This place is Purty

(Please note the comments that pop up when you scroll over the pics, and a special thanks to Jes for being so techno-savy and helping me)

It was almost like a cultural exchange. One friend comes to the land of fried foods and flat land and then the other ventures to the luscious green wilderness with fresh seafood. I’m not sure who got the better end of the deal.

So yes, I ventured into the great pacific northwest to see how the other half lives (that half that has real trees, and mountains, and greenery, and oceans, you know the pretty stuff) and I got to hang out with Steve. And I got to meet his good friend C~ (because I like her own personal sign off on comments I will refer to her by this alone).

Sooooooo what does one do when arriving at the grand state of Oregon? Hike. The sad thing is that my Texas lungs are not use to hiking uphill (and when I say uphill I mean UPhill). But the scenery was so worth my wheezing and a little ribbing from Steve as he skipped along (dang Oregonian who is use to that kind of hiking).

First we went to a random trail with this amazing waterfall



Then to another waterfall that is well known but I can’t remember the name of it right now (help needed from any Oregonians who recognize the pics).





It was amazing and so green. Really the trees, the vegetation, the moss. Yep, Texas is brown most of the year so this was a treat.






After some ice cream (yumm) we met up with C~ at her house where she was the most amazing hostess to me while I stayed in Oregon. After more food (steaks on the barby) I got to experience the national pastime of Oregon – MUDDING in the JEEP, although there was not a whole lot of mud (to Steve’s great disappointment).

The next day was all about the coast. Pictures tell it better than words so behold:

The house from Goonies in Astoria.



The view from the top of a tower (again I can’t remember the name of it – gosh for all my history and geek tendencies I failed miserably in committing these places I visited to memory)



Steve throwing airplanes off the tower much to the delight of a group of teenage boys.




Then we made our way to the end of the Lewis and Clark trail and I got to partake in the goodness of a Pronto Pup (corny dog for you Texas folks). Good, not the mammothness of a Texas State Fair Dog but good all the same. And then there was the taffy store. Oh my word, so much taffy. At first I tried to reign in the desire to start stuffing my hand in every bin and filling my bag until it burst, but after a while I gave into the call of the taffy and walked out with two pounds worth (I was later informed that if you didn’t spend at least $10 on taffy you were considered a wuss). And then we were off again to the beach and Haystack Rock (see I remembered that name) with a bit of crab and smoked salmon (did I mention we ate A LOT throughout the weekend).

Haystack Rock.



The best part of Haystack is when the tide goes out it leaves all these pools filled with sealife.






We stopped for a quick bite of crab and salmon in our new beach abode. C~ and I decided to go ahead and snatch this beach house up and now we have a co-op summer home on the beach. SWEET.




More scenery shots. This is the time in this post where I remind you that I LOVE Texas, I was born and bred here and bleed Texas pride but really we can’t compare in beauty to the state of Oregon. Texas is a pretty ugly state (shhhhh don’t tell any Texans I admitted this).



Ooooohhhhh, the octopus tree. This thing was AMAZING and HUGE. Look at how tiny C~ and I look in it.



And then there was the squeaky cheese (not a big fan, cheese that squeaks in your mouth, there is something wrong with that) at the Tillamook Cheese plant and more ice cream (yuuuuuummmmmmmmmm). And then more seafood when we stopped by a friend of Steve’s and C~’s and picked up some lobster salad, shrimp, and fresh crab.

Sunday I got to see Steve in action at leading worship at his church (amazing) and get some fun chatty time with C~. A little Mexican food and bowling and then some gaming and it was time to head home. But not before some pics of our rowdy bunch.

I had to pick this picture because it is classic Steve.



And this is C~ and me (after I slid off the leather chair and had some issues getting up – there are pictures of that because of course steve felt like that should be captured for posterity, but I will let you just imagine and laugh on your own - ok I gave in).







So it was a great trip to Oregon. Beautiful scenery, fun times, and great friends (old and new).