The Oregon Coast

The last place we visited on our trip to the West Coast was Lincoln City, Oregon. It was such a wonderful weekend full of time spent at the beach and reminiscing with friends and family.

Lava Beds, Obsidian and Medicine Lake

One of the other day trips we took while in California was out to Lava Beds National Monument. What a fun place. One of the things that I love about Northern California is the wide variety of ecosystems and landscapes you run into. Driving though the lava beds was at times like what I think driving on the moon would look like. There were many places to stop and walk through lava tubes and caves so we decided to get out and walk through the most kid friendly one.








On the drive home from the lava beds we wound around the mountains a bit a stopped by Glass Mountain (which is basically a mountain made of pieces of obsidian) and Medicine Lake.

Mt. Shasta California

One of the really nice things about Mt. Shasta is that you can drive up to a little less than the 8,000 ft level. From there you have numerous paths to follow up and over the mountain. Early one morning Tom suggested we try to climb up to an old abandoned ski resort which was located around 9,000 feet. My Dad expressed an interest in going with us so we figured we take a nice easy morning hike up the side of this mountain. Little did we know my father is part mountain goat!

Connor also wanted to go but we figured it would be to difficult for him. =)


The hike started off fairly easy but as we climbed higher the terrain became somewhat foreign and rather difficult. I didn't realize how "sandy" the top of a mountain could be.




As you can see the paths were not clearly defined so after much debate we ended up taking what we later figured was a goat trail.




When we reached the abandoned (and avalanche demolished) ski resort, Tom and I called it quits. The high altitude and our sheer exhaustion had finally caught up to us. My Dad, on the other hand, decided he wanted to hike up over to the next ridge so he could look over it. So there he went...Can you see him on top of the ridge?




What a wonderful experience. Being surrounded by so much beauty is such a privilege and can be quite moving. You really feel like you are on top of the world up there.

McCloud California

As the summer continues to wind down to an end, I thought it would be a good idea to get the pictures from our trip to California up on my blog. I'm afraid I won't even have a moment to breath once Fall semester begins.

One of the first day trips we made during our short two week stay in California was to the waterfalls outside of a small town called McCloud. The town itself is rather quant with a wonderful little cafe that makes the best milkshakes I have ever had. I think Connor ended drinking his own and half of mine plus half of his Oma's. What a guy.

The waterfalls themselves were beautiful and looked so inviting as it was well over 100 degrees that day.

Connor's Favorite Things (19 mo.)

We have recently returned from our trip to California and have many pictures and stories to share but alas, I have lost my little cord that connects my camera to my laptop. So these stories must wait and instead I figured I'd share with all of you some fun things about Connor. We will call this Connor's favorite things...

Favorite Book:



Favorite Song:



Favorite Food:





Favorite Toy:



Favorite PBS Program: (I think this is because he relates to George in some way...)



Favorite Place:



Favorite Activity:



Just kidding! Man that video is disturbing!