Fifth Set - Edgefield

The Black Rabbit Pub in Edgefield. Probably about the size of your bedroom, inside. We didn't go in. I just thought it looked quaint.




Inside one of the alehouses we drank in. Sorry for the blurriness. But it looked like an old abandoned saloon, sort of.




This is a view of the house across from the hotel where where we sat on the porch and watched the sunset.

Fourth Set - Crater Lake

One of the first views of the lake I saw.




A view across the lake. Perfectly pristine.




Wizard Island as seen from the Watchman's Peak.




This is part of the trail to Watchman's Peak.




Saw these forest fires going on from the trail. The guide at the top explained they were started by lightning and are under control.




Watchman's Peak from the bottom. Yes, we hiked all the way up to that little house on top.




The Pumice Desert, created by the eruption of Mt. Mazama 7,700 years ago (which then sank into the earth to create Crater Lake).

Third Set - Oregon Vortex

This is the House of Mystery at the Oregon Vortex. It supposedly slid off its foundation as a result of the freaky phenomenon that goes on here.




Here's a view inside the weird house. Notice the ball on the chain is leaning to the left. As far as I was concerned, I was taking that picture as straight up and down as I could. So either that ball is tilted, or I was.




This is a demonstration of how two people standing on a level plane seem to change height depending on which side they are standing on. Note the incline of the pole.




Same people, same level plane, different sides. Note the steeper angle. Weird, huh?

Second Set - Newport and Brookings

This is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, the tallest in Oregon at 93 feet. There were 134 steps to the top.




These loons were at the Oregon Aquarium in Newport.




Here's the view from our little cottage in Brookings.




Here's me flying our pirate ship-kite on Whaleshead Beach, in Brookings. It was one cool kite.




The Picture of Silence. This is the "Quiet Trail" we hiked in Jedediah Smith State Park in Northern California. There was not a peep in these woods. Not a buzz either.




I couldn't not post this one. We stopped our car again to get out and take this shot.

First Set - Astoria

This is the view of Astoria from the top of the Astoria Column.





The county jail looks WAY smaller than it does in "Goonies"!





Here I am on the porch of the Flavel House Museum.




And here is the infamous Goonie House! I didn't see the door-opening mechanism, though.




Haystack Rock, on Cannon Beach, about 45 minutes south of Astoria. Too bad I didn't have a doubloon...




While we were driving from Cannon Beach to Newport, we saw this view from a lookout area. I think we all said "WHOA!" and had to stop and get a shot of this cloud rolling in off the ocean.

Finishing Up

Ok so I didn't do so well with blogging this trip. I am back in St. Louis and all set to start work again tomorrow (ok maybe that's a bit of a stretch). But I will try to fill in as much as I can of what I missed. Lucky for all of you I kept a written journal of my travels so I can refresh myself. (And by the way I HIGHLY recommend written journals when you travel. They help you remember details of your trip that not even photographs can.) Ahem...

The next day after Crater Lake was our float trip down the Rogue River which runs through Grants Pass. We took the easy course; Tracie didn't want to put us through too treacherous of a time. We lazily floated through most of it, riding rapids every once in a while, drank some beers, and dodged out of the way of jet boats that came careening through. We slothered sunscreen on ourselves the whole time so I didn't burn at all, except on the top of my head where my part in my hair exposed my scalp. It was very very fun. I was glad we decided to do it.

That night we headed over to Tracie's dad and stepmom's place for a family dinner, which ended up being a very good time. We crashed there for the night.

Next day was the excursion with Dad and Stepmom, and we went to RoxyAnn Winery for a tasting. Yum. Tasted nine wines and was pretty happy afterwards. We had planned to go to another winery after that, but decided it wasn't necessary. We headed off to Rogue's Creamery instead to try the Best Bleu Cheese In The World. Seriously, it was given that distinction at some contest in Europe. You have to wait a year to taste it though. But the Smokey Bleu was pretty good. This is also where the Pesto Cheddar and Oregonzola came from that we had bought earlier in our trip at Del Rio winery, so we had already had a taste of some of their cheeses. Very very good. I liked just about every cheese I tried in there. They even had a Chocolate Stout cheese. Quite interesting.

That night I went to Saturday night Mass with a family friend, Dani. Then she took me out to the Josephine County Fair, which had been going on in Grants Pass for most of that week. Tracie's mom and stepdad were running a booth there for Barricade Gel. This stuff is supposed to save your home and other flammable posessions from forest fires. Spent time wandering the fair looking at jewelry and art, mostly. Pretty cool.

Next day we drove back to Portland with Margy (Tracie's mom) and Ron (stepdad). We stopped in Salem along the way for lunch. So now I can say I've been from Salem, Massachusetts; to Salem, Oregon, within the span of a year. Coast to coast. Awesome.

Stayed on a yacht on the river in Portland. It belonged to Tracie's aunt and uncle. We took a little river cruise the first night we were there. Ahhhh.

Next day we explored Portland: went to Powell's Books, the "largest independent used and new bookstore in the world." It was about the size of a city block and about four floors high, to my best guess. Very huge. Wandered around looking at all my usual favorites: travel books, historical fiction, fantasy, etc. Didn't buy anything though.

Next came lunch. Ah, lunch. Ate at Jake's Famous Crawfish downtown. I just learned from reading that link that it is the oldest restaurant in Portland, founded 1892. We didn't care. We just wanted crab. Ordered steamed Dungeness crab. And boy, did we get it. A whole plate of an entire crab. We ate happily and not much crab went to waste. Finished it off with the best crème brûlée EVER. Perfectly crispy on top and deliciously sweet on the bottom. That was a whole meal of happy. We left happily STUFFED.

That night we went to one of the coolest places to drink I think I've ever been to: Edgefield. This place had it all: brewery, winery, distillery, golf course, garden, hotel/hostel, movie theatre, and bunches of little brewhouses and pubs and shops. I can't even describe the charm of this place. We wandered around from setting to setting, beer in hand: from a traditional pub, to an abandoned-looking alehouse, to the porch on the second storey of an old hotel where we watched the sun set, to the winery tasting room. Best Merlot ever, loved the Cuveé: bought a bottle of each. After that we went to a tavern where Tracie's cousin Aaron worked and got pleasantly schnockered, much to Tracie's boyfriend Preston's chagrin.

Next day was the return home. We connected through Dallas and I got to see the new D terminal. Very nice. Very good Mexican restaurant there called Cantina Laredo, I think. Yum.

Stayed with my parents for the night after I landed, did laundry the next morning, and then that afternoon I went to WalMart and made a bunch of prints of pictures. I also have them on CDs. So I officially have no excuse to not post any. But we shall see, after this long post, if I will post some tonight. If not tonight, then expect them soon...

The Vortex and the Crater

Ok here's another update. Yesterday we went to the Oregon Vortex. I saw it on the Travel Channel; it was number 8 or 9 on the list of Places of Mystery. Lots of demonstrations about how one person looks taller or shorter depending on which end of a level platform they are standing on. The crooked house was pretty crazy though... especially if you take a picture of a person standing on the level platform in the house, they appear to be leaning quite a bit even though your camera is straight up and down (or at least to your best guess) and the platform is level. Anyways there's more information on the website. Check it out. After the Vortex we went to a winery called Del Rio and it was okay. The cheese was the best part about it. I got some Pesto cheese and Tracie got another kind whose name I can't remember right now. But it was YUM. Then last night we went to the Shakespeare festival and saw "Two Gentlemen of Verona." Very well done and very funny. They had a well-trained dog as one of their cast members. It was just very fun to watch. And the stage was very cool... very Globe Theatre-ish.

Today we drove up to Crater Lake National Park. So worth it. It's so blue and so majestic. It is the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,943 feet in its deepest part. We took some pictures of the lake, had a picnic lunch in the little camping area, and then took a nice little hike up the Watchman's Trail. It was actually quite steep and got our blood going, definitely. The view was pretty cool; we had a good overlook of Wizard Island, the island in the middle of the lake (actually a volcano). Came back down and then drove to the Pumice Desert. Those pictures have less trees in them though; I may have to come back later and post the pictures I took.

The drive back from the lake has to be one of the prettiest drives I'd ever been on: tall dense trees lining both sides of the road with the sun setting and mountains all around. There was no way I could capture that on film though. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Tomorrow is still somewhat up in the air... we may do some white water rafting, or go to Rogue Creamery, or do some more wineries, or who knows. I guess it depends on what we feel like tomorrow...

Coastal Driving

Sorry guys, I haven't had a chance to post anything until now! I am right now in Grants Pass, Tracie's hometown, staying with her mom. We spent the last several days driving down the coast. I'll try to sum up so far best I can...

Saturday we flew into Portland, picked up our rental car (which looks sort of like a PT Cruiser and a Honda Element, but has lots of cargo space), and stayed the night at the Quality Inn. The next day we set off for Astoria, at the very northwest corner of Oregon.

In Astoria we saw all the "Goonies" sites: the county jail (which looks much smaller than in the movie), the Flavel House Museum, and of course the Goonie house which has a great view of Astoria. We also climbed the Astoria Column for some great views of the area. Then we left and headed down the coast towards Newport, our destination for the night.

On the way we stopped at Cannon Beach and spent some time walking on the beach by Haystack Rock. It looks much bigger than in the Goonie movie. Maybe cause in the movie it's farther away.

Finally arrived in Newport and checked in at the Shilo Inn on the beachfront. It was actually very cold when we got out of the car... we talked about walking on the beach some more, but it was just too cold. So we settled for swimming in the hotel's indoor heated pool. :)

Next day we drove up to Depoe Bay to see if we could see Arch Rock, but it was still shrouded in fog from the night before. Oh well. We got coffee at a cute little coffee place called "Pirate Coffee Company." I bought a new stoneware coffee mug. :) Then we decided to go check out a nearby lighthouse, Yaquina Head. I have definitely gotten my twisty staircase experience for this trip in... once at Astoria Column and again at this lighthouse. It was too foggy to see very far, but it was still awesome to be up in it.

Finally we headed for the Oregon Aquarium in Newport. This is where being a travel agent totally rocks, because they let me in for free. :) Saw lots of crabs, sharks, otters, etc. After that there was a brewery almost right next door, Rogue's Ale, so we had to go taste some of their beer.

Then we had to make it to our next destination, Brookings, before it got too dark. We wanted to stop at a good crab restaurant but just didn't have the time. We got into Brookings at the Whaleshead Resort after dark and we decided to just go pick up fast food. I guess crab will have to wait...

In Brookings we checked out a couple of beaches: Whaleshead Beach where we flew a pirate-shaped kite that Tracie's mom had given us in Portland, and then Harris Beach where we watched hermit crabs in tidepools. :)

On the way to Grants Pass, the road dips down into California and goes through redwood country, so we had to stop and hike through some redwood trails. And one of them I'll never forget: we started hiking along and stopped to realize that the forest was totally quiet. No birds. No frogs. No insects. No people ahead on the trail. Just total silence. It was almost unnatural. I wish I could've taken a picture of the silence. We couldn't stay too long in those woods because we didn't have enough time to hike the whole trail and be in Grants Pass by 7:00 to meet her family for dinner, so we walked for about half an hour and then left.

In Grants Pass we went to a pizzeria/brewery and I got to meet several of her relatives, including her grandparents and her brother Ben. After dinner we stopped by her dad and stepmom's house where I got to play with two adorable Shih-tzus. Finally we made it to Tracie's mom's house where we crashed for the night.

Today I think we're going to the Oregon Vortex. We slept in a bit this morning so we it won't be a totally full day. Tonight Tracie's mom gave us tickets to a Shakespeare festival, so we get to go see "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." Should be good times. If the weather holds out, that is.

Later this week we're planning on Crater Lake, rafting on the Rogue river, and the Grants Pass county fair. More to report later!! :)

Travelblogue: Part II

It feels so good to be using this blog for its true purpose. And starting at the end of this next week, that purpose shall come to fruition once more. My travelblogue and I are hitting the road again to take on the scenic state of Oregon. And I hope to have you all with me along the way. I shall post updates of the adventure as often as I can, so be sure to check often while I am away!