Back to Central Oregon...

After working in Canby for 2 weeks, then up to our vacation in Seattle, we drove back down to Canby to pick up our RV, and headed to Redmond through the most beautiful, green canyon with lake after lake, and streams and rivers. I'll have to remember what it was called, but it was incredible! We were on our way back to central Oregon, but an hour south of Grass Valley, excited to be in a more populated area....more on this....

4th of July Week in Seattle

Before we left Canby, we went on vacation for Independence Day. We drove up to Seattle and staid for 5 days. The only dog-friendly hotel we could find was in Kirkland, but it was nice, and only a 12 minute drive over Lake Washington t0 downtown Seattle. It was actually a perfect location.

We watched the fireworks on July 4th from the Space Needle. It was pretty cool, a beautiful view! We got to watch the fireworks over Elliot Bay and Lake Union at the same time. We met a really nice girl who had just moved here from Asia who was having trouble with her little boy, and we got to help babysit him for the evening.


We loved walking on the waterfront and eating at the scrumptious seafood restaurants. Our favorite was "The Crab Pot" where we ordered the crab pot which is a pot full of mussels, clams scallops, shrimp, 3 kinds of crab, sausage and potatoes. The waiter dumps the whole pot of food right onto our table. We put on our bibs and feasted til our bellies were full. For me that was about 5 minutes, but Richard managed to feast for a full hour. I'm still always amazed how -that man can eat!


I was in Heaven, as I had dreamt of going to Washington (and Oregon) most of my life. It was every bit as beautiful as I imagined - and more! I think being by the water, and boats and sea life really adds to the experience too. My favorite thing was sailing on the Puget Sound. We went sailing on a 70 foot sailboat for 1 1/2 hours for only $25.00 (sailingseattle.com). It was a blast! I'm sure it was a lot calmer than if we had opened up on the ocean. It was divine. It had been quite a few years since I'd been sailing.

We went to a musem called "The Experience Music Project." It is right by the space needle. Richard and I could have spent days there - it's an interactive Rock and Roll museum! It was awesome for music lovers like us. We didn't even get to see all of it, because it closes pretty early - we were kinda bummed we didn't find out about it sooner. I didn't know the Heart sisters were from Seattle? WHOA! We will definitely be spending time at this music mecca when we grace Seattle again, ha ha "Seattle Grace?" Any Grey's fans out there?

Boo was such a good boy we just had to take him for a walk downtown. He didn't particularly love the waterfront; I think it was the horses carrying the buggies that caused him to freak out and appear to be a wild dog we found in the forest. Other than that, he was great, so we walked him over to Three Dog Bakery and bought him a pupcake, and a dognut which he gobbled right up when we got back to our hotel room. Three Dog is als where he go his famous Mr. Mousey that he takes everywhere we travel. It brings back fond memories of Seattle for him I'm sure.

On July 5th we went on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train in Renton. Dinner was delicious. That was the coolest looking train I've seen in a while! We saw some of Lake Washington on the way to some vineyard. It stopped at a winery/vineyard...which wasn't that exiting for us since we don't drink, but it had pretty gardens out front.

Richard was really excited to go on an Argosy Locks Cruise. We were on a touring boat where they took us from Elliot bay in the Puget Sound (salt water) to the locks, where they lifted us up into Lake Union (fresh water). We cruised through Lake Union right on by the Sleepless in Seattle boat house. What a beautiful ride!

I loved the Aquarium on the waterfront - petting exotic sealife and feeding the sea otters. They have a gi-normous aquarium that is on both sides and overhead, filled with sharks and all manner of sealife, and the cutest little sea-horses.

Pike Place Market is a famous open market. We watched the fishermen throw big fish at people at the fish market. Just a few stalls down from the famous fish market, we had the best asian shrimp and noodles dish...yum! We frequented Pike Place during our stay - yummy food and cool stuff.

We closed our trip with dinner at Rays Boathouse where we sat outside on the deck above the water and witnessed one of many beautiful sunsets over the Sound! Just scrumptious! Rays Boathouse is a delectable meal and fun atmosphere, not to mention the romance of the sunset and boats on the water!

After church on Sunday we drove around looking at houses for sale in Kirkland (more later on why we made a pact to never move to Washington!). Let's just say that there is a reason it is such a green, lush paradise. Well, in July it really is Heaven.

Where to Continue...

Hello again my special peeps!

So, where did I leave off? Oh yes, next we travelled a few hours west along the Columbia River and down to Canby, Oregon. Canby is a few minutes south of Portland. We staid here on the Molalla River for 3 weeks. We got to see more of beautiful Oregon! Boo loved swimming and playing catch in the Molalla River.

While in Canby, I went to a dog show where I saw some pretty amazing obstacle courses for the canine variety. I was amazed at how fast those dogs ripped through the tunnels and over the ramps to finish their races. Anyway, I posted a few more photos of Boo at the Molalla River.

One of the highlights of going to Portland, was that Richard and I were able to attend the Portland Temple. That was the 17th temple I'd been to and it is the most beautiful temple I've seen! Wow! The grounds are like gardens of paradise! Richard actually worked in Wilsonville, Oregon not far from the Temple.

Where to Start

Hello My Peeps!

How's it goin? Ok, so many folks have suggested we post a blog since we travel so much, so they may keep abreast of our locale and what we're up to. My husband and I have traveled the entire west coast in less than two years. We have seen some beautiful country and met some really cool people. The third member of our family, Boo Radley, travels with us wherever we go, and I have to say he is one of the most cultured dogs we know.

My husband works with electrical power stuff. Sometimes this takes us to the seeming middle of nowhere, where we have found still more beauty and chat worthy cool stuff.

One of my hobbies is photography, and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to capture what my eyes take in, and freeze it in time to remember forever. I would love to share some of this with you. I know lots of you have been to much more exotic places, hey - I used to live in Madagascar when I was a child. I have been to/through all but 8 states in the union...

Back to my point - Oh, my point is that it's really great to be able to explore my area of this planet that I have lived on for the past 32 years since growing up in Ventura, California.

So, here we'll start...with San Diego...

I had been telling my husband about San Diego since we were married back in 2001. I told him how wonderful it was, and how moderate the temperature always is. He promised to take me back there some time.

In 2006, after we both had graduated from college, and he was working as a maintenance electrician, he took a job offer to work in a different aspect of the electrical field which required him to travel a lot. We decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity, as the money was better than any job we could find in Utah, and the retirement offerings were unbeatable - which is important for us middle-aged, looking forward selves.

Our first gig was in San Diego; beautiful San Diego which I like to call home. We stayed in La Mesa, and most of Richard's work was in Chula Vista. The ironic thing is that after we arrived in San Diego, the weatherman announced that they were having the hottest summer on record for "x" number of years. It was 20 degrees hotter than normal. Needless to say, my husband did say, "I thought you said it was so moderate down here!" Ha ha. Yeeeaaahhh!

However it happened, and whatever ridiculous interference occurred, I forgot/left my professional camera at home, and only had my phone camera which takes shoddy photos at best. So we have no photo-journal of our time in San Diego. I know-it's almost embarrassing to admit.

We lived right off the freeway, and ten minutes from Sea World. We were able to go to Sea World a few times and pet the dolphins. Boo got to go to Dog Beach quite a few times, and that was a blast for all of us! I will say that I probably would never swim in the water at Dog Beach, but it's great fun to watch Boo run around and have such a blast! Boo and I stayed in San Diego for 2 of Richards 5 months. After finishing in Chula Vista, he went to Nevada for a spell, and then home in Utah again for a about 4 months.

In May of 2007, we headed out for a nine month jaunt - first up, then down the west coast. We began in Central Oregon. Richard worked in Wasco, Oregon for a few months. There is a huge wind tower farm in Wasco. We stayed in Grass Valley, which is the smallest town I'd ever been in. I did not even get cell reception. I had to drive 20 miles to Wasco and park on a hill to get cell reception.

Seriously, seriously.

Grass Valley, in Central Oregon, is approx 30 minutes from Biggs Junction and the Columbia River. There is a really great cafe in Moro - just outside of Grass Valley. We spent time in The Dalles, Oregon, where Richard has an Aunt and Uncle, and where we did our grocery shopping and laundry. People were very friendly in The Dalles.

We also spent time in Hood River, where there is a Walmart (of course). Hood River is a very cool, beautiful town right where the Hood and Columbia rivers meet. Columbia River is HUGE- the widest river I've ever seen!

Here's a few photos of Wasco and Hood River...