Stunning Oregon
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Aug 6, 2008
Sunday we headed out of Seattle, Washington and drove down to Portland. We had a good friend from Stint that we wanted to catch up with. It was so great to catch up with Alex (unfortunately Sue wasn't there) and we had a great time with him. I know that Bryce is going to miss the times they hung out together in Orlando. We didn't see much of Portland, but we enjoyed what we did see.Monday morning, we headed out of Portland for Redmond, Oregon. My cousin, Kelly lives there with her family and I hadn't seen her in 11 years or so. We were excited to reconnect. The drive was gorgeous as we drove through the Cascade mountains. I had been talking to Bryce how it would be fun to eat in some small town diners. Well, Detroit, Oregon had a small diner that we ate in. The food was excellent, but the prices were a little outrageous. Oh well!! It had character.
We arrived in the early afternoon at Kelly's home. She and her husband Terry live in a the country just outside the small town of Redmond. They have a gorgeious home there. It was so fun to meet my cousin Ashley as an adult. Last time I saw her she was 10. We had a great time chatting about life and where it has taken us over the years. We also enjoyed their two Weimariner dogs, Jackson and Gallon. Terry is a hunter and a real outdoors-man. Michael really enjoyed hanging out with him. Terry has this cool three wheeled bike and took the kids on it. Unfortunately there as a bit of a mishap as they were riding through the small pond and the bike flipped and they all ended up in the mud and water. It was rather funny, but could have been quite dangerous. Oh well!
Dinner ended up being quite late, but it was worth the wait. Delicious fresh salmon and yummy chicken as well as fresh corn, potatoes and salad. Yum!! For dessert we had s'mores. The kids had a blast making those. We all had a late night, but it was a terrific time.
This morning Terry made us an enormous breakfast. Bacon, eggs, waffles, fruit, donuts and it was delicious. Bryce, Terry and Shawn talked for a couple of hours outside, while Ashley, Kelly and I hung out inside and chatted. Ashley is a dancer and so we had fun talking about her future dreams. Cool!
We finally left Redmond around 1pm, a bit later than planned, but it was worth it. We really enjoyed our visit with Kelly & Terry. We headed to Crater Lake, Oregon. That was AMAZING!! It is the deepest lake in the USA at over 1900 feet deep and one of the deepest in the world. It was a volcanic crater filled with melted snow and ice and felt like it was at the top of the world. The water is so blue and it is truly stunning. Bryce said it was one of the most beautiful places he has seen in the US so that was high praise indeed. The rim road down was a little terrifying as it was quite narrow and no guiderails, but we made it down fine.
Tonight we are staying in Grants Pass, Oregon. My grandparents lived here for almost 30 years and I have many wonderful childhood memories of their home here so it was fun to drop by their house and see how it looks since I was last here 11 years ago. My grandparents are now with the Lord, so it was a bit emotional seeing their place when the last time I was here they were alive. It was fun to show Michael and Laura where their great-grandparents lived for so long.
Tomorrow we head to Yosemite in California. We've come full circle nearly. A bit emotional really!! I am feeling pretty sad about finishing our adventure, but know that good things are still to come as we head back to NZ. It has been an amazing trip and I can't wait to do it again! edit
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