so this was the first game we actually attended. The weather was perfect. We usually get there a little early (so we can beat the traffic) and enjoy watching the stands fill up before the games.

Ray, me, David (Ray's brother) and Sally (David's wife)

September Report

Here it is a full week into October and I haven't done my September report. That's a pretty good indication of how September went, and how October is going.

1. First Things First: going very well right now. I hope I can keep up on it.

2. Photo Labeling and Scanning: none done.

3. Household Organization: I gave my bathroom a very thorough top to bottom scrubbing, which it desperately needed.

4. Projects: I finished a couple of small things (can't mention them here yet.)

Really what happened in September is that I had an amazing vacation for a couple of weeks that I will write about on my blog, hopefully before the end of October. (No promises on that timeline, though.) I have so much to write, and haven't really had time. My goal in October is to hold my household together. More on that later.