C Is For...

Cold coast.

After we checked out of our hotel, we headed over to Fort Stevens State Park to see the wreck of the "Peter Iredale," a cargo ship which ran aground in 1906. It was super windy and cold this morning so we didn't stay very long!

Hey, You Guys!

We were blessed with another day of sunshine today, so we decided to head down the coast this morning. First we stopped in Seaside to see the Salt Works. In order to make salt for their return journey, the Corps of Discovery boiled seawater here over a furnace, 24 hours a day, extracting about 3.5 bushels (or 28 gallons) of "excellent, fine, strong & white" salt.

Seaside, OR

Rain or Shine

When I asked the family where they wanted to go next, J immediately said, "Portland."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Nike and Adidas are there. And there are a lot of food places that look good."

Fair enough.  So, when I found a cheap one-way airfare ($59) from LAX to PDX for spring break, we were set. But since the return flight was $340 (ouch!), we will be getting home another way. More on that later...

All-State Weekend

Do you know the way to San Jose?

We do, but a huge storm dumped several inches of rain throughout Southern California on Friday, flooding roads, creating sinkholes, and causing mudslides which had closed lanes on both of the freeways (US-101 and I-5) that we could take to San Jose. The three of us left just after 6:00AM on Saturday morning and decided to head up the 101, only running into scattered rain on the way.

Only three? M didn't come with us because he had flown to San Jose on Thursday to participate in the All-State Honor Band - thus the reason for our weekend road trip...

Big Family (Minus One)

We're just back from a fun family reunion in Las Vegas! Good food, lots of laughs, and a thinner wallet, as usual. R's dad is #8 of 9 kids, and R is the youngest of 26 grandkids, so you could say that only a few of us gathered together. We've been to every reunion since 1994.

March 1994 - Not officially family yet, so I didn't think I should order a shirt. Oops.

Melting Points

By the numbers...

• 3057 miles
• 8 states
• 15 new NPS units
• 38 NPS passport stamps
• 19 NPS Centennial stamps
• 2 state capitals
• 6 smushed pennies
• 4 cans of spray paint