OCTOBER VISIT TO THE COAST

Last Sunday after little Lehi was blessed, Tony and I took off for Vancouver Washington to spend the week with Jeff and Christa and check out their new digs! lol We didn't get away till after 3PM so it was dusk as we were driving into the Dalles and dark when we arrived.
The kids had soup and grilled cheese sandwiches ready to go when we arrived!
Mmmmm mmmm good! I got a picture of the house the next morning and it is really lovely! They have a great location (close to work for both of them) and it is a wonderful location for a future family!

I gave Christa a bad time about decorating so well for Halloween !!
THE REAL DEAL!!

There were two of these ugly creatures out side around the back patio. Cat Spiders and harmless to humans as we found out via the Internet but creepy just the same!!
Jeff took care of them with a can of poison! Bless his heart!!

Monday morning Jeff and Christa took us to the Pittock Mansion. It was a wet foggy day and Jeff was very disappointed that we were not able to see out over the city but it was fun anyway and the Mansion itself was a site to see!

I tell ya what!!! My hair looked horrendous ALL WEEK!! I don't do well in moisture! lol

Pretty fancy place but we decided less is more! Know what we mean??

The shower looked like a torture chamber! Something right out of
"Shutter Island" ...lol


This was a pretty staircase though and made for a great picture of Tony and the kids!

After touring the Mansion the kids took us to a Pie Company (can't remember the name) that makes Aussie Pies!

They were really tasty!! Totally enjoyed them! We went shopping at IKEA after this and also to the Tower where Jeff works! I wasn't allowed to take pictures up there but he has a BEAUTIFUL view of Portland, Vancouver, the rivers and trees. It is simply gorgeous!!
We also went to "Bath and Body Works" where Christa works and she got me some wonderful smells! (Thanks Christa! Your awesome!) We got a pizza for dinner at Papa Smurfs and went back to their place and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday morning, we drove out to
Multomah Falls! Tony and I have driven by it several times and once we even stopped but there was NO MORE PARKING SPOTS so we continued on our journey BUT TUESDAY WE DID IT!!
We hiked to the top!!! It was only a mile and a quarter BUT I'M 60 now and it was tough!!
We had to stop and rest several times and once I thought I was going to lose my breakfast so we stopped and they gave me a banana to eat and after about 15 minutes I was able to go on AND WE MADE IT TO THE TOP!!

This picture was back at the 1st bridge which was a piece of cake to get to ..............

It looks like an easy hike ( and I suppose it was for the youngsters) but I'm pretty outta shape and I was breathing HEAVY all the way up!!

It was so worth it though and the view was phenomenal!!

After getting back down (which by the way was A LOT EASIER) we drove to Hood River and had lunch at Micky Dee's and then drove on up to Mt. Hood! The Lodge there is the one they used in the movie "THE SHINING" ........ well just the outside shots!
It ended up being windy, rainy and some snow EVEN!! It was so cold so we were happy to go inside and warm up by the fire!

If the weather was good we would have been able to look out this window and see Mt Hood but as it was we could only see the pavement and a few trees!! Another disappointment for Jeff but we still enjoyed ourselves!!

Like I said, we warmed ourselves by the fire!!

The place is HUGE and we got some shots of the kids by one of the displays!
We were happy to drive back down into the valley and find that the weather was warm and so we went back to the kids home where we had a DELICIOUS Roast Beef dinner that Christa had put in the crock pot before we left that morning! It was sooooooo good!

Wednesday morning we got up early and headed to Seattle. We stopped in Calama Washington ....."A TWILIGHT LOCATION" .... lol We went to the school and took some pictures!
Tony!!! That little blood sucker!! lol


It was fun to see. We would have went inside but we had reservations for a boat ride and we didn't want to be late!


Check it out!!! Bella even has her own parking spot designated!!

After getting to Seattle we drove down to the Market Place on the water and got something to eat! We ate it on STEWART STREET! lol

Then the kids took us to the Famous Gum Wall! I had a hard time getting Tony to even stand by it!! It was pretty disgusting but fun just the same!!
After touring the Market place and eating we headed to the pier where we caught a bus to the location on the Washington River where we got on a boat for a tour of the Puget Sound! It was a total blast!! The weather was beautiful on Wednesday so we were able to see all kinds of sights from the boat! (like the house in Sleepless in Seattle, lots of river boats, house boats the city etc)


It was about a 3 hour tour (lol sounds like Gilligan's Island) but we didn't get stranded on some remote island and it was so cool!

We sat in chairs on the front of the boat and after the ride on the River ............

and being able to see all kinds of cool things like the draw bridge etc .............

we went through the locks which took us from the fresh water into the salt water and out into the sound!

It was amazing to be on the boat and lowered down from the lake and into salt water and then we went out into Puget Sound!! So cool and actually quite chilly once we got onto the ocean water!

The kids have done this ride once before and they were excited to have us see it! It was great and then we came around a bend and were able to see the Seattle Skyline!

Really breathtaking! It was so awesome that the weather was clear enough for us to get to see this!! Thanks so much Jeff and Christa!! We loved it!!

After we docked, we went to a little fish restaurant and ate fish and chips and scallops and a shrimp cocktail and a crab cocktail. It was delish!! As we were eating, Christa was multitasking!! lol
She was Geo Cashing And right out front of the restaurant was a statue and she found a Geo Cash there!
She was sooooo excited!!

It was a little cylinder with a paper in it and she wrote her name on it and stashed it safely away again.
It was so much fun and after she explained the whole "Geo Cashing" game to us we were kinda hooked too!

We walked to a building in downtown Seattle and rode the elevator to the observation deck! It was only $3 dollars for Senior Citizens (and yes, we were considered just that and the kids were $5 dollars ) It was Waaaay higher than the Space Needle which was $18 dollars to go up so we decided it was such a good deal we couldn't pass it up!

The two sports arena from the view on top!

It was well worth the ride up. We took lots of pictures and then we descended to the bowels of the earth! ha ha .......... We took the underground transit system to the location of the Monorail!
This is all underground!! It's totally amazing to think of all that cement and high rise buildings above this!!
BLOWS MY MIND!!

And the people ya see on the transit systems!!! lol

We got to the monorail and rode it to the Space Needle! While we were waiting for the monorail to come, Jeff got a call from Scott informing us that my cousin Don Berezay had passed away. He was only 11 months older than me and we were always very close growing up! He was such a great man! He ran the church ranch in Lehi Utah. He died of a massive heart attack while out in the fields with his cattle! That was a real shock to us all and we were so sad to hear the news.

Did a little more Geo Cashing at the park by the Needle. ..... Notice how sneaky Christa is so Muggles won't see her get the stash!!

Another little canister with a place to write her name! (So much fun!!!!!)

The Space Needle, the kids, and the fountain (which reminded us of the Bellegio Casino fountain in Vegas as it spurted to music!!)

This Seattle weather in soooooo good for growing tomatoes! lol
I'st a garden by the Space Needle!
There were some actual vegetables growing there too! lol
After we saw the sights around the Space Needle we headed back to the parking garage and back to Vancouver. We stopped to eat a ways out of Seattle at a Burger joint.

Thursday morning we drove the kids down to Astoria for some sight seeing. On the way there we were able to see Mount Saint Helen's pretty good! The weather was finally cooperating! I got a shot from the highway.
Next time we come the kids will take us up there to the observatory sight and we will get some awesome photo's!

We stopped at the Maritime Museum 1st in Astoria! There were 9 ships on the Columbia river at that time!!
Captain Jeff and his 1st Mate! lol

Jeff, ready to take on the enemy!!

After touring the Museum we headed across the street to the Bowpicker for the
BEST FISH AND CHIPS EVER!!!!!

We then stopped in and saw Rick and his office and he told us to come to their house after we showed the kids some more sites! We headed to the Peter Ire dale Ship wreck .................


and while leaving there, we Geo Cashed and Tony found one! He now has the title
"Geo Sniffer 52" ............. lol

We went out to the observation point on the jetty! It's where the mouth of the Columbia and the ocean meet !! Got some good pictures and then went Geo Cashing again!!

We couldn't find the one at the Wild Life Observation point or at the Batteries BUT we still found two big ones with all kinds of fun stuff in them out in the brush at two different locations! A totyally fun Global Game!!

Checking out the Battery.

They used these in World War one and two. You can see where the big gun was located at one time!~!
It was getting dark so we headed to Rick and Wendy's and they had dinner for us. We had a Great visit with them and got to see their new home. They insisted we spend the night and since Jeff didn't have to be to work til 3PM the next day ....we did! It was fun visiting with them and they exchanged numbers with Jeff and Christa and they plan on getting together to show them the sites on the coast! Rick and Wendy KNOW THEM ALL!! Such great hosts!!

Before driving back to Vancouver on Friday, we took the kids to Tapiola Park! It is the children's park that Wendy raised so much money for when they 1st moved to Astoria!!

We got some pictures there and then headed for the docks to see some Sea Lions!

These fella's were barking like CRAZY at us cuz we got fairly close to them!! They are HUGE!!! This is as close as ya wanna get!

And of course you can't go to Astoria without seeing the Goonie House ..........................

So we did!!
Jeff said it was just like he remembered it in the movie and Christa said she remembered Chunk playing on the front yard!! lol
We then took Katie with us and headed back to Vancouver so Jeff would have a chance to get cleaned up and relax a bit before he started back to the old grind!! Their home is just an hour and 1/2 from Rick and Wendy's. We got back and Tony and I showered and did a load of laundry while Christa showed Katie their new home. It was such a fun week with the kids! They live in a beautiful area with a lot to see! Can't wait to go back and do some more exploring with them.
Thanks Jeff and Christa for a wonderful week!! We love you!

After we left Vancouver, we drove back to Astoria and chilled with Rick and Wendy. We had found out at that point that Don's funeral was going to be on Monday the 17th and Rick had to speak on Sunday and we weren't going to be able to make it either so we spent the weekend together.
Saturday they wanted to take us to a site we had never seen before.
HUG POINT just past Cannon Beach! We wanted to get there at low tide so we could walk out on the beach to the location BUT we missed it and the tide was coming in so we had to go over the top and down ......


And yes!! It was as thrilling as it looks!!

It WAS NOT an easy hike for two old fat people!! They handled it well but they had to help me practically the entire way! Tony did pretty good but told me later that it was pretty strenuous for him too!

It looks easy but the grass, logs and rocks are all slick! The hillside was steep and full of vegetation!!

BUT, it was so gorgeous when we got gown to the bottom and saw the waterfall that flows right into the ocean!!

Rick loves to take pictures and took several of them with my camera for me!

I love the waterfall effect on this one!

He got us walking hand in hand on the beach!

Then when we were ready to go home, Rick tired to find an easier way out than what we came in on .....see him at the top of the rock??? He decided that wasn't the way! lol

While we waited for Rick to find a new way out, Will and Katie played on the rocks!

Then we started our accent up!

We made it and my legs are paying for it today! It was quite the hike!! lol

But it made for some great pictures!!
Saturday after we left Hug Point we stopped at an authentic Mexican Restaurant and had a delicious lunch. Then that afternoon, Tony and I went to Warenton to a Sports Bar and Grill called "BUBBA'S to watch the BSU game! They were so good to us ! It was fun!!
After the game we went back to Rick and Wendy's and took them out to a Thai Restaurant called the "Blue Ocean" and we had a GREAT MEAL!
It was a fun October vacation with Jeff and Christa and Rick and Wendy!


Thanks to my kids and my brother and his family for being so fun to hang out with! It made for some awesome memories!~ AGAIN!