On the Bee-ach

Warm weather. Sunny. SAND. Walking the dog by the surf. Talking to Clammers. Then a woman with a GIANT Great Dane on a leash...the animal saw Isabelle and launched itself to the end of the leash. Jerking this poor woman off her feet and onto her back. We immediately ran to help, while the small horse was still jerking on the leash at the end of her wrist. The woman had strained her knee and hip falling. So we stayed with her. The clammers came to assist and then they waved down the emergency truck. The poor woman (Julie) was taken away. This monster of a dog must have weighed at LEAST 250 pounds of pure muscle. I had knelt and talked to the woman while Greg kept the dogs occupied. We had lattes & muffins on the beach for breakfast. A walk down the arcade and promenade for the afternoon. A nap in our room, lunch at the Clam Chowder shop-fish&chips; then fireworks and fire on the sand late tonight. Romantic. SO ReStFuL.

VaCaTiOn...Continued

8:30 Continental FULL Breakfast at Best Western 10:45 Jetboat tour for 2 hours in Portland, Oregon boarding at the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science & Industry) touring the Willamette River. WOW. Water spin outs at 70KPH! 1:30 Travel to Vancouver/Major traffic jam over I-5/Fill with Gas at Walmart/Latte Stop 3;00 Finally arrive at Shawna's. Meet Shawna, Dani, & Kids 3:15 Greg walks Isabelle. Dog FINALLY pees after 2 1/2 days 4:30 Leave Shawna's home 7:00 Arrive Seaside, Oregon to stay at Ocean View Resort 7:15 Dog on sand. Instant peeing. We come to the conclusion she is part cat! 8:15 Rest in room for a while 9:15 Dinner at BOOGERS-Seafood Yes. I MET the Digi GODDESS! Dani Mogstad. I am in heaven. So nervous to talk to her, but she is just a regular person. Just as I imagined-Sweet, smiling, happy. Nervous to the Nth degree, I talked a mile a minute and didn't even TAKE PICS! doh! Met Lexi; Dani's daughter. She is even cuter in 3D than in Dani's LOs. Quietly running around, she reminded me very much of my own little girl so many years ago. I wanted to steal her! Yes. I wanted to steal ANY of those kids. Shawna has 3 wonderful little boys. You can see she is an awesome mother as the boys are so attuned to her. Their eyes are full of love for this mother of theirs. Toys galore and a play yard in the back that any child would envy. A cherry tree in the yard that bears fruit they were telling me about. Those kids were so gracious to a total stranger. Such a wonderful home and full of love. I missed meeting George by minutes as he was due home any time. :( Shawna showed me her design studio and I was so impressed with her extensive knowledge. I did bother her with a couple questions which she so nicely took time to answer. I suppose on the virtual world, I had imagined Shawna as taller than me. Well, this little girl packs quite a lot of talent into that bod! Probably sounding dumb...What DID she think of my statement..."You're shorter than I imagined!" SO Sorry Shawna. I was nervous and say dumb things like that. She laughed and said "My lack of height is a well kept secret around here." Such a sense of humor. Such a very short time to visit. I very much wish I could have stayed for hours with those kids. They were adorable. Dani=Thank you SO much for surprising me by coming over! Shawna=Thank you SO much for graciously having me to your home. Absolutely Wonderful Trip. So many Great memories.

The Resort at the Mountain (Mt Hood)

Reached Portland, OR. We stayed at a wonderful Resort...deluxe accommodations in the quiet woods. A long, leisurely dog walk around the groomed and manicured golf course. (NO, she did NOT go potty on the course- - She's a good dog.) The tastiest, most tender bacon wrapped filet mignon cooked perfectly sitting on au jus, with new potatoes...Pork cutlets with potato fingers and bourbon sauteed apples was had at The Tartan Inn. The theme of the resort was quaint highland Scottish accent. Our wonderful waiter, Josh along with Chris & Cody attended the table gave us a memorable dinner. A restful night, then on to the Alpine Slide...we won't discuss it. Not worth it. Internet advertising was misleading. Quite a disappointment. Then back to Portland to the Washington Park to tour the Rose Gardens. Truly a divine experience. I wasn't interested in obtaining the names of the flowers, only images of the blooms of world renown. Colors that defy explanation! We stay at the Best Western, anticipating our night at the concert! SHE WANTS REVENGE. Visiting friends, relatives, and a JetBoat ride tomorrow!

Wonderful World of Waterfalls

On our vacation, we stopped in Washington, just outside of Seattle in Snoqualamie. Staying overnight in the worst hotel ever...100 degrees, air conditioning broken, ice machine broken, and a room right on top of the highway... However, a benefit of this dreadful resort was the dread-lock winter snowboarder that stayed to work on into summer at the front desk, that told us of a trailhead with the most wonderful sight ever. After a one-mile hike into an ancient forest overgrown with moss, enormous downed cedars, and a dull thundering roar, we saw the following sight. I can only hope in vain that this photo encompasses the feelings that entered us as we stepped into view of this magnificient work of nature. An array of colors, sounds, and impressions that seldom has been beheld. The spray against our faces, the soggy mud in which we stood, and the feel of awe to behold a...WATERFALL.

Funniest Kid On The BLOK

Love reading the kid's blog. She is SO funny.

Better Red Than Dead

VaCaTiOn

Yippee! I'm on Vacation!