Oregon Coast

With Summer winding down and the temps rising, we decided to beat the heat with a trip to the coast. Four days in Waldport was just what we needed to cool down. We got a late start on the road and planned to drive as far as we could, then pull over and set up camp.

I love driving in the early evening. Everything seems to be quieting down. The scenery was beautiful.

I'm actually surprised Arron drove past Sisters Oregon before pulling over to sleep. Like pros the boys set up a tent, threw in some bags and we were sawing logs in no time. (all except Jon)

Good Morning!

By the way Laiken looks you'd never know just how close to Hwy 20 we pitched our tent. (maybe it wasn't the snoring the kept Jon up, but the semi traffic?) Just a short winding jaunt to breakfast, then the beach!

Ahhh, that's what we drove all night to see!

There was a lot of frisbee tossing and beach combing going on. I think my favorite was just chillaxing in a beach chair with a book, and my camera.

I think Arron found 16 cents.

We had a nice relaxing first day. We watched the Olympics on T.V. and Laiken made us rice krispie treats after dinner. Our little beach house was so fun!
I had to throw in this picture of Laiken rockin' the pearls and leather...not to mention the leopard yoga pants and turquoise flip-flops...how does she do it?

We were all pretty stocked for the all-day fishing charter. I was sure we were going to bring back loads of Rockfish, maybe we'd even get lucky and catch a Salmon!

It was a great day.

Jon pulled the first one in.

He was also the first to have to throw one back. Whatever this blurry blob is, it was no longer in season. Bummer.

After Laiken caught several Starfish, she finally pulled up a "keeper"

We didn't catch as many fish as we would have hoped. Honestly, Laiken was the hero of the day with a grand total =1! But....

we were not going home empty handed!

We caught our limit of crab! 60

Nothin' left to do but eat these little monsters!

What tastes good with crab?...more crab, and butter, maybe fries.

No one is walking away hungry from this table!

So we ate and ate and ate, all the while watching the Olympics. It was bliss.

We explored Newport the next day.

At Pirates Plunder there was much to see.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. Sunny, every day! What?

We couldn't keep Arron away from the waters edge for long, we wound up back at the docks.

I know he's thinking...if I can't catch a fish, by dang, I'll buy one!

Needless to say, we ate fresh Albacore Tuna that night. Arron cooked it up on the grill.

We strongly believe in making your own luck!

I'm so glad we did this trip.

Skye Diving

As you may already know, for Skye's sixteenth birthday we got him the gift of SCUBA certification. A little unusual, maybe, but we like those gifts that keep on giving. And Skye is not your average sixteen year old. After his class time and pool time, he had to do four open water dives. To accomplish this Skye and I took a weekend drive to Wendover NV.

It was a dusty ride to Warm Lake.

I think the hardest part of diving though, is getting all the gear on.

I think the rest was easy peasy for Skye.

If you know anything about Skye, (other than the total obviousness of his coolness) it's that he's smart. When he gets interested in something he studies it until he has a very good understanding of it. Then you can ask him anything about it and he can have an intelligent in-depth conversation about it. When he learns something he really learns it.

Out of all the students Skye spent the most time in the water.

The last day he got in a 5th dive with the instructor after everyone else left.

He is on his way to getting elevation certified and dry suit certified.

We were the last ones to leave the lake everyday! Not the instructor, Skye and I!  He loved being in the water. Skye brought his snorkle gear and continued exploring the lake all to himself. I think living near the ocean is in his future. I hope SCUBA will be a life long interest for him. Maybe he can become an instructor and certify the rest of his family?

He found some Talapia.

He found a new passion.

SCUBA

1300 Mile Motorcycle Tour

Arron and I decided it was time to upgrade our motorbikes.

What could be more fun?... I'll tell ya.
but first, here is my new bike.

We drove to Twin to get it.

Oh man, it's a blast!

Easy to ride like the Rebel, but bigger and faster!
I love that it has a buddy seat with a sissy bar.
(anyone want a ride?)

I was thinking about getting different saddle bags for it,

but today I discovered I can carry:

a gallon of milk, a quart of 1/2 and 1/2,

a quart of whipping cream, (hey, I like dairy)

a bag of ice, my wallet, Nalgene, and a pair of work clothes!

I guess the saddle bags will do.

Now for Arron's bike.

A Yamaha FJR.

We flew to Chino Hills, CA. to get it.

Here is where the real fun begins!
We rode it 1300 miles back home.

We were so close to where Lad is serving his mission,

and it was so close to his birthday,
we had to do something special.

We decided to drop off a Birthday cake for him.

It all worked out so perfectly,
 right down to stumbling upon the chapel he was in.

We decided not to see him,
but we talked with people there who knew him.

They were kind enough to let us leave this cake,
a balloon and a card in their car for him.

This was just the second day of our trip!

From CA. we went to Vegas for two days.

(Please keep in mind I've been wearing
a helmet all day in 100' weather.)

Vegas was great! We went to

Le' Reve, a comedy show,

walked the entire strip,
and saw the fountains at the Bellagio.

From Vegas we went on to Green Valley Spa in St. George.

Belive me, after four days in the saddle
we were ready to be pampered.

Reading and relaxing by the pool is all we wanted.
Oh yeah, and massages and dinner in our room.

Our Suite was right off the pool...perfect.

I'm thinking the Villa needs a pool.

We could have stayed here for months.

Arron actually finished a pleasure read!

St George was great to visit but a little too hot for us.

So we were on the road again, headed for Salt Lake City.

I forgot to mention our awesome intercom system.

It allows us to talk to each other while we ride!

What a difference it made for our trip.

Salt Lake turned out to be just as hot as Vegas and St.George.

 We stayed at Castle Creek Inn.
I thought they ran a little wild with their theme,

but the breakfast was good and the rooms were clean.

As odd as this may sound,
my favorite place to stay was
the Bluebell B&B in Eden ID. We stayed in the Rose Room.
The owner Jerry, was so sweet and accommodating.
He thought of every detail.
He made us homemade chocolate chip cookies,
had a log in the fireplace in our room,
and after he made us breakfast,
he wrapped up some banana bread to go.
It was so great to get-away for awhile.
With no plans or deadlines.
Just a new bike an open road and a Visa card!
 We felt rejuvenated and ready to get
back to work on the Villa
...and that's really where the fun begins!