Oregon 2009

Our first stop in America was to the Oregon coast.


My father-in-law John and his wife Anne have semi-retired to this paradise where the forest meets the ocean.


John grew up in a rural part of Canada and loves the outdoors, making him an excellent guide.


Although Anne was born in England she has spent most of her adult life in America. I’m glad she has not given up her love of English traditions such as gardening and a good “cuppa” tea.


Nana and Papa's house is nestled in the forest, but overlooks one of the bays.


Their home is surrounded by the wonders of nature. Whenever I'm there I want to sing "climb every mountain"... I think it has something to do with the surplus of oxygen.


When you hike around their property you might see their sweet little dogs Elsa and Buttons along with a deer or two, eagles, bunnies, ground squirrels, a bobcat (if you're lucky) or a bear (if you're unlucky).


The inside of their home reminds me of a little English cottage... Very cozy!


I joke about one of John and Annes hobbies... Feeding the hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are little and sweet and beautiful right? Not if there are hundreds! I think they become scary...their little beaks look like needles and the stealthy way they zip about... Sweet? HA!


It's a tradition for us to visit the bay front when we are in Newport.


We get a years supply of exotic flavored salt water taffy...


And have our fortune read by Zoltar... John's fortune started out talking about romance... he's convinced he got the wrong reading.


My favorite restaurant is the Canyon way... half restaurant and half bookstore, what could be better?


We dined alfresco in the garden at the restaurant... again with the excess oxygen... makes you a little giggly.


The main highway runs along the Pacific coast. It makes a scenic and beautiful drive.


One day we were driving down the highway and decided to stop and take pictures of of the ocean. The wind had picked up and made the ocean waves so big... hard to show how angry the ocean was with a picture.


I have a secret fantasy of running a sheep and filbert farm in Oregon.


What trip would be complete without a trip to the mall...


and an ice cream break? I know this sounds not so good, but it's the best ice cream ever... licorice! If you ever get a chance to try it... it's delicious!


The beaches are so beautiful and clean... it's a great place to take the "kids" for a walk.


Summers in Oregon mean berries!


On Saturday mornings they have a farmers market in Newport.


The local farmers and gardeners gather together to sell some of the fruits of their labors... literally.


The area has a lot of organic growers.


The vegetables are simply the best I've ever tasted!


Some of the booths had hand made crafts and goods... like bird houses...


specially roasted coffees...


Honey...


Hand spun yarns...


Made into Hand woven rugs.


The climate on the coast is perfect for flower.


It seems everywhere you look there are lots of flowers.


Near by farms are a nice place to visit for a day.


One day on our trip we did something I don't think I will ever forget.


John and I took a glass blowing class.


Scott took pictures.


Although it was hot... it was cool to do something so unique.


Fascinating working with glass that is so hot it's liquid and plyable.


We blew into a tube that was hooked into the pipe that held our glass.


It was interesting to watch the glass change colors according to how hot it got.


John made a green "crystal ball" that he can set on his desk.


I made a float I can hang in the window.


I made mine blue and green with a swirl of white... I wanted it to look a little like earth from space.


Our teachers name was Jeff.


He did a fabulous job of showing us what to do...


while keeping us safe.


I'm still trying to figure out how I can get the glass back to India without breaking.


The oven was so hot that it was difficult to stand in front of it.


It was interesting to see how many details and facts go into making glass.


John's favorite part was picking out the color for his peice.


After living in India for so long I was craving a cheeseburger.


We went to Flashbacks. It's a restaurant with a theme of things you might remember from your youth.


I saw a Donny and Marie Osmond doll there that were just like the ones I had when I was a little girl.


The beaches get so windy... it's a perfect place to fly a kite.


Or even better have a kite festival.


With the wind whipping our hair and clothes we found the best place to watch the kites was the restaurant that overlooks the beach.


I had this idea of a picture of John jumping with the kites behind him... as he jumped I had a vision of him be pulled into the sky by the huge gusts of wind.


Here is John in a less windy spot.


Some of the kites were so big they looked like dragons floating in the sky.


Probably my favorite thing to do is go crabbing on the dock in Walport.


We went crabbing for the first time about 4 years ago.


Since then I've been hooked. (Hee hee... hooked get it?)


I've had a lot of fun perfecting my crab cakes recipe.


I don't care if we catch anything it's just such a peaceful place to sit and talk while waiting for the crabs to "come to mamma".


The first few times we went crabbing we used minks for bait... there is a farm nearby that sells the minks to crabbers.


Now we use chicken.


To go crabbing all you need is a crab net, bait and a license.


First you tie the bait to the bottom of your net... the net is two rings with net sides. When the basket hits the bottom it colapses and lays flat.


The crabs come to eat the bait and while they are munching away we pull the net up with them inside the basket.


You can only keep the crabs that are a certain size and male so you only get to keep a small portion of what you catch.


We have always had luck on this dock.


The best time we had was when my parents and grandfather came for a visit... we had a sink full of crabs.


Crabbing has been so much fun for us that it was only natural for us to evolve into fishing...


This brings us to the next part of our trip... Salmom fishing 15 miles off shore.


John watched out the window as we left our port.


After going under the Newport bridge the waters got a lot more rough...


Then rougher...


A gentle rocking motion would not be an accurate description... this was more of a test they might give to astronaut hopefuls.


John caught a couple salmon... I'm surprised we didn't catch a shark with how much we were chumming the waters.


We were so excited when we left the gentle bay waters.


Little did we know what was a head of us.


A cool crisp morning... blue skies, fresh air... HA!


Then we figured out there was so much more excitement in store for us.


There were 19 people on our boat... 7 of them were very ill. I did the math... that's a high percentage.


This picture of John standing next to the trash can is exactly what it looks like.


Our boat had two workers... a captain and a deck hand. Our deck hand was a scary guy... but such an interesting character. There were waves coming up over the edge of the boat and this guy managed to keep his cigarette dry. He smelled like alcohol and couldn't remember a name (John Smith) from the back of the boat by the time he reached the front of the boat... it wasn't that big of a boat.


Scott "having fun"...


When we were finished they cleaned and fileted the fish for us. Salmon need a lot more work than the rock fish we caught last year.
I will always think of this trip when I eat salmon and appreciate it all the more.


I thought this picture of John and Scott bowing on the bow would be a nice way of ending this entry.

I always enjoy our time in Oregon... I wish we could have spent another week there to do all the things we didn't get around to doing... like four wheeling on the sand dunes... a visit to the seal caves... low tides at seal rock (facinating)... the aquarium... whale watching... bon fire on the beach (s'mores... yum)... and just getting a chance to spend more time together.

Maybe next year...