Well another long weekend has passed. Jennifer’s parents decided to visit from Costa Rica for the extended weekend. We started the weekend off on Wednesday by seeing Happy Feet at the OMNIMAX at the OMSI in Portland. It was cool to see it on the dome screen. We took Thursday off and enjoyed some turkey and good home cooked meal.

Friday we headed up to Hoodsport to show the in-laws the property we bought. We were surprised to see snow so soon at the property, made the drive fun to say the least. We headed back down to Vancouver Friday night and planned for Saturday. We woke Saturday and headed to Tillamook with intensions of going to the cheese factory. We

arrived and found that they had the weekend off, so Claudia didn’t get to see the cheese being made. The good news was the ice cream counter was open. We watched a short video on the tour of the factory and learned the coast had a lot to offer. We found that there was a lighthouse and a couple small towns just West of Tillamook

and that is where we headed. We first set off to see the lighthouse and an attraction called the Octopus Tree. After our short visit at these sites, we drove the coast and ended up in Oceanside. I went to the beach as everyone was getting

coffee and trying to stay warm. I looked South down the beach and saw what I thought was a bunker. I asked a local and they explained that it was a tunnel to another beach and could only be passed through at low tide. This sparked my interest and I

have to check it out. I waited for everyone and then headed out. Sure enough, the tunnel took you to another small beach which had picturesque scenery. We stayed in Oceanside for an hour or so and decided it is a perfect place to come back during the warm summer months.

Sunday we decided to go back to the OMSI where they have a special exhibit, Star Wars. I had no idea what to expect or what it had to offer. It was actually quite
interesting; it consisted of the models and costumes used in the movies. Quentin thought it was amazing and had a great time.

Some guys from work and I have been planning a trip to Mt. Hood in Oregon for the last 2 months or so. Mt Hood is 11,000 feet high and has year round snow/glaciers which means full gear (crampons, ice axe, harness, rope, etc). We chose November 18th because of the possible snow that should have fallen on the mountain, the more

snow the easier to summit. A week ago it got its first snowfall, 36 inches. Good for Timberline Ski area which sits right at the base of the mountain. Kristian (a fellow co-worker) and I left Friday night from work. We drove to Timberline parking lot and threw up our tents on a snow bank. We woke around 2:30 am to get ready for the

climb. About 2:45 am the rest of our climbing party arrived. Cory (co-worker) and Jim (his friend from Kansas City that flew in at 10:30 Fri night) drove up to meet us for the 3am departure. We signed in at the lodge and that is when the excitement started. While we were filling out the permit, the paramedics and sheriff were there talking to a guy. What we got from the story was a 17 year old was staying up at the lodge with his dad and they were going to try a summit attempt. His 17 year old son instead woke up at midnight, grabbed all his dad’s gear and started up by himself.

After getting the story we started to head up the hill. The hike was LONG and steep in parts. About an hour into the hike the Mountain Rescue Team passed via snow cat. There was a snow cat trail that takes you about half way up the mountain. We watched the rescue team unload and there headlamps disappear up the hill. We kept trudging up the hill, step after step. The sunrise was amazing and marked the halfway point

for us. When we reached 9500 ft elevation the sun was out and beating down on us. Right about then we saw the rescue team heading down and they had the 17 year old, safe thankfully. It was another 30 minutes of climbing when we ran into another set of climbers heading down who broke the bad news to us. Near 10,500 ft on the

mountain there are two different routes to the summit, through the pearly gates or the old climbers route. As we found out through other climbers is that both routes were vertical 45 foot ice walls and would require technical ice climbing gear,

something we did not have with us. These ice walls will eventually be buried after future snowfalls. Jim and Cory turned around, but Kristian and I kept going for about a half hour before deciding to head down. We made it back to the car by 1pm and are already planning a return.

Wonder why we moved to Portland, OR.? Click on the "The Job" link to see what I am doing on a daily basis....

After closing on the property, we have been itching to get up and actually stay the night. We purchased 5 acres of pristine forest property that has an obstructed (but not after I remove a dozen trees) view of Hood Canal. The property is split in half with a stream that flows year round. Access to the stream is a little tricky, but nothing a good set of stairs won’t take care of. Right off the road there is a level pad which has a 150 SF cabin that is fairly new. We came up with a plan that can make the pad close to 15,000 SF. There are no utilities to the property yet and that

is one of the many things we scoped out this weekend. We found where we can get power, how big of a new cabin we can build, where the septic tank will go and how to get water. We spent the night in the cabin using sleeping bags and candles for light, it was rustic for sure. We watched the sun come up on the Hood Canal which

was breath taking. We left shortly after with big plans for the near future. On the way out of town we decided to stop by Lake Cushman and some scenic pull outs for the Hood Canal.






Images Top to Bottom:
The cabin tucked away in the woods
The road going to the property
Lake Cushman
The stream that runs through our property
Downtown Hoodsport
Sunrise from our property
Hoodsport from the dock
Our accommodations in the cabin
Hood Canal on the way home today

Escrow has closed, we offically own 5 acres of property in Hoodsport, WA. We are heading up there Oct 21st, we will post pictures then.

It has been a whirlwind month already. With my parents coming out the first weekend, work for 4 days, then TJ and Alex coming for a week, it has been a good start to September.
Quentin had his first soccer game on Saturday September 9th, actually it was a soccer jamboree (4 games in one day). Quentin did very well and scored the only goal

in the second game. He also got to play goalie in the third game. To see his pictures, click on “Quentin's Soccer 2006” on the right side. Shortly after Q was done playing, TJ, Alex and Ava arrived from Denver. Ava did very well for her first big

road trip (her first birthday was on September 1st).
Wasting no time we started out on Sunday with a trip to the OMSI. The OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) is incredible. Most of the displays are hands on and

are as much fun for adults as kids.
Monday, Quentin went to school and we went to the Ape Caves. We were so impressed

the first time we saw them; we had to return to do it again. This time however, was after Labor Day so there weren’t as many people. In fact, we only saw one other couple the entire time we were down there. With tripod in hand, we made our way down

the 1 mile long Lava tube. We made it home just in time to pick Quentin up from school.
Tuesday we then decided to go take the tour of the waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge. Again a favorite for Jennifer and I, these spectacular waterfalls leave you

breathless every time you see them. This was our 6th trip to them. Again, we made it home just in time to pick Quentin up from School. Tuesday evening we rented a minivan. Wednesday, our plan was to drive to Seaside, down through Tillamook and end up in

Newport, OR. The minivan would be necessary because Quentin would finally be going with us.
Wednesday morning we departed nice and early. The 2.5 hour drive from Portland to

Seaside was uneventful. Upon arrival in Seaside, we choose to eat at Normas Cafe, once again, a favorite for Jennifer and I. After eating, we made our way to “The Candyman” where Quentin got to choose from the 170 flavors or Salt Water Taffy. We

then took a stroll down the main street and did some window shopping.
After the quick stop in Seaside, we loaded up the van and headed to Tillamook. Jennifer, Qunetin and I have been through there before, but did not have the chance

to stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory last time. This time around, we knew we had to. Once there, you can do the self guided tour ending up in the cheese tasting room. After cheese tasting you can get fresh cheese to go and ice cream cones. We couldn’t resist.

We then piled into the van for the 1 hour trip to Newport. We finally arrived in Newport around 5pm and it couldn't have been better timing. We had all had enough of the car and decided to check out the accommodations at the Waves Hotel. We unloaded the car, got the little one’s rested,

and took a stroll on the beach. Alex and Ava got to finally touch the Pacific Ocean for the first time. From there we headed to the Rogue Brewery for some dinner.
The following day (Thursday) we went to the highly recommend Oregon Coast Aquarium. Indeed it was a treat. This is where the original “Willy” was housed from the movie

Free Willy. After his release into the wild, they turned his tank into a shark pool with a glass tunnel you can walk through. Pretty impressive little aquarium. We took a stroll over to a old light house and tour on our way back to Portland.
Friday we decided to go to Silver Falls Park. Again, highly recommend it consists of

a 8 mile trial with 10 water falls along the way, several of them you can walk behind. We decided to do the abbreviated tour due to time. We hiked down and saw 6 of the ten all in a 4.5 mile loop. Ava enjoyed the trip in the new Kelty kid carrier

they got her. Quentin, again, was in school.
We wrapped up the week long adventure with an anniversary dinner for Teej and Alex (4 years on Aug 2, congrats) at Beaches restaurant. We thank TJ and Alex for the

time they spent out here, we had a blast.
It was a good week with lots of new Oregon to see. We will keep exploring the land and make a list of the best places to go, that way when you come out, we know where we will take you.

This month has flown by. We can't believe it is September already. Not much has happened this last month other than Quentin starting soccer. Now that Labor day is over, Quentin will be going back to school. He is looking forward to that.

Over labor day, my parents came out for three days. I had to plan something that none of us have seen or done, just to mix things up a little. It started off on

Saturday with a trip to the Ape Caves. The Ape Caves are a 12,000 lf lava tube that was caused from an eruption of Mt. St. Helens 1900 years ago. It was discovered in the late 70's by a group of boyscouts, the Ape troop, hence the name. You can go one of two routes, the easy or the difficult. We chose the easy wich takes you in about

1 mile. The temp inside is 42*F year round, a little on the chilly side. It was amazing. On the way back from the caves we pulled to the side of the road and picked marion berries. They are like a cross between rasberries and blackberries. They grow

everywhere and are considered a "weed" to most the natives. We pciked close to 3 lbs and Jennifer made a incredible pie out of them.
The following day I made reservations for a whale watching cruise which departs

from Anacortes, WA. Little did I know it was 40 miles from the Canada border. We left at 4am and it took us 4 hours to get there. Once there we had to picked either heavy coat or suit, Quentin picked the suit. They then loaded you onto their custom

built aluminium boat wich will do around 35-40 knots, it moves you right along. We got front seats and were skimming across the water in no time. We went through the San Juan islands and eventually caught up with three pods of Orcas. We watched them for about 35 minutes and then headed back in. We were out on the boat for about 4 hours.

After that we headed to the property Jennifer and I are buying, took a look around and headed home. We walked in the door about 8:30pm. A LONG DAY!
All in all we had a fun three days. We got to see something new and that's what makes it a good adventure.

It is final. The property is in Escrow. We will post pictures after we go up there and take better ones. My parents are coming out for Labor Day, we will most likely stop by the property, we can post those pics.

Another month has past. Not much news came about through July. Big events include Jennifer teaching preschool again and finding a piece of property.
Jennifer got a job at a local childcare facility. She is teaching preschool and so far enjoys what she is doing. I give her credit, I could not do that job.
We found a piece of property in Hoodsport, WA. It is 5 acres and over looks Hood

Canal. We are expecting to make an offer later this week, keep your fingers crossed. We are planning to build a small house on it in the next 8 years and use it mainly as a get away. The property is situated 15 minutes from Hood Canal and 10 minutes away from Lake Cushman. We will keep you posted on what happens.
One of my best friends, Tad Snide, came out to visit in hte beginning of August. He was out for 6 days. While out here we took a trip down to the OMSI. At the OMSI, we watched "Superman" the new movie on the 72' dome IMAX screen. It was pretty cool. We
then caught a concert in Salem, Rob Zombie and Anthrax. Tad knows the bad Anthrax on a first name basis. We arrived early and hung out with them on the tour bus, and even got to take Scott Ian to Best Buy. It was pretty sweet. Tad hooked me up with a
full access photo pass for the concert. While they were on stage, I could go anywhere and shoot them. I mainly stayed down in front between the crowd and the

stage, it was amazing. Check the photos out on Anthraxband.blogspot.com.
Over the weekend we went downtown Portland and then out to the waterfalls along the Coulmbia Gorge. Once again, they were amazing.