Relay For Life of Beaverton 2010

I was able to stop by the Relay For Life of Beaverton last Saturday. My friend, Kathy Cina, took over as Event Chair in 2009. (Yes, she was originally at Hillsboro and we miss her VERY much!) What an amazing job this group has done in the fight against cancer! Kathy's leadership has really brought this community together.

The Committee was introduced. (YEAH!!!)

And then there was a 12 year old Survivor that spoke during their opening ceremony. She was such a beautiful, inspiring girl! I should have known better than to have left my tissues in my camera bag (in my truck)!

Then the Survivor Lap.

The two ladies/Survivors also participate in the Relay For Life of Hillsboro. They bring a smile to my face every time I see them.

Again, amazing what Beaverton did this year!! Their goal was $58,000 (I think - Kathy will let me know if not) and they were at $97,000 raised before their Relay even started. I believe they are now at more than $124,000!!!

In the wagon here is Charlie, Kathy's daughter. This is how Team Captains should be treated at Relay...being pulled in a wagon around the track! (I'm gonna work on this for next year - thanks for the idea Charlie!)

Beaverton is quickly catching up to Hillsboro and it is very exciting for them to have grown this much in one year! They had 37 $1,000 Club members that raised more than $54,000. HOPEfully Beaverton's spirit will become contagious!

I did have a few people ask me if Beaverton had recruited me to their committee. "No" I smiled "I'm here to enjoy their Relay, be supportive and bid on silent auction items!"

Then, about 5 hours later (as I was just getting to the lake) I received a text saying 'pick up your silent auction item'. Ooopppss...I knew there was something that I forgot! I immediately called Kathy to work out the details. She kindly picked up my item - I had won a photo shoot! Just in time too, I was looking at our family pictures the other day and realized that they are 5 years old.

Oregon Brewers Festival - three of my favorite words

Jamie and I went to the Oregon Brewers Festival on Friday. We took the Max downtown - Jamie said he'd like to try some of the beers.

Jamie doesn't drink beer.

Jamie doesn't like beer.

But Jamie loves Amber.


There were thousands of other people enjoying the Brew Fest. (Who wouldn't?!?) We went at the perfect time though - it was warm out, but there was a cool breeze and it was early evening so it wasn't too crowded.

Jamie said he couldn't really tell the difference in most of the beers. Huh??

I, of course, found many to love. My favorite this year - HUB Organic Raise Up Red. Yum.

Then we went to dinner before going home on the Max. Thanks for the fun night Honey! You+Me+Beer = very happy Me.

Things I've learned

There were a few things that I learned on our road trip last week.

1. My bladder just can't hold what it used to.


2. Wearing a bra is apparently overrated in Aberdeen, Wa.


3. Makena will need to learn to read a map before out next road trip.


4. Fighting traffic and going 60mph in a 70mph zone on I5 pisses me off. Going 60mph in a 60mph zone and driving behind a log truck on Hwy 101 doesn't.


5. When driving in a new town, "One Way" signs can really throw me off.


6. Having an iPod and satellite radio is much better than having to find local radio stations or continuously switching cd's or tapes.


7. Having an iPod while on a hike also makes the hike a little more fun. (I also believe that listening to Queen scared the bears away from us. Thanks Freddie.)
   
8. Even Verizon Wireless doesn't get service out in parts of the Olympic National Forest. (Which makes my 13yr daughter have to talk to me.)
   
9. There are still a lot of trailer parks in the PNW.
   
10. Cruise Control was one of the best additions ever added to the vehicle. (A close 2nd - a/c, power windows, blue tooth, keyless entry & heated seats.)

So happy about this & can't wait for all of the stores to follow!

From today's KGW news article:

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Beginning August 1, plastic bags will no longer be an option at Fred Meyer stores in the Portland Metro area.

Fred Meyer spokeswoman Melinda Merrill said paper bags will still be available, but they will no longer have plastic bags as of August. She said the 10 stores in the Portland market were a test group as the retailer prepares for the possibility of eliminating plastic bags at all of its stores.

More: See complete list of Fred Meyer "test group" stores

Merrill said that once Fred Meyer stores scrap the plastic bags, customers would be urged to email comments and suggestions to Fred Meyer.

"We're looking for customer feedback, because we just need to prepare ourselves and make sure the stores are running efficiently and smoothly," Merrill said.

Fred Meyer already got rid of plastic bags at its store at SE 39th & Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland last year while the building was being renovated. Merrill said feedback about the bag ban there has been mostly positive.

Earlier this month, Portland Mayor Sam Adams introduced a draft ordinance that calls for a citywide ban on plastic bags by January 2012. The ordinance would not only ban single-use plastic bags from some stores, it would also require stores to charge five cents for paper bags.

"Many cities are already doing this," Merrill said. "Whether you think banning plastic bags or charging for bags is right or wrong, it's inevitable."

Road Trip - Day #6

I woke Makena up a bit earlier this morning because we were having breakfast downstairs at the B&B. Hot Chocolate and coffee went really well with our breakfast out in the sunroom!

Then we walked around the property for a bit so that I could take a few more pictures.

We stopped by City Hall and the Police Dept.

Then we did some final shopping before heading out of Forks.

We decided to stop at the Hoh Rain Forest and do one final hike. After driving 18 miles in, we found out that it's $15 to park at that state park. Wow...we turned around and drove 18 miles back out.

Then I found another park marker and decided we'd stop there for lunch. Another 7 miles out of our way...

This is my new Emmett hat - it also says Forks, WA on the back.

We were back on the road, headed home, around 2:30pm. We stopped for an energy fill about and hour in and then arrived home just before 7pm.

Jamie, Moxie and Brandi were very happy to see us.

Thanks for hiking with me Pook (even when you didn't want to) and for coming along with me on this fantastic road trip. I get to pick the place for next year - I'd better start planning now. ; )

Road Trip - Day #5

I decided that I wanted to have breakfast in Port Angeles. We hadn't really had much more than instant oatmeal or muffins for breakfast so far. We had to drive around for a while to find a restaurant serving breakfast...

Then we headed back to Forks. The beautiful Lake Crescent is on the way.

And then we found the Marymere Falls that we had missed the day before, so I talked Makena in to hiking up there too.

This tunnel runs under Hwy 101.

This is the first bridge we crossed. Makena was not very impressed with the sturdiness of it.

And then there was a second bridge just like it, but longer. I think she's hanging on for dear life. : )

I think the "falls" were more like a "trickle" but the scenery was still beautiful.

Makena felt safer on the bridge while I found my way down to the water.

She just kept reminding me to be careful and not fall.

On the way to Forks, is Beaver, WA. There are about 4 people, and this beaver, living there.

We stopped for lunch when we made it back to Forks. And Makena had hot chocolate again...one of her faves.

After lunch we headed back out to La Push. We stopped at Jacob's house this time to get a few pictures.

I wanted to hike in to Third Beach. I hadn't read anything about the trail, but there were always a bunch of cars parked in the lot so I knew it had to be popular for some reason.

It was a beautiful hike in, but much farther than we thought it would be. In the end, it was a little over 3 miles and quite the hill to get back up from the beach to the trail.

There were so many people because they were actually camping out there. Great place to stay (if you only bring the bare necessities) and can carry it all in. Makena was so happy to see the car again!

Our next stop was the B&B that we would be staying in our last night in Forks. It is also the Cullen House.

There are messages left on the front porch from Esme each week.

The 'Twilight Room' has the graduation gown caps on display (I thought that was funny) as well as several pictures and Twilight items.

Our room was wonderful and relaxing. It really made the last night of our stay memorable.

The kitty followed me back in the room one time and took a nap while I was reading.

Makena and I watched Twilight later that night, in the Twilight Room of course.

Side Note: If you visits Forks you should read the books first (Hailee). The houses and area around Forks are described in the books, not really seen in the movie. For instance; In the book, the Cullen house is a 100 yr old house with a huge front porch - in Forks. In the movie, it's a very beautiful, but modern house that is in Portland. The people of Forks put time in to creating this little journey for Twilighters to enjoy. Forks is a real town, with real people, but you can almost envision a vampire or wolf sitting next to you at the local cafe.

Road Trip - Day #4

Because it was Quileute Day in La Push, we decided to visit there again. They were having a parade and other community activities.

On the way there, we stopped at the meadow where the Cullen's play baseball. (Well...actually...my navigator and I passed it the first time.)

I found a cemetery next to the meadow.

I remind you that the town of La Push is very small. The parade was also very small, but the kids loved it! It made Makena and I really appreciate everything the City of Hillsboro goes through for our parades.

Makena got a carnation instead of candy.

They had Gil Birmingham (Billy Black from the movies) in the parade! (He looked RIGHT at me and smiled by the way. Makena said it was because I was standing next to a cute kid.) He was singing autographs, but not for another hour and we didn't stay that long.

We had to get an elephant ear of course.

From La Push, we headed to Port Angeles. (Well...actually...my navigator and I missed the turn off to the State Park we were going to stop at first. We'll try to find it again tomorrow on our way out of town.)

We had a little picnic at the Visitor's Center and then checked in to our hotel. We stayed long enough to drop off our bags and then headed out to shop.

Lucky me, I found several antique stores on the way to the Twilight stores.

Where I found this wonderful orange enamel that will be my compost bucket at the lake. I love that it looks like an old potty.

I also found some more bottle openers for The Shed. One says "ACME Beer" another says "Lucky Lager" and the other says "SPARKEETA Beverages".

We also shopped at a book store that Bella would have shopped at in town.

Makena was most excited that the Dazzled By Twilight in Port Angeles had the life-size standup of Jasper. She couldn't stop smiling. (Although she said she felt a little creepy carrying it around town!) And since we were at the movie theater - the one that Bella went to with her friends - we decided to go see Eclipse since I hadn't seen it yet.

After the movie, we stopped by Bella Italia - where Edward and Bella supposedly had their first date. You can even order what Bella ate. We wanted to walk around a bit more before having dinner there, but when we came back we decided that they were too busy and went somewhere else.

Somewhere they made really yummy milkshakes.

We also walked down by the pier and down to the beach area.

And drove around so that I could take a few pictures of town.

Then I finally had to break down and put gas in the car. I've seen it up to $3.31 in La Push, but was able to find it for $2.99 in Port Angeles. The crappy part is having to pump it myself! I've only had to do it one other time. Hopefully I won't need to do it again before we get back to Oregon.

Another great day.