Oregon 2005

In October of 2005 Hubby and I flew to Oregon for a week. We arrived in Portland to find it raining. Before we checked into our hotel we headed up to Mt. Hood. Before we hit the snow we saw many beautiful waterfalls:

Once we got up to the recreation area everything was covered in snow:



The next day we headed toward Bend where we were going to visit friends. Along the way we visited many covered bridges:




We spent 2 days in Bend with our friends. They took us on a scenic tour of Bend.

City Views:


Three Sisters:

Downtown Bend:

We went hiking on the Deschutes River Trail:

After we left Bend we headed to the Oregon Coast. We enjoyed the fall colors along the way:

Once we got to the coast we enjoyed the driftwood beaches:





We ate the most amazing Clam Chowder at Mo's in Newport. We were told that we had to eat there and we weren't disappointed.

We spent our anniversary in Astoria. We stayed at the Cannery Pier Hotel. In was a brand new hotel built on a pier jetting out into the Columbia River.


The room was one of the nicest we have ever stayed in, but the highlight was that the barges passed right outside of our hotel room window as they made their way up the river:

It rained most of the time that we were in Oregon. I love rain, but after 7 solid days of it, even I was ready to come home to a little sun. Total cost for 7 days....$1850.00

Next year, Maui.

Vacations 2004

In August of 2004 we went to Lake Tahoe to introduce my son-in-law and my daughter's puppy to 'our place.' I think my son-in-law enjoyed himself, but I KNOW the dog did. What better place to run around and play in the water, chasing sticks and balls and swimming 'til your hearts content?

We went to Ponderosa Ranch for our annual Pancake Breakfast and Hayride. While we were there we discovered that the land had been sold to a developer and the Ponderosa would be closing that Labor Day. My children were devastated. They had visions of taking their children on pancake breakfast hayrides. I think my son took it the hardest. It may have been his first time dealing with the fact that try as you may, nothing stays the same forever. Here is a picture of the Cartwright Ranch house, just as the Bonanza gang left it.

My daughter and son-in-law sitting on the bull for one last time:

My kids think that my husband doesn't know how to have fun, so imagine their amusement when their dad came downstairs dressed in a hat with long hair and nasty teeth. They laughed harder than I had ever heard them laugh:

We enjoyed our week, as always. Nine days in paradise......$837.00

In the spring of 2004 we purchased a trailer. In October we took the trailer and went to Pismo Beach. It was just hubby and I and our golden retriever. We had a wonderful time. It rained for a huge portion of the week. Poured and poured. It's always a lot of fun to be in a small travel trailer with a big ol' dog sleeping under the table. It actually was.

When the sun came out we would rush outside to enjoy it. We drove up and down the beach. We explored the little town. We walked around the campground. We drove up to Morro Bay. We played more games of gin rummy than should be humanly possible. We had a very nice week.

5 days of smelling a wet dog in a small tin can of a trailer.......$$461..00. November 2005....Oregon.

Hawaii 2003

Hubby and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in 2003 with an 11 day trip to Oahu and Kauai. We had always wanted to visit Hawaii and it was the trip of a lifetime.

We started in Oahu for 3 days so that we could see the history at Pearl Harbor. We stayed at Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel in a room with a view of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach.







We didn't rent a car on that island and all of our exploring was done by tours or on foot. The first tour was to Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is a must see for anyone planning a trip to Hawaii. We enjoyed the history and were struck by the sacrifice made by so many.



The second tour we took was the Circle Island Tour. We were picked up at our hotel in a little tour bus and driven around the entire Island. We were able to see a lot that day. We visited a sugar cane plantation, macadamia nut farm, the Dole Pineapple Plant, historical points of interest and saw many beautiful beaches.



We toured the Byodo-In Buddist Temple. The grounds were beautiful.



The evenings found us enjoying the interesting people in downtown Waikiki. (Well, I enjoyed them. Hubby was a little taken aback by them.)

After three days, we flew to Kauai for 8 days. We stayed at the Lae Nani Resort. Our condo was a few feet from the pool and it was just a few more feet to the ocean. This was the view from our condo:



We thoroughly enjoyed Kauai. We took a helicopter tour:





We went on a boat cruise to the Na Pali coast on the Catamaran Kahanu. We were 18 passengers and a crew of 2. The water was really rough with waves occasionally coming over the top of the boat. Many people were extremely seasick. (Thank goodness for dramamine) We saw majestic cliffs, lave tubes, sea caves, waterfalls and porpoise. The catamaran was a family run operation. The captain was gruff, but his son was friendly. He made all of the women roses out of some type of grassy reed. He was kind of cute too. (did I say that out loud?)







We enjoyed a Luau at Coconut Beach. The food was great and so was the entertainment.





We took a kayak, hiking trip up the Wailua River to Secret Falls. We kayaked for 2 miles, parked the kayaks and hiked for a mile to have lunch by the falls. It was beautiful. This was my favorite activity on Kauai.





We had a convertible while we were there, so we were able to do a lot of exploring on our own. We drove up into Waimea Canyon. It is very pretty, but it was very windy the day we were there.



We drove to Kilauea Lighthouse. The view from the lighthouse is amazing.





We visited the north end of the island with all of it's beautiful waterfalls, beaches and old buildings.









We snorkeled at many beaches, including Queen's Bath.



We enjoyed many quiet dinners and beautiful sunsets.





And before we knew it, it was time to go home. The trip was everything we had hoped it would be and more. Total for 11 days in paradise: $5028.00

Vacations 2002

2002 was the year that my son graduated from High School. We went to the cabin in Lake Tahoe that summer as a family. Just the four of us. No friends in tow. Our little family went on one last vacation before my son went off to college and my daughter got married.

There isn't much to say about that trip that hasn't been said countless times before. If I haven't convinced you that Lake Tahoe is a special place to our family yet, I'm probably never going to.

The Lake was as gorgeous as ever:

My daughter and I fit in one towel together even though I hadn't lost my 30 pounds yet:



And our golden retriever wore herself out swimming to the point of putting herself to bed in the raft:



10 days as a family on our last "family of four" vacation.....$796.00

In October of that year, Hubby and I went to the Grand Canyon for 5 days. Our son had just started college and we were exercising our freedom as semi-empty-nesters with a fall trip.



We stayed in a camping cabin in a KOA outside of Williams. While we were there, fall decided to truly arrive and we were greeted to snow one morning.

We hiked down into the canyon about a mile. While it was cold at the top, even a mile down it was significantly warmer. We had breakfast at the old lodge. We took a bus tour complete with a narrative of the history of the canyon.

5 days of fun of relaxation: $333.00