Bend, OR

Hal writes:

We spent an extended weekend in Bend, OR this past weekend. I forgot to load some pictures of a trip Anna's parents took with us up to Ballard, WA before going to Bend. The first two pictures are of our niece Analise (who really enjoyed playing with Riley) and our nephew Josiah.



On the first full day some of the family went with the kids to a children's museum. Anna and I went with on a five mile hike and picnic lunch in the Oregon wilderness.

Dale and Anna in front of one of the waterfalls.

Aunt Carol and Anna on a bridge near where we ate our picnic lunch.


Anna and I had some time to spend with Josiah and Analise. Needless to say, having a tall uncle is a very fun activity. (Riley was not sure what was going on, but he wanted to play as well.)



The whole family.

The "middle generation". Hal and Anna; Brian and Kristine (Anna's sister), Kip (Anna's cousin) and Beth.

Dale and Sandy with Jim and Carol (Anna's aunt, Dale's sister).

On our last day we went to Elk Lake State Park. Here are the four kids enjoying the water.

A view of Mt. Bachelor from the lake.

5th Anniversary

Hal writes:

Anna and I spent our 5th anniversary in Long Beach this past weekend. (That would be the Long Beach in Washington, not California.) As you can see from the photo below, this truly is the LONGEST beach in the world.


The area we were in is known for their oysters, but obviously other fresh seafood that can be enjoyed the day it is caught. (Unlike "fresh" seafood in the Midwest.)

During the weekend we stayed in an updated bungalow located on the beach. Yes, Riley came along for the trip.

The couple who owned the bungalows on the beach also owned a small coffee shop/restaurant. They are only open for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It was so amazing Saturday that we went back on Sunday. They use all local/organic ingredients and change their menu each month to reflect what is available and in season.

Anna was a bit concerned about potential tsunamis, but we read a guide on the beach on what to do if there is an approaching tsunami. We can add that to the list of skills that include what to do if attacked by a mountain lion and what do to if caught in an avalanche.

Riley made a new friend on the beach.


The area we stayed in is known as the place where Lewis & Clark made it to the Pacific Ocean and camped for the winter before starting their return voyage.

This sculpture represents Clark's account of finding large fish (and a set of whale bones) on the beach. Clark recorded a number of details about plant and animal life, cartography, information about Native American language and culture, and other details that he felt were of interest to the academic population living on the East Coast. (Riley wasn't sure what to make of him or the fish.)

An actual set of whale bones from a whale that passed away and beached on the shore a few years ago. About the same size as the bones that was recorded in Clark's journal.

Outside the Interpretive Center.

A look at the interpretive center from one of the state park trails. The interpretive center is made from an old WWII bunker meant to protect the Columbia river from foreign attacks.

There were two lighthouses that were near the interpretive center. This is a view looking south of the interpretive center. The building to the right of the lighthouse is a Homeland Security (or Naval stations, according to signs made before 2002) with a lot of monitoring equipment.


This photo is brought to you by the professional photographer who happened to be taking pictures while we were exploring.
This is the second light house on the north end of the park.


When we approached there were people up in the light house that were "oohing" and "ahhing" like they were watching fireworks. There were three Gray Whales putting on a show of spouting and sticking their heads out of the water. They are not typically this far south during this season (according to the light house tour guide). We didn't have a zoom lens with us, but this is the closest we could get to see one of them spouting and then sticking his head out of the water. (I think he is winking at us in the second photo...)

*SPOUT*

*WINK*

Minnesota trip, 4th of July

Hal writes:

We are a little behind on blogging about our Minnesota trip in June. Anna and I are adjusting to life without Internet and TV at our home. So, I've been able to put together pictures and blog posts from our home computer and then upload them while I am at work.

Our journey begins on Father's day where we joined Anna's parents for a Twins baseball game.



This is a photo taken of Joe from our seats. I took the picture with our Nikon and then cropped it up close. Turned out to be a pretty clear photo. I have some others of him swinging and hitting a pitch, but I haven't played around with those yet.

While in the Twin Cities I stopped by to visit a former student, Jen, who is now a hall director at the University of Minnesota. (No, I have no way of explaining Riley's expression in this photo.) Dogs are not allowed in the buildings at U of M, so Riley was dubbed a "therapy dog" for my visit.

We met up with another friend, Heather, at the Como Zoo to see the butterflies. Here is a picture of Heather and Anna, sans butterflies and not at the zoo.

Our next visit was with Staci, a classmate of Anna's from the Clarke DPT program. Here they are outside the Grand Old Creamery in St. Paul.

After a couple of days in the Twin Cities, we transitioned to the cabin to spend time with my family. Here is my dad teaching Riley how to steer the pontoon.

Lauren also came to visit us at the cabin. And, in recent news, she is now employed. Congrats Lauren! :)

Beth and Anna on the pontoon. Anna spent a lot of time on the pontoon (reading, riding, tanning, with the occasional swim breaks and the obligatory cups of coffee in the morning to start her day).


There are two loons that were fishing near the dock. I wanted to get a photo of the two of them flapping their wings in the water, but they wouldn't cooperate with my directions. But I did get this picture when one came a little bit closer to the dock.

A view from the lake looking up the hill towards my Uncle John's cabin (next door to my parents cabin).

On the other side of the lake is the pub where we went for my belated birthday dinner. We took the pontoon across the lake and tied up at their dock. Anna was having some fun adjusting the colors on this photo.


Mom and Dad on Little Hanging Horn


Beth and Jake

Hal and Anna

Anna enjoys sparklers, so we had some fun playing with those while we were learning how to adjust the aperture and other functions of our camera.



Later in the week we went to Stevens Point to the wedding of Jenny and Doug. Jenny is a high school classmate of Anna's.


Anna and Jenny the bride.

Dale and Sandy attended a different wedding, but Anna was able to get a quick picture before they left.

Anna and I took Molly (Dale and Sandy's dog) and Riley to walk some trails.

As an added bonus, here are a couple of photos from 4th of July. Anna's Clarke DPT classmate Molly was in town on vacation so we went to see her during the day.


We're still unpacking boxes and collecting furniture in our new house. Hope to have some photos up in the near future, but you'll have to wait and see.