L.L. Stub State Park

Free weekend!!!!  We are all still in recovery mode from having a baby, school, visitors, etc that we decided to stay a little bit closer to home.  We were able to go to L.L. Stub State Park for the first time.  I was going crazy without going hiking or being in trees or seeing ocean so our adventure was just the medicine that I needed.  We were able to hike around the park including part of the Veronia/Banks Trail-which I guess is a big deal, I don't know.  Porter was a champ, loved his Ergobaby carrier, and slept the whole time.  I was pretty worn out physically by the time we were getting back in the car, but my goodness it felt good to hike again.

Oregoned Out

What a crazy couple of weeks we have had!  We had our own mini vacation down the coast, the Speths came to play, and we got to hang out with our pharmacy friends.  JD has traveled all but about 34.7 miles of the Oregon Highway 101 of 346 miles total in less than 2 weeks and a total of 3 ocean trips.  We have done a ton of new things, seen a lot of animals, trees, beaches, ocean, a new temple, and where JD will be doing a few rotations as well.  Last night I asked JD what he wanted to do (it being Friday and all) and his response was 'nothing'.  I said that is fine, do you want to watch a movie or something? He just looked at me and repeated 'nothing'.  That should give you an idea of just how busy his break has been.  Regardless of our current physical state, we are both so grateful for the time we have had to spend together and with our family as well as the incredible things we have been able to see and enjoy.  We feel truly blessed to be here in Oregon.

Coast Trip Day 4: Crescent City & Redwoods to Ashland

We had a pretty amazing day today.  We started at Ocean World, it is a quirky little aquarium that has been built into an old boat.  They have a lot of different animals to touch and resident harbor seals and sea lions.  When we were in the hull of the boat looking at the seals swimming around I started feeling not right, I got dizzy, ringing in the ears, a bit of tunnel vision, and I felt like I wasn't getting enough air.  I sat down while the guy was talking about something-who knows what and prayed that I wouldn't pass out in the hull of the boat aquarium.  We made it out of the hull and I still wasn't feeling very well so I leaned against a table while JD got to pet some Leopard Sharks, I was able to do the same after a few minutes but still felt queasy.  We got a little sea lion/seal show and then we were done at the aquarium and I was feeling better.  The only thing I can guess was I had locked by knees and cut of circulation because it was weird. 

 

After the aquarium we went to the North Coast Marine Mammal Center.  This is a place that they take sick, injured, or abandoned marine mammals for rehab.  We got to see an elephant seal, 5 baby harbor seals, and a few sea lions during feeding time.  The volunteer worker was super nice and told us a lot about the animals and why he was doing things the way he was.  We loved watching him shove fish down the baby harbor seals-they are just like little puppies only fat, wet, and floppity.  One of the seals they had was actually kidnapped by a kindergartner from the beach, they were on a field trip and he put it in his back pack.  When the parents got home they found a baby seal in their bath tub. 

We went to Jedediah Smith State Park/Redwoods National Park on our way up to Medford/Ashland. This place is amazing.  It is kind of hard to put how tall the trees are into perspective while walking amongst them until you take a minute to look through pictures and realize we looked like little ants wandering around these gigantic trees.  In Sequoia the large, massive trees are not quite as common and are spaced out a bit compared with an entire grove of varying aged trees.  We loved hiking around them and enjoyed the 'old grove' where the older bigger trees were located. 

After the Redwoods we drove up to Medford and dropped our stuff off at the hotel.  We went to eat in Ashland and walked around the town.  It is the location of Southern Oregon University and the Oregon Shakespearean Festival.  The main street is decorated all cute Shakespearean style with names like the Windsor or pubs like the Dragon.  There is also a beautiful park down town the boarders the river, we loved walking through Lithia looking at the rhododendrons. The last stop of a busy day was stopping for icecream with our friends Chris and Haylie Weston.  Haylie went through pharmacy technician training with JD and I and also graduated from Pacific University a few years ago as a pharmacist.  It was fun to see them for a bit and we are excited to see their new baby when he comes.

Tualatin Hills Nature Park

There is a 'park' by where I work that JD and I went and explored a bit today. You know you are I a cool place when at the entrance there Is a sign that you please share the walking trail with the newts. We didn't see any but JD was looking the whole time. We have actually been pretty dry here since we got back in December to the point I find myself missing the rain. It is usually a bit warmer when it is raining and it just a nice sound to fall asleep to at night. That doesn't mean we don't get any rain. We still have little showers throughout he week but also a lot of cloud breaks and sun.

February

I find it funny that after a long January filled with rain, fog, and clouds that the first two days of February have brought sunshine and 55 degree weather.

Festival of Trees

 I volunteered at the Providence Festival of Trees today in downtown Portland.  Three hours of looking at trees and people watching was awesome.  I was assigned to the Wizard of Oz tree.  It was an upside down gold tree with a farm, farm animals, fences, and straw sticking out of it to create a tornado.  The tree came with a play house that had crushed the wicked witch of the East.  Also pictured are: Island of Misfit Toys, Oregon State vs University of Oregon wreaths(they also had full size trees and mini trees-it is a very serious rivalry here, Avengers, and Portland Timbers(with soccer balls and Timbers scarves).  Other trees that were unique were fly fishing and farming themes complete with a heated chicken coop. 

 

Other random event: I am used to seeing odd people around Portland.  It isn't too uncommon.  When I got into the covention center there were a lot of odd ducks with glitter and wigs and big hats, and instruments.  Turns out it was a casting call for America's Got Talent.  It was kind of fun seeing all the people practicing their 'talents' in the suites before going in to audition.

 

Overall it was a really neat experience and it gave JD a whole day to study without several interruptions from me. 

Leaves in November

It is December tomorrow and colored leaves are still on the trees.
Oregon is awesome.

Arboretum

We had a rainy day in Portland this weekend.  The roses are sleeping, the leaves are falling from some trees and starting to change on others.  We discovered a new place that will deserve further explorations: the Hoyt Arboretum.  It is several trails through lots of different trees.  Very kicked back and relaxing play weekend.  I'm looking forward to a Thanksgiving weekend this coming week.  If the rain calms down a bit, hopefully we will be able to get to the ocean.
 

Tualatin Hills Nature Park

I love the 'parks' here.  The pictures are from Tualatin Hills Nature Park, this 222 acre gem is about 2 minutes from where I work.  I love the mini forests that are all over the place.  I can hardly wait for them to start changing colors.