Trip to Oregon May 2013 (Rob, Me and Mom)

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Trip to Oregon on May 2013 (Honeymoon trip)

Day 1 (May 25th)

We left Knoxville at 1240. We had a very long flight to Oregon that included long layovers. But had some awesome chocolates at the Charlotte Airport. We didn't get to the hotel in Medford until 1am, but we did not have any trouble checking in.

Day 2 (May 26th)

We got up none too early, but still early enough to eat breakfast at the hotel. We went and met Doug at their house and saw it. Doug took us to the Train Park. It was really cute, a lot of garden sized trains and great layouts. We got to the church for our Oregon reception a little early at 1pm. Our immediate family all came a little early so that we could take family pictures. I set up the camera and we did some really cool shots in the church yard. It was a blast being crazy with the family, and especially nice since everyone was there: Doug, Brook, E and A; Dan and Shawna with Christopher and Isaiah, Cherie and Jo and Cameron, My Mom (the matriarch) and Rob and I.

The reception started afterwards and I was blessed by all the people that showed up. Joy and Dennis, Rob and Jen, Deb and Chris Woods, Chris and Isaiah, Jodie and Nicole, Asia and her son Gabe, Amy and Mike with their kids, Ben and Samantha, and Lanny and Daryl (Brook's parents). It was a great turnout. Really fun. Brook made a nice beach themed cake and everything. After the reception, a lot of the family met at Hometown Buffet for dinner. Mom went to stay with Doug and Brook and Rob and I went to the hotel. Then, us old fogies went to bed by 8:30pm. haha

Day 3 (May 27th)

We met Doug, Brook, the girls and Mom for breakfast at Elmer's in the morning and then Me, Rob and Mom headed up to Crater Lake. We stopped at the cemetery along the way. There was a Memorial Day event going on, so it was packed. We went and saw Daddy's and Mel's graves to pay our respects. There was a helicopter fly over while we were there, and one was from Erickson's, where Doug works.

We left there and dropped Mom off at Joy and Dennis' place in Prospect. We stayed and visited a bit, then went on up to Crater Lake. Crater Lake was cold, rainy and completely socked in with fog. We could not see the lake at all. We headed back out stopping at a restaurant near the entrance to the Park. It was not a completely wasted trip, however. We stopped along the Rogue River at the Gorge and walked around a bit. It was GORGEous! lol Then we stopped to photograph Lost Creek Bridge. Rob loved it there.

Back at the hotel, we went for a swim and enjoyed the evening.

Day 4 (May 28th)

We first went to Micro-Trains where Rob buys most of his model trains that just happened to be located in Medford. We took a tour of the factory, which was small, but pretty cool. The people were really nice, they even gave us each a train car!

I then took Rob to Grants Pass to show him where I lived and he requested we eat at Sizzler for lunch. After lunch, I took him up to Merlin to the Hell's Gate overlook to see the bridge and the rougher part of the Rogue River. I told him that was my favorite area of the Rogue to white water raft when I lived there. We went on to Cave Junction so that I could show Rob where I grew up. We visited Jerry and Ann and then went and saw Chris at work at Taylor's sausage, and had an obligatory Taylor Dog. 😊

After a long day, we rested at the hotel a bit before going and hanging out with Doug's family. Then we just went back to the hotel for the evening.

Day 5 (May 29th, Rob's birthday!)

We left early for the coast. We stopped in CJ for some Dairy Queen fries, then I took Rob to The Forks on the Illinois River where we sometimes swam as kids. We stopped at Walker Road in the Redwoods and decided to take a walk. It was so lovely and I was getting some great pictures, but then we heard loud crashing noise. I looked up just in time to see the top of a Redwood tree as it fell right near us! That was quite a scare, so we went back to the car and on to Crescent City.

I drove Rob to Pebble Beach Drive where we once lived overlooking the ocean and then we went to eat at the Apple Peddler. The restaurant was along the way to Endert's beach overlook, so I took him up there as well. We went to the Crescent Beach Motel room that we booked and checked in and went for a walk on the beautiful beach outside the hotel.

We went through Ocean World after that. It was fun, we played around and enjoyed the animal shows. We had dinner at the Nautical Inn up in Smith River afterwards and were rewarded with awesome food and a great view of the ocean. When we got to the room, we went for another walk along the beach around sunset. It was so pretty and romantic. We saw what we first though was a dog up the beach, until a man approached it and we discovered it was a harbor seal. It ran...or rather waddled back into the ocean as we approached. It was still a rare and cool sight to see. We really enjoyed the walk. Rob really liked the hotel for it's awesome location.

Day 6 (May 30th) We woke up to the sound of ocean waves and to a beautiful sunny day. We met up with Doug's family and Mom at Good Harvest Café for breakfast and then went up to Brookings for the day. We started at Lone Ranch Beach, my favorite. The tide was WAY out, which made for some nice tide pools to check out. We walked on the beach several hours and took lots of pictures.

We stopped briefly at Harris Beach, and then went into Harbor to get ice cream at Slugs, Stones and Ice Cream Cones. Then we went to a gift shop for souvenirs. We all had lunch at Wild River pizza, then it was back to Medford and our hotel there. It was sunny in Medford as well, which was nice.

Day 7 (May 31st)

Last full day in Oregon. We decided to give Crater Lake another try, so Rob and I headed out early, Subway sandwiches in tow for a picnic at the Lake. It was a good gamble as it was a beautiful day at Crater Lake. The sun was shining, without a cloud in the sky. The views of the Lake were spectacular. We ate our sandwiches looking out over the water and then drove around the west rim of the Lake taking pictures all along the way. It was breathtaking, with the snow still covering the cliff surrounding the lake and the deep blue water reflecting it all.

We met up with Doug and Brook at Top Rock restaurant in Grants Pass while mom babysat the girls. The food was great as was the atmosphere overlooking the river. It was a fun night. We saw a fire near Grants Pass, so we went to check it out before heading back to pack up.

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