My sister Sandy, or as she is known in the professional world, Dr. Sandy, came to Oregon to be a speaker and present at the Oregon Sports Summit in Eugene last week. She flew in a couple of days earlier so we could spend some time together.
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Tuesday found us on the train heading into downtown Portland to do a little sightseeing.
We stopped by the food trucks and had a great lunch. I had Iranian and Sandy had Thai food. After a trip to Powell's books we stopped by the Doc Martin's store then walked around downtown. For a block or so we were stalked by a homeless woman with a pretty bad black eye....
and finally found our way to Portland's famous Voodoo Doughnuts.
We brought some home for an after dinner snack.
We arrived home in time to go across the street to MOD Pizza for dinner with Darryl and then off to our watercolor painting class.
We had a great time and Sandy made a new silver haired friend, Mary, while there.
Wednesday Morning we picked up my friend Robyn and headed out for the coast.
On the way, we stopped in the Tillamook State Forest to look at the beautiful foliage that was all around us.
Robyn looking up into the trees.
Robyn is such a sweetheart and a good friend....
The kid and the two old ladies.... er.... senior athletes.
We stopped in the town of Tillamook and took Sandy on a tour of the visitors center at the cheese factory.
We had a lot of fun playing in the Tillamook delivery van.
We headed on up coastal road and stopped at Rock-a-way Beach for Sandy's first look at the Oregon Coast.
This walk through the tree tunnel to the beach was pretty cool..
This is for my siblings. Sandy & I found a place that reminded us of "The Witches Castle". A secret hideout we had in the woods behind our house in Seelyville.
Sandy had to push the brush aside and try it out.
The path to the ocean was washed out so it was tricky getting down on the beach. I have never seen a view like this before, but I started a painting several weeks ago that looks a lot like this view.
Sandy loved the views...
and Robyn loves everything about the ocean waves.
This is the last photo I have of a fully dressed and dry Sandy. It was high tide and I had watched a huge wave come in and wash all the way up to the path by the tree tunnel. After the wave receded I found a log to sit on while Sandy and Robyn walked up to the edge of the water.
Soon Sandy started picking up pretty rocks and shells. You can see where the waves were lapping up on the shore. Sandy decided to get up close and personal to the water and decided to stand on the small log (the one the arrow is pointing to) as the water came in and pooled around the bottom of the log. Just as I was mentioning to Robyn that I thought a big wave was due to come in, it happened. A huge wave rolled in coming up over Sandy's ankles and splashing clear up above her knees. She took off running as we laughed out loud at her cold and wet predicament.
We hurried to a local beach shop to buy Sandy something dry to wear, while there Robyn found this beautiful geode.
After that short side trip we moseyed on up the coast stopping at some of the lookouts along the way.
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| Notice Sandy's new pants and shoes. |
Soon we stopped at Oswald West State Park, or as Robyn calls it "Midget Forest" to hike our way through the forest to the coast.
Since Robyn was smart enough to bring her hiking boots along, she loaned us her tennis shoes so Sandy didn't have to hike in flip flops. Good thing Sandy had bought a pair of Puffin socks as a souvenir in Tillamook.
Words fail me when I try to describe how serene and beautiful this forest is, or what a wonderful hike it is to the coast...
It was January 31st and there was actually a guy swimming in the surf.
Robyn tells me that this bay is one of her favorite spots on the whole coast... and I can see why.
We drove up to Cape Disappointment... which was a little bit of a disappointment since there was a steady rain and we didn't feel like hiking out to the lighthouse. Instead, we drove back across the Astoria-Megler bridge to Astoria and Bouy's Brewery for a delicious meal.
We started out with Habenero, Smoked Salmon deviled eggs
and Garlic Lemon Steamed clams..
Topped off with a Clam Chowder and Ceasar Salad.
It was a wonderful day and I only wish we could do it again and again.
Thursday found us on our way down to Eugene for the Conference. Sandy did a fantastic job on her presentation and the people she presented to were very engaged and even sought her out afterward to learn more about what motivates Seniors in Sports. I learned a lot that weekend and am inspired to become a better Senior Athlete.
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| The river outside our hotel in Eugene, Oregon. |
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