Columbia Gorge Day Trip

Jeff and I drove up Columbia River Gorge on the fourth of July with our son David, his wife Emily, and Emily's father. Ellie came along too. We visited pFriem Brewery in Hood River for lunch and dogs had to wait outside, so we took turns sitting with her.

Everyone enjoyed their food and beer, and pFriem's near a river front park, so we caught glimpses of kite sails skimming past and kids climbing rocks. Quite a fun day!

Along with the coast, Columbia Gorge is my other favorite spot in the Pacific NW. Jeff and I didn't get the chance to visit Crown Point and the Women's Forum Lookout this time, but I plan to go back to take photos soon. We tried to drive to Crown Point, but a small-town 4th of July parade was due to begin and roads would've closed down. Next time.

More news: We sold our house in May (yay!) and are living in an apartment until our new home is ready in Ridgefield, WA. Ridgefield's 15 minutes north of Vancouver, so not too far away. Once the house is done, take a road trip and come visit!

From the Operating Room to the Forest

My Dad, who's almost 84, still gets out and walks whenever he can. He's a great example for the rest of us!

When I was ten, my family moved back to the States from Africa. Dad didn't have a huge amount of free time because he was starting up a surgical practice and also often on call at the Woodland Park emergency room. But weekends, if he didn't have to operate or take phone calls from a drunk lady who thought she'd been bitten by a vampire (true story!), Dad planned hikes for us--to Multnomah Falls or the coast range and other scenic spots nearby.

Some of my best memories involve the smell of pine needles and hiking Columbia Gorge trails along steep drop-offs.

Who are your favorite walking partners from childhood or adulthood?

Portland Scenes

Attended the Blue Like Jazz movie preview today in Portland with my sister Susan and her family. I arrived about 40 minutes early, so it was a good time for a walk before the line twined around the block.

We sat up in the balcony and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Blue Like Jazz premieres April 13th in many cities across the US. Highly recommended!

Afterwards, I found Stumptown coffee shop for a lovely strong latte. Then home across the bridge.

Sylvia Beach Hotel Snapshots

View onto Nye Beach from the Mark Twain room.


Edgar Allen Poe room. I wouldn't want to sleep under this blade! There's a raven on the dresser (out of the photo).


The Dr. Suess room -- one of the more colorful rooms at the hotel.


Tennessee Williams room.

Amazing Race Finale in Oregon

The final episode of the Amazing Race aired last night on CBS television and it was filmed in Oregon! Even better, they shot the "high adventure" challenge at Camp Tilikum, where my sister Beth and daughter Danielle both worked. "Some of the challenge course elements are attached to 100-year-old Douglas Fir trees as high as 120 feet off the ground," according to the camp's website.

After negotiating the Tilikum ropes course and then a zipline at Bridge of the Gods, the three Amazing Race teams swooped into downtown Portland for their last clues. The teams received one clue at Voodoo Doughnut, my favorite donut shop in the entire earth, universe, and solar system. I'm looking forward to visiting there myself, as soon as we move back.

*Photo from Tilikum website

Travel Oregon

Here's a fun photo-link for 365 days in Oregon.
Click on the individual photos to learn about different activities and places to visit. The page takes a bit of time to load, but it's worth it!

Oh, the Beach!

I seem to have finally conquered jetlag--Anna and I arrived back in Germany last Saturday, after a leg-cramping flight from Portland to Amsterdam, then Frankfurt.

But I must post more photos from the coast! We stayed one night at the Sylvia Beach Hotel, my favorite bed and breakfast on the face of the earth. Due to cost, Anna and I slept in the women's dorm (a little-known secret--their less expensive bunk-bed room which still includes the hotel's huge breakfast and other amenities).



We peered into as many of the writer-themed rooms as possible, from the Agatha Christie room to the E.B. White room. Anna and her friend Amy really wanted to see the Edgar Allen Poe suite, so were thrilled when the guest finally left and they could sneak in to check out the pendulum blade over the bed and a lurking stuffed raven on the dresser. Cool details.



During our hotel dinner that night, each table played the "Two Truths and a Lie" game--as is traditional at the Sylvia Beach hotel. I've perfected my lies over quite a few years of visiting! We each got to ask 3 questions of every person, then guessed which fact about them was a lie. Try it with your friends, you might learn some surprising things.

Oregon Coast Photos

Last Sunday, I drove Anna and her friend Amy to Newport, where we visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Yellow jellyfish make great abstract art!



It was fun peering up at the fish in water tunnels overhead, too. Felt a bit like being under the sea, which I'm sure is the effect the architects aimed for.



The freaky car gave us all a few moments of amusement. Note the pairing of one of the seven dwarfs with a rubber duckie and a praying nun, not to mention several decapitated dolls' heads with wind-blown hair and unnaturally red lips.



Wonder how many traffic accidents this car causes, when people do double-takes? Must be fun to drive around town.

This and That

Well, I'm in Oregon visiting my folks and extended family and friends. Highlights from the last week:

* Trying on a shirt in a Maine mall, when my daughter suddenly exclaimed, "Mom, what's that huge black mole on your back?!" I examined my "mole" in the mirror, and shrieked when I saw its tiny wiggling legs. Somehow, I'd picked up a tick while walking the backroads of rural Maine. For the next hour I gritted my teeth and tried not to think of blood-sucking bugs while I drove home to the inlaws and got Jeff to pull the tick off carefully with tweezers. Now I need to watch for symptoms of Lyme disease, but I think my critter was a wood tick, not a deer tick, so that's fortunate.

* My first full day in Oregon, I walked into a Safeway store and asked my mother, "What in the world is that?" as I pointed to the grocery cart. She peered in and then told me, "Laurie, that's a cup-holder. Haven't you seen them before?" Ahhhh. Remember, in Germany, most of the cars don't have cup-holders, and none of the grocery carts do! (It's illegal to drink or eat while driving in Germany. Also against the law for the driver to talk on a cell phone) Funny moment there, and I realized it's indeed been awhile since I've lived in the States..

* Have I said that I adore the abundance of coffee shops in Oregon?? Free wireless, indie music, and shelves of books in English.

* I do miss the network of bike trails and well-constructed walking paths in Germany. Oregon's one of the better states in terms of bike-friendliness and pedestrian awareness, but I had to walk from the urgent care clinic where my tetanus shot was updated, and trekked over broken concrete, barkdust, and a few blocks of mediocre sidewalk.

*Dad's picking fresh Hood strawberries for us to feast on each day--the best breakfast on earth.

Oregon, Here I Come

In less than a week, I'll be setting foot in Oregon again. My folks are celebrating their 50th anniversary, and (miracle of miracles), all four of us kids plan to celebrate with them. Danielle's going too, on a separate flight. I'm gloating here: got the ten hour, straight shot Lufthansa flight! Last time, Anna and I had two LONG connections, and by the time we boarded the last plane headed towards the west coast, I came very close to using my handy "personal motion discomfort bag."

I won't be able to connect much with friends in Portland--most of the time is booked--a week in Sunriver with the entire clan, and a few days in Newport at the beach. So I guess that means I'll need to make a repeat trip soon...

What I can't wait for:
* The one-of-a-kind Sylvia Beach Hotel, a hotel for book lovers! This place is quirky and fun. A spot to meet intriguing people from all over the world. Check out some of the rooms.
* Walking along Nye Beach and listening to the waves. Picking up smooth rocks. Hearing the seagulls. Feeling the ocean mist on my face.
* Laughing with my family at the same old stories and silly jokes we bring up each time.
* Cycling along the trails at Sunriver. Sighting hawk, deer and maybe elk.