Oregon Trip 2011 week of July 4th (Just me and Mom)

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Oregon Trip 2011

Day 1

We left the house at 0600 and ate breakfast at Shoney's before heading to Nashville. After dropping off the car at Alexis Inn and Suites and after Mom was finally able to get up into the shuttle van (lol), we were off.

The flights were pleasant. I listed to music and watched videos on my Zune. I suspended my diet for this trip, so I ate good on this day. We had Quizno's for lunch, I had chicken Cabonara and it was delicious. We had Denny's for dinner and I discovered blueberry and white chocolate pancake puppies. They were to die for. So good.

We drove down the I-5 from Portland. I HAD to stop at Rice Hill for ice cream at the famous road side spot, of course. It was a quick drive down and when we got to Rob's house where Doug and Brook were staying, we were treated to fancy water and a massage chair. It was a very nice first day.

Day 2

What an awesome day! Dan called and told us that they were having a multi-church service at Riverside Park in Grants Pass. The main speaker was Francis Chan, someone we had been reading at our church! We went and listened to him in the morning.

After that, all of us, Doug, Brook and E and Dan and Shawna, Cameron and his girlfriend as well and Mom and I all headed to the coast. Our first stop was Smith River where we had planned to swim. We quickly learned that the late snow thaw meant the river was freezing cold. We did not swim. We did wade a little in the water until our feet were numb. It was still fun.

From there we set off to the coast. It was sunny and beautiful, albeit windy. We found a nice cove between some rocks that provided a wind break. We played with E's new sand castle set and I took lots of pictures. I loved it. After the beach time, we finished with some Wild River pizza, which is the best pizza in the world (my childhood opinion). A GREAT day with family.

Day 3

Another awesome day. We were so worn out from the day before that we decided to stick close to the house for the most part. We did go into Grants Pass, however to do a little shopping and check out our old stomping grounds. I bought some shirts at Ross and a 4th of July dress for E. Then we got a Bjorn for Isaiah, Christopher's new baby.

After we returned, Mom, Doug and Brook, E and I went to the cemetery to see Daddy and Mel's graves and pay our respects.

Mom and I then babysat E while Doug and Brook did some kid free shopping. I played with her in her room while Mom napped and then we switched. E is so cute and sweet, it was a lot of fun watching her play.

In the evening, Rob and Jen hosted the best 4th of July party that I had ever been to. They have a lot of cool friends and family, mine included. 😊 The the fireworks started...all around us. I guess Oregon doesn't really enforce their fireworks laws as there were tons of show grade fireworks going off all over from private homes. It was cool being in the middle of all that light and sound.

Day 4

This day started slow, just resting around the house.

Lanny Carpenter, Brook's mom came over for a visit and we went to lunch at Olive Garden. After lunch, Mom and I both took naps.

We headed out to GP around 3:30pm where we had an awesome family reunion and got to see Isaiah for the first time. Chris, Carlie and Isaiah, Dan and Shawna, Cameron and Zan, Doug, Brook and E, Dennis and Joy and Jerry and Ann were all there. It was especially good to see Jerry as he had been really sick. It was sooo good to see everyone! We ate KFC and took lots of pictures and visited for quite awhile. I felt so blessed.

Day 5

We spent most of the day relaxing around the house again and playing with E. I took Doug to work and then got some pictures of Tablerock along the way back. Then Mom and I watched E while Brook went shopping. She was such a doll!!

At six pm I met up with Danielle and Amy at Abby's Pizza. They had some of their family there and it was so good to see them! They are truly awesome friends.

Day 6

This is the day we left Doug and Brooks. We packed up our things and said our goodbyes. E was a little sweetie, she gave us each a hug and said "I uv you".

We headed to Cave Junction and had a nice visit with Jerry and Ann. When we left there we ate at Dairy Queen for lunch. I was pleased that they still had their seasoned fries. We went back to a rock shop where Jerry traded some agates for a huge amethyst piece. I bought a pretty rock and a small wolf for my friend, Debbie for her birthday.

We left there to go to visit with Amy at her house in Kirby. She showed me a poem that she had kept and even framed that I had written for her when we were kids. It was just a silly little poem, but it meant a lot to me that she had kept it.

After our visit, we headed to the Oregon Coast. But first we went to Crescent City to check out our old neighborhood on Pebble Beach drive. The ocean was a lovely shade of green. We drove over to the Harbor to see the damage that had been done by the Tsunami that hit following the major quake in Japan. There were still only a few boats in the harbor and the dock was completely gone. Overall, Crescent City faired pretty well, considering.

After that we went on up to Brookings and checked into the hotel. I called Ella to fill her in on the trip and she filled us in on the status of the cats. Then I called Asia and had a nice talk with her.

I decided I wanted to go one more time to the beach, so we started at Harris in order to watch the sunset. I took some pictures there, but really wanted to see Lone Ranch instead. We went up to Lone Ranch and I enjoyed some time on the beach as Mom sat in the car. It was so pretty in the light of the setting sun. You could not see the sun set in to the water there, but I didn't care. There was only one couple on the beach beside me and they were all the way down at the end of the beach, so I pretty much had the beach to myself. It was awesome, I really enjoyed the solitude. I talked to God, let the wind blow through my fingers and enjoyed the incredible views. It was VERY cold and I was only in a t-shirt, but after my body got numb, I was fine. I tingled for awhile when I got back into the warmth of the car, but it was all worth it. What a nice day.

Day 7

We decided to drive up the coast to Portland. The sun was shining, but it was really windy and cool. Gorgeous, though. The ocean started out kind of black and a little muddy, but still so pretty.

We ate breakfast at Double D's and got gas in Gold Beach. As the day progressed, the ocean got even more beautiful and blue. By the time we reached the Newport area, it was almost teal. What a pretty drive!! Not nearly long enough. 😊

We stopped at Coquille Lighthouse, where I got some great shots, and I also photographed Haceta Head and Yaquina Head along the way. I went for a beautiful, but very windy walk along agate beach as well. We did not take the Seal Rock loop south of Newport, but I wanted to make a note of it for next time I came this way. It looked like a neat drive. We did stop at the awesome boardwalk shops in Newport, though. It was my inspiration for Verlorain, with all it's kite shops, candy shops and chowder houses. We bought some souvenirs there and then headed up to Lincoln City where we cut in toward Portland, leaving the magic of the sea behind.

We hit horrendous traffic in Portland and it ended up taking way longer than expected to get to our hotel. We did not get there until 7pm and we had left Brookings at 8am, 10.5 hours earlier. We were both exhausted. I was supposed to meet up with Jodie that evening, but her drill ran long and we were both so tired we settled for a phone conversation instead. I was relieved, I just wanted to sleep.

Day 8

When I said the magic of the sea was left behind when we headed to Portland, it was no joke! Last night I dropped a tray we got for room service and broke a plate. Then I accidently pulled the sink stopper out and hit my head trying to fix it. In the morning we headed out for lunch and I wanted more of those blueberry white chocolate puppies, so we drove all the way across town to Denny's only to find that they had discontinued them!

At the airport, I found out that they had changed our seats on the flight and mom and I were no longer seated together. She often needs assistance, so I had to convince them to put us together, which was no easy feat. In the confusion, I ended up leaving my awesome Mexico jacket at the airport.

The topper was when we arrived at Nashville, we missed the last shuttle by just three minutes. We had no way to get to the hotel and I was really tired and upset. With a little frustrated yelling and tears, the hotel called us a taxi, since shuttle rides were supposed to be included in the price of the hotel. I definitely over reacted, but I was just so exhausted. It was awful.

At least the drive home the next day was uneventful. Despite all of the annoyances on the last day of our trip, it really was an awesome vacation.

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