Pedal Power: Day 2

Success!!

My grandmother offered to meet me in her garden today for lots and lots of starts. I never turn down free plants, but I was a bit concerned about my commitment to a week of pedal power. I threw my panniers on my bike rack and headed up the hill to her house. An hour later, both bags were overflowing as I sped home. I nearly lost a zuchinni, but it hung in there. Ma said I looked like a parade float with all the foliage hanging from my bike. It was really fun :)

Tomorrow I might have to buy new hoses at Bi-Mart. Those won't fit in my panniers.... We'll see!

Pedal Power

I decided not to drive at all this week. I really want to do my part to help the environmental crisis we're all facing. So, this week it's pedal power for me. (Besides, I need to get in some miles before the 36-mile Bridge Pedal on Aug. 12)

I already made a trip to Safeway on my bicycle. It was an easy couple of miles, and the milk, eggs, butter, cheese, bread and produce made it home nicely! My next challenge will be to get back from Ma's house tomorrow with all the plants she's going to dig out of her garden for me. Hmmmm.... I need to get creative. Maybe I'll take a couple trips - I could use the exercise anyway :)

Anyone else doing the Bridge Pedal this year???

Happy Birthday Pa!!!

We helped Pa celebrate his 69th birthday today with brunch at Hayden's Grill in Tualatin. We also helped him finish off that little birthday treat :)

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Pa...... Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!!! :)

First Day

Today is Brad's first day at FLIR in Wilsonville! I sent him on his way with a tummy full of oatmeal and a cooler full of goodies. I hope he has a terrific day :)

Happy Birthday Ma!!!

Today is my grandma's 70th birthday!!!!!

We celebrated last weekend with a family camp out at Offut Lake Resort in Washington - Ma, Pa, Mom, Dad, Eryn, Kari, Vicki, Kayla, Jessie, Brad and Liz. We had a great time relaxing in the drizzle, swapping stories and visiting nearby Wolf Haven International. There was a yummy carrot cake and some presents.... like Ma's new Crocs??

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Ma, Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

IKEA!

This Weekly Wednesday was spent at Portland's newest BIG box store - IKEA!

We wanted to avoid the first-thing-in-the-morning rush, so we hopped on MAX about 1:30 p.m. and rode from Sunset TC to the Red Robin near Lloyd Center for some lunch. Then it was back on the train for a smooth ride to the Swedish wonderland.

We spent hours looking through the showrooms, drooling and dreaming of fancy, coordinated houses. A small snack at the restaurant kept us fueled for the shopping marathon. We each ended up with some good bargains - pillows, picture frames and kitchen gadgets. Linus even got a new pop-up cat house to play in.

Traffic and crowds were not as bad as we anticipated. I think people were scared to head out on the first day. I'm glad we did! :)


What should we do next week??

Camping

I'm sitting in my folks' fifth-wheel at Offut Lake near Tenino, Wash. Mom is preparing Mexican food for dinner - YUM!! The sky is drizzling, but it's not too cold. Camping is fun :)

Last day

Today is Brad's last day at OECO. After several years as a manufacturing engineer at the Milwaukie electronics company, he is leaving for new and exciting adventures. He starts July 30 at FLIR in Wilsonville :)

Weekly Wednesday

For my birthday, in anticipation of my upcoming retirement from the news biz, my parents and sister gave me Weekly Wednesdays. We spend each summer Wednesday doing something fun (that I wouldn't be able to do if I was working) - so far a Mariners game at Safeco Field (we beat the Red Sox!!) and a matinee showing of Ratatouille.


This week we drove to Lincoln City for shopping at the outlet mall and a visit with my Arizona aunt Cindy and uncle Don who are now summering on the Oregon Coast. We debated where to eat lunch and finally settled on The Blow Hole in Depoe Bay. Wouldn't you know that the restaurant is closed Wednesdays!?! Bummer.

So we ended up at the Sea Hag down the street and enjoyed very good seafood!!!

After finding some good discounts at the mall, we hit my favorite coffee stand for hot chocolate on Highway 101 on the way out of town.

Unfortunately, two small dogs were also dining inside the little building (one sitting right at the table!), so we left all grossed out. Dogs do not belong inside restaurants. Yuck.

Praise God for RAIN!

I'm a sixth-generation Oregonian, and I LOVE the rain!!!! While many wait anxiously for the hot, dry summer months, I wait for the other, wet months -- I think it's S.A.D. in reverse, seriously.

Anyway, I finally awoke today to a cooler, drippy day. I threw on my running clothes and went for a short jog around my neighborhood, smiling all the way. Praise God!! :)

St. Helens 6/30/07

Our rather large group of 16 headed for the crater rim of Mount St. Helens under sunny skies and cool weather. By the end of the day everyone had summited and returned safely to camp. The day was definitely an adventure for all, and we finished with the same number of smiles we started with, so I consider the climb a success. ; )

After a brief pause for photos at 4800' our generous camp cooks headed back down to prepare a yummy taco dinner for the hungry hikers*.

*Disclaimer: Ordinarily a group on this type of outing would be referred to as "climbers", but I couldn't resist the alliteration.

Taking in the views and refueling for the descent.

A song for Donna....

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear DONNA! Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!! :)

Signs

We saw a couple funny signs on our trip to Crater Lake :)

Crater Lake

We just returned from a great trip to Crater Lake National Park -- the first visit for both of us.

We had a great time exploring the area -- climbing nearby Mount Thielsen:

Hiking up Mount Scott (which would have been a much bigger deal if we hadn't been able to park 1,500 feet from the top!):

We drove out to see the pinnacles -- fossilized fumaroles eroded by a creek:

We didn't want to pay $30 for the boat tour, but we made the trek down to the water's edge anyway. Oh, and when I went down to touch the water, a very plump squirrel tried his hardest to get my gorp out of my backpack!

Big thunderstorms rolled in Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, causing a bit of anxiety but also putting on an awesome show!

Our only real complaint was the mosquito infestation. The little buggers were everywhere!! We used a ton of bug spray and Benadryl cream to stop the itchies.