HAPPY BIRTHDAY PSW......

TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY...I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ARE 18 YEARS OLD...WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE.  YOU ARE HANDSOME, SMART, KIND, LOVING, FUN AND SOMETIMES YOU CAN BE A BIT OF A COMPLAINER BUT THAT'S JUST YOU....YOU HAVE YOUR WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF YOU.  THERE WILL BE GOOD TIMES AND NOT SO GOOD TIMES. ALWAYS REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND THAT YOUR FAMILY LOVES YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!

 

 

 

UEA ROAD TRIP 2014

We had talked about taking a road trip up the Californa/Oregon/Washington Coast this year and I personally didn't think it would happen....but it did. 

We left on Wednesday and flew to Oakland, CA (I know scary).  We got there way late - picked up our rental car Mitzi (short for Mitsubishi) - found our hotel and ate at a nearby Dennys.  Welcome to Oakland....basically chased by a homeless guy wanting money. 

On the plane ride, I sat next to a robotics engineer who had been at the U Med center fixing a robot - he lived on a sail boat in Oakland Bay and suggested we take the Oakland Ferry to San Francisco to avoid traffic.  We took his advice - it was great - taking us right to Fishermans Warf. 

We gave money to a guy that gave us a sticker that said "Are we having fun yet?" Walked around the Warf - got some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl - took a Harbor boat tour around the bay, including under the Golden Gate Bridge - walked to Ghiradelli square for ice cream and chocolate - met the "bush" man - and even with Parker warning me about him - he did jump out and scare me.  We took the cable car to Union Square - riding with a mixed bag of Russians, Americans, Germans, Asians, etc.  Went to the biggest mall ever - the Westfield Mall - where the strange people sightings heated up - a guy in a spandex outfit with high black patent leather boots - a scarf - and pink lipstick.  We then headed down Market Street to the Ferry Building to catch a ride back to Oakland.  Glad to be going back to Oakland.  Then ventured to Berkley to see Cal's campus and get something to eat.  Also, stopped by the Oakland Temple - it was dark - the temple was pretty - not sure how the surrounding neighborhood was.

The next day we headed towards Oregon...we decided to take the 101 inland and saw beautiful vineyards - stopped at the absolute worse Walmart we have ever been to - drove through places I had never heard of - like Willits, California - a bit sketchy -major SQUATCHY- stopped at a Big Foot tourist trap - drove through the Redwoods - stopped at an Oregon Beach - went through an area with "ELK" signs everywhere - even seeing a small herd off the road - brought back bad memories - stayed in Brookings, Oregon - it was late - dark and rainy - ate at The Onion Grill - interesting!.

Saturday we got up and still headed north - beautiful scenery - trees and more trees, lakes, rivers, fisherman, more trees lakes - sea lions - headed to Eugene to see the University of Oregon Campus - not too impressed - then headed up the road towards Portland - stopped at the Portland Temple (a BEAUTIFUL TEMPLE) - a sister missionary in the Visitor's Center gave us a lead on a burger joint downtown - "The Little Big Burger" - it was good - downtown Portland was cool - headed East to get some miles/times behind us so the 13 hour drive wasn't so daunting - made it to Pendleton, Oregon and watched BYU lose their Football game.

Sunday headed out for home stopping in Boise - visited Boise State Campus (I might be a bit partial - but the University of Utah Campus is so much nicer than the 3 we stopped at) - the Boise Temple - the State Capitol and then back on the road stopping in Twin Falls to eat at Jakers - a good prime rib/steak house - then homeward bound......

It was a good trip.  Oregon is interesting.  The people that live there are a bit quirky.  Their road signs are limited to one word such as "ELK" "SLOW" "STOP" "SPEED" "TURN" "BUMP", etc......  Whereas Northern California is a bit more descriptive - maybe TMI.....  Also - Oregon speed limits are ridiculous - sometimes the speed on the freeway (45 mph) was slower than the exit ramp - Parker happened to be driving at that time and I thought he was going to lose his mind!

We didn't make it to Astoria, Seattle, Vancouver...and I can't believe I thought we could.  That will have to be for another trip.  Mitzi the rental car ended up being okay - just major ugly.  We only had a couple of melt downs...and when we went home we all darted to our separate areas...24/7 together time was awesome and I can't wait for the next roady!!!!!