Family Gathering

Family Gathering -

Towards the end of April we hosted a family gathering which reminded us that such a large family does impact on space. We were able to pack all 22 who were able to attend into the dining area and as far as we know nobody went away hungry. We will share a few photos and leave the identification up to you. If you are totally stumped you can drop us an email and we will try and help out with identity.

Jan and Tara visit

Jan and Tara visit -

With a cool and rainy spring we were concerned about the planned visit of Jan and Tara (Nancy’s sister and niece) from California. The week before they were to arrive we had unseasonably cold weather which made the skiers happy but would not have been good for traveling over the mountains.


Enjoying Multnomah Falls in Columbia Gorge.

Luckily the weekend they were visiting it warmed up and we were able to enjoy many Rhododendrons, Azaleas and tulips in bloom. The waterfalls were also full which made for a fun trip up the Columbia River Gorge. We enjoyed our local wildlife, but the raccoon we sometimes see from our deck did not cooperate. The squirrels and hummingbirds and other birds did come and received a lot of our attention. Our trip to the coast started out nice, but ended up windy and rainy. During their visit we were able to work in visits with Roy and Suzanne as well as Brett, Kasey and Cecilia and Bertha.
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Enjoying flowers in Portland's Washington Park

Mount Hood / Eastern Oregon

Mount Hood / Eastern Oregon trip -

One weekend we went with Roy to a time-share condo in the Mt. Hood area. We were disappointed that Suzanne was not able to join us. While Roy was being a ski instructor on Mount Hood we took day drives in Central Oregon to explore areas we hadn’t seen in a long time.

We enjoyed seeing the Warm Springs Indian Reservation and then a drive along the Deschutes River where there are fishing platforms where the Warm Springs Indians still fish for salmon over the falls.

Roy had also mentioned the White River Falls which we hiked down to and thought the 3-level falls were spectacular. The occasional views of snow-covered Mt. Hood were also great. We enjoyed evenings with walks in the area, sitting in the hot tub, watching old movies, with popcorn, and had a nice relaxing time.

Coast Trips

Coast Trips -

It is less than two hours from our place to the Astoria / Cannon Beach area of the Oregon coast so this spring when the weather was predicted to be sunny and warm, with little wind, we headed for the beach. It is nice that we are able to get away in the middle of the week as those conditions do not always happen on the weekend. We hit beautiful days on two of our three trips, but one trip the next storm moved in too quickly and caught us bundling up and spending time inside to keep from being drowned. The Astoria Column sits high on a hill overlooking the town as well as the Columbia River, depicting history of early explorations by Lewis and Clark and early settlers. There is also a Native American ocean going canoe displayed. The Oregon coast is quite rugged and very beautiful. Below are a few pictures to help you visualize our trips...