Dinner!

First home-made dinner in WA. I am so grateful at this time for all the people who have touched me in the past years. This dinner ends up being strange and cool:

Dinner plate: Martha
Wine glass: Cyndi
Silverware: Sally
Vegetsbles: NW grown (Vicki would be proud)
Cookware: bought with Patty in AZ
Knife to cut stuff: Xmas present from family member (sorry, I don’t remember
which… Dad and Mom?)
Dinner Music: Ella and her Fellas purchased in Columbus with Mary and Bart
Computer playing music: Advice and direction from Andy (need more advice and
direction now!)
Job in WA: Shannon and others…

Thanks again to everyone!

Deconstructing ReloCube

Friday began quite slooooowwwwwwlllllly waiting for the Cube to arrive. It finally found us at 3:00, and we are such super unpackers that we had it empty by 4:20!
The Relocube had to be forklifted to its place; a parking place that we had to secure at 10 AM with the Malibu...

Hoping this stuff is my stuff....

Panning up to and through the apartment! (took too long to load :-( )

Luckily, there is a BBQ at the Apartment Complex this afternoon so we headed over to the clubhouse have burgers and dogs. Yay!

Along the coast, over the bridge, through the woods to a traffic jam we go...

Thursday we began our trek from Astoria, OR. We began the day visiting the Lewis and Clark NP and checking out Fort Clatsop

From there we explored the Astoria Column, which is over 160 steps to the top. Getting to the top was well worth it. The column was carved by the Clatsop Indians and tells the history of the area.


We got some great info from the woman in the visitor center at the column...for those of you who know this quote you'll appreciate the images below:
Francis Fratelli: Tell us everything! Everything!
Chunk: Everything. OK! I'll talk! In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max's toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog... When my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I got nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out... But the worst thing I ever done - I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, t-t-then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa - and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.
Jake Fratelli: I'm beginning to like this kid, Ma!
Mama Fratelli: [tired of Chunk's stalling] Hit puree!



For those of you who "aren't so tough without yer car now are ya" these pics are for you...


Finally the crossing of the bridge...


OK, so I goofed up on the technology and only got the ending, but the part I thought I taped was great...Ky hootin and hollerin, Cy warning WA it would never be the same, and a TAXI opening that wasn't on a continual loop for 4 miles across the bridge.

Finally made it to the evergreen state of WA!

Made it to the apt, then got lost for our first time in 2K miles finding our motel.
Cy's friend B4 (a former massage school buddy) then met up with us and treated us to a great Thai dinner and massages...leaving us both in relaxation puddles to sleep and awake recharged to unpack the "ReLo Cube" on Friday.

Yum Mee !!

Smoked Salmon stands along the coast provide yum-mee treats!!

The Sea, the beach, beer and cheese...what else do you need?

Cy posting
Started out yesterday morning (Tuesday) feeling right at home when we stocked up our cooler at a Trader Joe's in Eugene, OR, then on to the coast of Oregon. What a view along the coastal Hwy 101. We made our first coastal stop at the famous Heceta Head Lighthouse.

We hiked up and got a tour of the most photographed lighthouse in the US.

Going on up the coast there were many state parks and viewpoints to experience (even a few cheesy touristy towns along the way).


We stopped for the night in Newport, OR at a very quaint mom and pop motel (very old...not even any three prong plugs in the room) that was a walk to the beach. We ate a great dinner at the Rogue brewery (don't worry, Ky was just sad in the photo because she wasn't able to order all of the beers available).


Ky woke this morning shivering from the cold of OR with a smile on her face....wooooohoooo...cold weather rocks sprang from her lips :o]
Newport is the home of a great Ocean Aquarium. There was a special exhibit...Oddwater...for us to see this morning. Ky and CY fit right in!!!

Next, we ate our way up the coast of OR. First for lunch was the "best clam chowder in OR" at Mo's. The afternoon snack took place at Tillamook's Cheese Factory and Creamery, a farmer owned and operated establishment for over 100 years. After our self guided tour we had some fabulous ice cream and Ky got some of her squeeky cheese for the road. The next stop was Barnacle Bills Seafood Store for the "Best Smoked Sturgeon"...it really must be the best because there was no smoked sturgeon to be seen...our AAA book was after all a bit outdated, so we settled for smoked salmon... fabulous stuff!!! Dinner was spent in "The Wet Dog Cafe and Brewery" overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean in Astoria, OR.

Tomorrow Ky crosses this bridge to WA (the longest continuous 3 span, through-truss bridge in the world...4 miles in length) to begin the next chapter of her life....

Look out WA...once Ky crosses your bridge tomorrow you'll never be the same! Hide the beer :o]

Wildfires, Slides, and Rocks, Oh My!

Hey all,
We logged over 500 miles today! ....along the way got a great view of Mt. Shasta.

We were lucky to make it into Crater Lake NP. Roads had been closed due to rain and mudslides the past few days. A wildfire kicked up heat and smoke that made the view pretty hazy.


We imagined the blue-ness of the lake below...
enjoyed the cool breeze and did a little snow skiing.

With no room at the inn, we were forced to leave the park (but not before begging the Visitor's Center for a stamp after closing time). Thirty miles out we came upon this sign...

... so we had to detour... 60 miles of extra mileage, but after Cy got new directions from the fire crew we were on our way and ended up at a pretty cool motel in Oakridge, OR.
:-)

Ansel Adams Has Nothing On Us (or does he?)

Fun Yosemite Facts can be found at the link : Yosemite Facts
But an interesting fact--> Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America and third highest in the world, standing out at 2425 feet. An awe-inspiring plunge, it merges into smaller waterfalls below it before thundering to the bottom waters. It is one of the most popular hikes at Yosemite. This is just the lower portion...

Yosemite was very crowded and conjested... yuck! At times we felt like we felt like we were at an amusement park, not a national park, but hey, at least people are out enjoying it!
Half Dome:

El Capitan.


On to Crater Lake...

Giants do Exist! (and Videos)

Hey everyone,
We made it to Sequoia NP today... and what a day it was! We made it through the hottest place in the US to the place with the largest trees in the world. Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevadas was not in sight but we knew it was there; the highest peak in the contiguous 48. The first video is posted as well... we'll see how that goes.




When climbing to view the Sierra Nevada's, one should bring a Sierra Nevada! Geez, what a climb!

But the view from the top with the breeze in your hair made it worth the hike!



And again, just big trees! (jbt)