Rafting and Fishing

Today I did something I have never done before but have always wanted to do....I went rafting! Oregon is full of amazing rivers and lakes but it seems like I have spent little time doing activities on the water. When I heard that my Dad and brother were planning a trip I jumped on the bandwagon. The trip was originally described to me as a leisurely float down the river. We would get up around nine, be on the river by ten and float for a couple hours. As the trip got closer my brother informed me that, no, we would be meeting at Dads at 8 in the morning which meant I needed to be up by 6:30, on a Saturday no less. The thought of such an early morning on the weekend didn't sound so great but I really wanted to float down the river so I didn't back out. I am sure glad I didn't!

The day started out overcast.

Dad!

We had a great time and although it was a long day I feel great. There are several things I learned about rafting:

1. It is a lot more work that I ever imagined.

2. Everything takes twice as long as I thought it would.

3. Rowing/maneuvering is impossible for me (Brother made me try rowing and I successfully rowed us from one bank to the other in under a minute but moved us no further down the river. He was mad and would not let me try any more).

4. The boat does not just float down the river all by itself. It takes someone skilled to navigate and control it with oars (thanks brother).

5. The Mohawk river is impossibly slow and there are NO rapids.

Good thing brother has muscles.

I was excited about the prospect of catching some fish and I had visions of bbq-ing some delicious fishes upon our return but alas nothing was biting. I have only fished like twice in my life but I didn't find it as hard as I remembered. I really was not into the live bait part though so brother had to get my hook ready for me.

My brother has a river raft and my Dad has a new pontoon boat he was anxious to try out on a river. I really liked his pontoon boat as it seemed like a perfect personal boat to zip around on. He had so many trinkets and gadgets all over it. Here he is taking a picture of me taking a picture of him. :)

See how cool his boat is!

Some spots were shallow which required jumping out and pulling/pushing the boats. Dad was able to do the Flintstones in his boat!

The whole trip was mellow and relaxed until we came to a downed tree blocking the river. Unfortunately there was no navigating through it and we soon realized we would have to carry the boats around the tree. Luckily it was in a spot that had very soft tall grass around it and even though it seemed impossible we carried/pushed the boats and gear around the blockage quickly. If the tree would have been somewhere near the many tall banks it would have been impossible.

The downed tree.

Hauling stuff around.

We made a huge dent in the grass!!!

Good thing it wasn't here!

I had my eyes peeled all day for some wildlife and was nearly giving up on seeing any animals (except for the adorable momma goose that nearly attacked by Dad for getting too close to her babies) when finally we saw a gorgeous deer. There was some debate as to whether this deer was a baby or not. My brother and I thought it was a year old fawn and my Dad insisted it was full grown. None the less she was very pretty.

We had planned to float all the way down to my Dads truck at Armatage park but unfortunately after 5 hours of floating we realized we needed to pull out early otherwise we would be rafting until midnight. Good thing my Mom and step dad were home because they came and drove my brother to his truck so we could get out of there.

We had so much fun that we agreed to take another trip at the beginning of August. Next time we will begin where we pulled out today. Next time we will most likely experience more rapids and actually make it into the McKenzie river. As for the rest of today I am going to hit the hay with my deliciously warm sunburn and wake up in the morning to piles of homework.

Sunshine Adventure With Maisy Part 2

Remember when I said there would be an adventure with Maisy part 2 and we would walk the other way at Alton Baker park? Well we never did it over spring break but we did today! Over the past week we, here in Eugene, have been hammered by a storm that has given us a ton of rain, wind and even some hail/snow. The weather has kept Maisy and I from going to the park but this morning when we got up the sun was shining and the news said it would be in the high 60's today. Even though I had a ton of homework we couldn't spend the day inside so we headed to Alton Baker and started at the duck pond.

The pond is funny because it is all cement with lots of poop. I was pleasantly surprised to find a fence up because they are remodeling the pond to be less poopy and more natural. Once my Mom and I brought one of my little cousins to the pond when he was around 3 and he slipped on the bird poop and rolled into the pond. It was pretty funny (the water is really shallow and it shocked him more than was dangerous). Anyhoo I thought this sign was funny as if anyone would attempt to swim in the slime. The seagull on top is cute.

Off we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was super hard for me to get a picture of this graffiti because it was under the bridge and like I said before Maisy is afraid of everything especially the noise of cars zooming by overhead. I liked it but I wondered if the blue was covering up a cool face.

Maisy was ready for dip when we reached an old boat ramp on the river.

Halfway bridge!

Pretty view of the river from the bridge.

Geese!

So I forgot to bring a poop bag and Maisy was acting like she was about ready to unload one so I was taking her off in the bushes in the hopes that should the time come she would discreetly excrete where no one could see her. You know how dogs always go at just the wrong time (like right in front of a bike cop or in the park sand box just as a daycare center arrives). Well anyway while we were traipsing through the bushes I found this stencil and I thought it was pretty cool. Guess you never know what you will find when you are on the hunt for a perfect poo spot. Oh and p.s. she never ended up going.. whew..

Hope you had fun coming with us on our adventure walk! Sorry about all the talk about poop!

Seattle Trip!

I went to Seattle this weekend with my pal Katrina (she makes hair clips check her out!). We decided just to go up for a night, stay in a fancy hotel and cruise around looking for adventure. We stayed at the Westin in downtown Seattle which had a great view and was really fancy. The above picture is the view from our room during the day and at night. And the below picture is of part of our room.

Katrina is a cook in Portland at a restaurant called Toro Bravo. Being a foodie she likes to check out restaurants in different cities to sample the food. I like this because it means I get to eat lots of yummy food and I don't have to find it on my own. When Katrina and I go to eat we generally share everything so that we can try more of the menu. Here's a rundown of everything we ate:

When we got into town on Saturday we went to lunch at a French cafe called La Pichet. It was sooo yummy! We had french onion soup, a ham/cheese baguette and a green salad. I was very happy after this meal because I was so hungry after driving all day.

Later that afternoon while walking around we stopped into Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream. I was so happy to see that they had a lavender flavor (my favorite) so I had a scoop. It was the best lavender ice cream I have ever had. Katrina had a scoop of the scout mint in a homemade waffle cone. Hmmmm.

That night we ate at Matt's in the Market which was a fancy but strange experience. Originally the host told us we could have this one table when the people left. So we sat at the bar to wait but the couple was taking a looooong time with their nightcap. Finally we ordered, hoping our food would be done when we were ready to be seated. We ordered the pork belly three ways, halibut and a salad with avocado, oranges and nuts. We ordered some drinks (I had beer and Katrina had some sparkling wine) and then food started showing up. I didn't want to sit at the bar because unfortunately my short little legs were kind of dangling off the bar stool and it was uncomfortable. I am small what can I say. When our food started to show up I hung up my purse, sat forward so I could reach the foot rest and decided this was just going to be our table. We watched as the host gave tables away and we watched the couple that was at "our" table leave but we still were not seated. Finally the host decided to seat us at a different table after we had decided just to stay at the bar. We ate our halibut at a table that we ended up sitting at for probably 10 min after being in the restaurant over an hour haha. It's ok though, I had two big beers and was feeling pretty good. The view from the restaurant provided a nice nighttime atmosphere and the food was pretty good (although to be fair I liked the French cafe better). :)

To start out the food experience on Sunday we went to Macrina's Bakery where we shared a loaf of monkey bread and I had a chai latte and Katrina had coffee. My latte was ok...it had a very different taste than any other chai latte I have had and I must admit it wasn't my favorite. The monkey bread was delicious though! It was full of cinnamon and apples...almost like a cinnamon roll. The place was jam packed so it must be a Seattle hot spot. I needed some caffeine before I was going to be happy in such a cramped space. Luckily we got our stuff to go!

Before we left town we stopped in for some Pho at a Than Brothers restaurant. I have never had pho but it really is right up my alley. It had started to rain by Sunday even though Saturday was sunny and warm so having some delicious soup was so satisfying. I had the chicken and Katrina had the vegetarian. We both got smalls which was more than either of us could finish so I was really curious to see what an extra large bowls looked like. There were a couple other customers in the restaurant with huge bowls in front of them. I don't know how anyone could finish it!

Between all the eating we went to thrift stores and walked around cute neighborhoods checking out the shops. Along our walk we saw this funny black house in the middle of a non-residential street. Katrina said it could be her house some day.

We also both love to go to junk stores and sift through piles. Even though I didn't find any treasures on this trip it was awesome to see the city and explore. I have only been to Seattle one other time and we were confined to one area so I didn't get to see all the neighborhoods I did this time. Here is Katrina in her element amongst a giant button stash.

And finally as we headed out of town towards Portland the rain picked up turning our drive into something not so pleasant. Unfortunately it didn't let up and when we got back to Portland where I had to then drive back to Eugene, it was still pouring. My drive home was treacherous and slow but I made it home in one piece around 9:30. I really enjoyed Seattle and would like to go again soon!

Lazy Day Happenings and The Plush Team Book!

It is nearly 70 degrees here today. It has been the most perfect spring break weather wise. Really it has been a great spring break for other reasons too. I have been able to see my Mom a lot as well as my pal Sarah. Yesterday Sarah and I went up to Hendricks Park to look around. I almost got us into trouble taking Maisy into the no dogs allowed rhododendron garden but the nice fellow that worked there just directed us towards the dog friendly paths. I hadn't been up there in a long time and had no idea it was no dogs allowed. :) Here are a couple quick pictures I snapped.

Then I was at Target the other day looking at toys and I found these dolls that looked like the same size as my Pullip. I bought one because I liked her clothes and was so excited to find out that the clothes actually do fit my Pullip. I was so excited in fact that I ran back out to Toys R Us to see if they had more options. I did bring a set home that consisted of shorts, a hoodie, shoes, bag, scarf and tank top.

The dolls are called Liv dolls and the dolls themselves are actually pretty cool. I have Sophie. They are completely articulated and they have changeable wigs and real eyes (not painted). Anyhoo here are a couple outfit combos I tried on my Pullip. The pictures aren't that great...I really need to create some backdrops for my Pullip. Also I might have to go back to the toy store again shortly for more clothes and accessories hee hee...

And last but not least I received my Plush Team book in the mail today!!!! I have been trying to wait patiently but I have been manically checking the mail box every day hoping it will be there. It came out sooooo good! Here are the front and back covers.

And here are my pages!!!

You should order a copy and support the Plush Team!!! :) There are all kinds of things to look at and read in the book. The team members that worked on it did such a great job.

Adventure Time! Spring Break!! Part 1

I am officially on Spring Break since yesterday and boy oh boy does it feel good. Today I received the best present ever to celebrate the end of my second term....a beeeeautiful day! The weather here is so warm and nice that I decided that Maisy and I needed to head outside in search of adventure. One thing that stinks about having days off now during the week is that there isn't anyone to adventure with because everyone is either at work or busy. Good thing Maisy is always up for adventure!!!

We went to Alton Baker Park which is a place we go a lot. They have a really large dog park so we started there. Here is Maisy in the park in front of the giant Oregon Ducks stadium. I am always amazed at the size of the stadium...it is so huge in person.

I told her we were going to adventure out of the dog park and she ran to the gate and was like "hurry up, let's go!!!"

Alton Baker park is laaaarge and full of paths, water, bridges and wildlife. We decided to head towards an area I usually don't walk around but there are all kinds of things to see in that direction. Maisy only kind of likes water so she will jump in along the way and wade around a bit but she won't swim.

This bridge caught my attention because all the little green foliage growing underneath was blowing in the wind. It was so serene and quiet because there weren't any people on the paths.

Even amongst dead looking branches new life is blooming...

In the summer the paths between these trees remind me of a secret garden. Everything is grown over and it's a dark cool tunnel.

We saw lot's of neat birds!

While we were walking around I was thinking about how back in high school we would come to the river on a day like today to drink and smoke. Just as I was thinking about it a group of high school looking boys came out of the trees and started walking down the path. Maisy really wanted to catch up with them! Doesn't it always seem like she is telling me to hurry up?

Speaking of Maisy she generally alternates between being terrified of EVERYthing and dragging me down the path. Some of the things she is afraid of are people, fishing, loud noises, bikes, trash, trains, birds, skateboards, boats, cars, leaves etc, etc, etc.

The river!!!!

We finally made it around to the bigger bridge that crosses the river. They put in new railings that looked really neat.

Taking a break checking out the river.

We were going to walk over to the duck pond but we started getting tired. I know Maisy has had enough walking when she stops and looks back at me like "really still more walking?" as opposed to "hurry up!". I decided that we will have to make a trip again before spring break is over and we will walk the other direction and get more pictures to share.

When we finally got to the car Maisy sat panting the whole way home. Her breath stinks lately. The End.