From the coast to the mountains

Wednesday we took the morning to see a little more of the town of Raymond, WA.  There was a great paved, flat bike path right near where we were staying... so on the bikes we went for a beautiful ride along the river and into the town of Raymond.  All along the path were these iron sculptures.


All larger than life depicting the animals and people of this area.

 Loved it!

As we entered the town we stopped to see the Carriage Museum, so well designed and unusual.

 The museum has a collection of 20 beautifully restored carriages from the 1890-1920s owned, restored and donated by a local family.  We were the only ones there at 10AM and had a private tour of the museum. Included in the collection is the carriage used in Gone With the Wind.

 Plus they have an entire educational room where children can dress in period clothing, make butter and sit in a one room school room...I felt right at home!

We left Raymond midday for another zig of our zigging/zagging trail. Back east on tiny back roads with Katie Bauer's house our destination the following day. After a couple of hours in the Motorhome we're usually ready for a campground and we found a beauty! Ike Kinswa State Park...wooded with our site on  Mayfield Lake. Warm, though clouds filled the sky we had a wonderful evening here.

Taking back roads we got to the Bauer's home mid day Thursday. Warm, pretty and time for walks and talks. Katie and Paul moved to WA and built this lovely home in 2009 with a most stunning view of Mt. Rainier to the east.

We were lucky to see the mountain all day Friday as the clouds cleared and we had a gorgeous, actually hot, day here. 

 Paul was so happy to have a project painting the garage doors

Katie and I chatted while we did some weeding in the gardens. As the day got warmer the guys decided to cool off with a dip in the kids' pool.

Katie and Paul's daughter, Karen, and her family came for taco dinner Friday night, such fun to see them all again and meet the newest Sanford, Solomon Justice.

 So now it's Saturday morning and we were up early to watch a lovely sunrise over Mt. Rainier.

We'll move closer to Seattle to do some sightseeing the next few days.  Rain is expected for most of the week ahead but we've loved our stay here can't believe we've had such gorgeous sun and heat the last few days.  Thank you, Katie and Paul for the bed and breakfast stay, such fun to spend time with you both...just might come back soon!

Off we go to our next adventure...

From Oregon into Washington

It was a rainy Sunday, so a good time for some random errands before packing and moving west. Very slow getting things put away and of course that's just when the skies let loose...poor Paul dripping wet as he got the car onto the trailer and us ready to go.  Once we were all tucked back into the little yellow motor home the rain stopped...crazy Californians...nobody else would have stayed out in the rain knowing that it will probably stop in a half hour or so. We moved about 40 miles northwest to a tiny town of St Helens, OR. No real reason for picking it other than there is a pretty Elk's camping area there, it's right along the Columbia River and it wasn't too far to drive. Felt good to get away from the city life and back into beautiful open hillsides and trees.

Decided to take a longer day trip on Monday to visit Mt. St. Helen's National Monument, in Washington state.  A beautiful top down day about 100 miles away from here.  What a perfect day to visit the volcano area and learn the story of the eruption and collapse of the volcano back in 1981.

The views got better as the afternoon went on as more of the clouds dissipated and the hole in the side of the volcano became more pronounced. Great Ranger talk, he was such a natural teacher...he had props to help explain how the mountain actually collapsed and he kept everyone laughing with his explanations. Loved it and learned so much!

We walked up a hill near the visitor center and found these beautiful trees showing how the power of the explosion just shredded trees while leaving the trunk and roots attached in the ground...and all within 3 minutes time!

So glad we took the drive, very few cars on the roadways with lush forests all along the way.

Tuesday we took a bike ride around the little town of St. Helen's and down to the water front and marina. Then took this picture from the back deck of the Elk's Lodge Dining Room, what a setting!

Got everything packed up and drove west...back to the ocean again and to Astoria, the last city before crossing into Washington state across a very scary bridge. White knuckles for me to be in a motorhome crossing a very high span on a narrow roadway, cars even passed us on the long flat section of the bridge.  Couldn't believe it! I had no idea I was taking us on such a tall bridge, but we did it. Another first for our yellow house.

We headed up the western coast of Washington stopping for a break at this lake near the little town of Ilwaco. The drive is beautiful as fall is beginning to show its colors here in the northwest.  Trees are turning yellow or getting a reddish tips yet surrounded by evergreens.

We had traveled enough for the day so came into Raymond and found this campsite along the Willapa Bay, clouds coming in but still pretty warm. The town once supported a major logging industry with 2 railroads serving it, but most of the waterfront sites are now empty and abandoned. Coming into the town there is  the Wildlife Heritage Sculpture Corridor with cast iron figures of local wildlife and close to town the sculptures are of people.  Gotta get some photos of those tomorrow.

Then we'll be turning east again to spend a day or two with Kate and Paul Bauer. Very excited about seeing them!!!!

So Long, Portland!

What a wonderful week it's been here in Portland!

Thursday we had a low key day...did some laundry, hair cut and errands early morning then had lunch with our dear neighbor from AG, Katie Wiley.  She and her husband Chris moved to Portland 6 years ago. She picked us up, toured our new home and then we headed to 23rd Street for a lovely lunch and lots of time to talk. The neighborhood there is darling so we walked through a couple of shops before saying good bye. One thing about Portland that we love are all the different small neighborhoods with unique personalities, a little something for everyone.

Friday we woke to sunnier skies which was perfect for our plan to take our bikes into the city to ride along the paved waterfront bike path.  Wonderful to be riding with the city on one side and the wide Willamette River on the other.





The day just got prettier as we rode the loop from one side of the river to the other crossing the river on the Steel Bridge pedestrian walkway. So fun!

The path is also designed with art and sculpture.  We stopped for a photo op with Vera Katz, former Mayor of Portland, since we were riding the Vera Katz Esplanade.



From there along the east side of the river we joined the Springwater Corridor, again a paved level bike path which follows the river for an additional 40 mi loop.

 We only rode a small part of it before crossing back to the Portland side of the river.  Such a wonderful 3 hour bike ride.

Once the bikes were back on the car we drove to Chinatown to see the Lan Su Chinese Gardens; stunning traditional buildings and gardens! The Gardens opened in 2000 but you get the feeling that they have been there so much longer. Artisans in Suszhou, China, built the wooden buildings and decorative windows that were shipped to Portland along with 500 tons of rock. More than 65 Chinese workers (and two Chinese cooks) arrived in the fall of 1999 to construct the garden's buildings and pathways. What a beautiful addition to the city.

About that time we started texting with my brother Charlie to try to meet up with them for dinner as they headed south after taking Thomas to Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA. What fun to have dinner, laughs and brews together!

Rain woke us early Saturday morning so we had a true feeling of Portland weather most of the day...drizzle with light showers. Cool but easy to still get out for the Saturday Market along the river and then a visit to the Portland Museum of Contemporary Craft. Beautiful exhibit by Nikki McClure who does amazing cut paper art. Using the transit system makes getting round the city so easy and less stressful, love it!

Sought out the Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe for an afternoon mocha, yum! Im having the hardest time getting my bearings for the city, so we ended up walking in circles looking for this tiny little shop, but worth it.

Saturday evening we took the car into the city to have a light dinner and listen to a jazz trio at Wilfi's Restaurant near Union Station

such a nice evening...4 hours of classic jazz tunes and tasty food. One song they did was Let's Get Away From it All, lyrics perfect for our new life:

They say there's no place quite like home
A charming thought and pure
But until the world we roam, how can we be sure.
Let's take a trip in a trailer
No need to come back at all
Let's leave our hut dear, get out of the rut dear,
Let's get away from it all.

Love all the arts and music of city life, Love Portland, Love our traveling life!

City Life in Portland

We've been here in Beaverton, OR for the last 5 days, just west of Portland and such a great location for seeing this beautiful city. We are at the Beaverton Elk's Lodge with hook ups, friendly folks and close to the great Portland area transit system.  We walk about a block to catch the bus, then a 5 min ride and we're at the light rail train that takes us right into the heart of Portland. So easy!

The highway over from the coast was a beautiful ride, very forested before dropping down into the Willamette Valley wine country with over 100 vineyards. Just outside the town of McMinnville we stopped to tour the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.

The museum is housed in 2 enormous hangars and is now the home of Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose as well as a collection of more than 150 historic aircraft and spacecraft among them the world's fastest spy plane and a Titan II Missile.  But the neatest ones for me were the vintage planes and a passenger plane from the 1940s.
They also have a water park with a slide that is built from inside an airplane set atop a building several stores tall...we passed on that.

From there we went on into Beaverton and settled in at the Elk's Lodge RV parking lot, not quite the rural setting we've had at others but it's perfect for a place to be for a few days.  Tuesday morning we spent at the Portland Zoo in Washington Park, it was their $4 entrance fee day, such a deal we couldn't miss out on that.  It's a beautiful zoo, much like San Diego's. The weather was cool and perfect for walking all over. By noon we were ready to scoot over to Portland's Rose Test Gardens.

It's on beautiful hillside overlooking the city surrounded tall conifers.  The flowers were in full bloom and colors were stunning!

More than 8000 bushes are planted in three terraces. There was even a Shakespeare Garden; I could have stayed here all day!

A short walk up the hill from the rose garden is the very lovely Japanese Garden.

It is considered to be the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan and simply beautiful! Traditional buildings and architecture are beautifully designed in the 5 acres of gardens.








So peaceful and serene. Our favorite were the Zen Gardens.
Granite pebbles raked into meticulous patterns.

The harvest moon in September is the attraction that brings visitors back to the gardens for 3 nights of moon viewing.  I had so wanted to experience it but the tickets for all 3 evenings were sold out.  That's now on our list to do another time. From the photos on the brochure it looks like these gardens are lovely all year round.  With so many Japanese maples throughout, the colors will be beautiful in the next month or so, then in the spring the hundreds of azaleas and rhododendrons will be in full bloom, making a very striking look. How I would love to see it in all the seasons...even in snow!

We got back to the motor home late afternoon in time to change and head back in to the city for our big evening concert: Pink Martini performing with the Portland Symphony.  We have been fans of Pink Martini for several years now and have seen them in many different venues, but nothing compares with hearing them perform with a full orchestra behind them. It was the BEST!! Before the concert we had just enough time for a delicious dinner at South Park Restaurant, seemed like every one was dining and then hurrying off to attend the symphony. The performance was in the very ornate Arlene Schnitzer Hall which was actually a restored 1928 vaudeville house.  Our seats were in the very top balcony but the acoustics were terrific, guess we were just lucky to actually get tickets; all 3 evenings of the performance were sold out and the hall holds close to 2500!  The band originates from Portland so they're very well loved here. That evening the female vocalist performing with them was Storm LArge...great name! Also appearing with the band was Ari Shapiro, the NPR White House Correspondent who happens to have a fabulous voice.  What a night!!!! Even the conductor of the Symphony sang a duet with Storm, a fun surprise.  I think I had a huge grin on my face the whole evening.  AND...SLO friends...just want you to know that Pink Martini will be performing at the PAC this fall, I most highly recommend you get some tickets and enjoy these fantastic musicians.  You won't be disappointed, trust me.

So, Wednesday morning we were up early to catch the train into the city, I had a 9AM one to one lesson scheduled at the Apple Store. The one hour lesson turned into a 3 hour project of making personalized ring tones for my phone!!! It took me a while to learn the technique but I'm on my way to making individual song clips for each of you in my address book! Now I just have to make myself sit down and do it. But what fun that will be when it's all set up. We finished at noon in time to meet up with Nicci, a friend of Mandy's who moved here about a year and a half ago. We had a wonderful visit and delicious lunch at Habibi, a Mediterranean restaurant.  She rode up on her bicycle, like all good young Portlanders.

After lunch it was time for a walk through the beautiful Portland Art Museum. The museum was founded in 1892 and is internationally recognized for its permanent collection of 42,000 objects including French paintings, English silver, Native American art as well as modern and contemporary art.  But the collection we were so glad to see had been held over an extra week, the Allure of the Automobile, which showcased 16 of the world's most luxurious and rare automobiles designed between the 1930s and mid 1960s.  Amazing to see! Paul's standing next to a very rare 1937 Mercedes Benz 540 in this photo. Several years ago Paul had built a replica modeled after this car from a kit which we drove for several years, ours was red. So amazing to see the original car.

I loved seeing a 1948 Tucker, I'd only seen it in the film made several years ago.

 There was also the 1957 Jag Roadster once owned by Steve McQueen. The information included with each car gave the history of its design and ownership. Such a surprising display to be seen all with in 3 rooms.  Such a fun day...we're loving this city!

Our Riverfront Property

Our last night at Beverly Beach State Park was clear and perfect for a sunset walk. 

Scattered along the beach amidst all the drift wood, small shelters had been constructed and campfires were glowing, such a perfect beach moment. 

We were back at the beach first thing the next morning for an early walk that seemed to go on forever. The Oregon beaches are long and pristine with so few people in sight, seems you could walk forever.   The Yaquina Head and Lighthouse are in the near distance but were hidden in fog that morning.

We were moving further north to Lincoln City but had a few stops along the way. Loved our first sight, The Devil’s Punchbowl!

 It was cold and windy but so worth the stop. When you look over the cliff you can see a hollow rock formation shaped like a huge punchbowl, created by the collapse of the roof over 2 sea caves. The ocean slams into the small opening and makes quite the splash.

a darling ice cream and espresso shop near the cliff with fantastic ice cream...Paul’s pick was “Espresso Madness”. 

Even though it was only 11:15 had to stop for a small bowl of the best clam chowder at Mo’s, a local favorite all along this part of the coast. A short distance north of this was the Cape Foul Weather and another beautiful view of the coastline.

Only about a 35 mile drive and we headed inland to our next park, Chinook Bend RV Park along the Siletz River. We stayed 3 nights and loved it!  Warmer and sunnier than the beaches and nothing like having your own river front view. Doesn’t get much better than this!

The river is well loved by fishermen so we sit here and watch them all day slowly trawling the river for the Chinook salmon caught here. Such a peaceful setting...there’s even a blue heron that hangs out on the dock.

On the opposite bank the forest comes right to the river’s edge while we are in a wide meadow.  The park reminds me of a fun summer camp; there’s a little camp store, a boat dock where you can rent kayaks or boats, a pitch and chip golf course, volleyball nets and a wonderful walking path along the river that’s just cut through the grass.

Tents are just pitched in an open field, European camping style. There are also several of these darling cabins which rent for only $45 a night!!! 

Saturday we moved to a nearby Elk’s Park, again a beautiful setting, wide open grassy area surrounded by forest. The day was warm and clear, perfect for a drive along the coast to see those places that were covered in fog on Wednesday...what a difference the sun makes! Stopped at several viewpoints including this beautiful Rocky Creek Bridge one of hundreds built during a boom of road construction in the 1930s.

We made it just in time to tour the Yaquina Lighthouse down near Newport.

Really strong cold winds blowing outside, we climbed the 110 steps to the top to view the now automated light. Rangers dressed in period clothing tell the story of life there but how anyone could live there is amazing, at times winds can be up to 100 mph! 

The beaches right near the lighthouse are lava formed and very black, so different from the white sand of beaches we’ve seen.

Now...time to decide where to go tomorrow, we do know we’ll be in Portland on Tuesday...bought our Pink Martini concert tickets today!  YES!!!

Sign of the day...