Sweet Creek Trail

Hi All,

Today we hiked along Sweet Creek. It was a beautiful 2 mile round trip hike along the creek which was a continuous cascade. One trail guide said there were 11 waterfalls along the trail. None were very high but all were pretty.

We have yet to identify this feisty 12" snake that we met along the trail.

Later we met Bob & Cindy and their friend Virginia for dinner at Pomodori restaurant in Florence. Wonderful food and company. They even brought a key lime pie that we took back to the coach for dessert.

Love 

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Earning Another Week Off

Hi All,

As we mentioned before, we set up our schedule so we work eight days out of nine which allows us to take five consecutive days off. It has been a long but interesting week. Last Saturday we set a record with 202 visitors. We had gray whales swim by twice. Sadly the murres are almost gone due to persistent bald eagle attacks and associated egg theft by gulls. However, we still have cormorants and pelicans and a cute gull chick to show people.

Friends Bob & Cindy came for a visit

Some days the fog rolled in and out all day

Friday there was a wedding on the beach and a buffet lunch in the picnic area. The gulls almost beat the guests to the food.

After working 8 days out of 9, guess what we did as soon as we got off work on Sunday?

We drove up the coast looking for wildlife. All those light specks are harbor seals at Strawberry Hill Beach.

Next we drove to Yachats and saw dozens of whales as we walked along the shore. Several animals were feeding in slow circles quite close to shore. There were so many whales that, at one point as we watched the close it whales, we saw two more near the horizon in the same binocular field of view!

Love 
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Pittock Mansion

Hi All,

This beautiful 1914 building was the home of the Pittock family. Mr Pittock was a wealthy Portland businessman and the house is on a hill overlooking Portland and Mt Hood beyond.

The house had many "modern" features including room thermostats, an intercom system, a walk in fridge and the most complicated shower we have ever seen. It also has a backup gas lighting system on case the electricity failed.

Soon after the last Pittock descendant moved out in the mid 60's, it was purchased by the city.

Love 
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Front of Mansion

Grand Staircase

Music Room

Dining Room

How's this for a Shower

Sewing Room with a view of Mt St Helens

Back of Mansion

More Portland

Hi All,

The last two days in Portland found us touring the Forestry Center, Hoyt Arboretum, Vietnam Memorial and more of downtown Portland. On Thursday we met friends Marilyn & Carroll Johnston and saw Jersey Boys then had a great dinner at a Peruvian restaurant.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Oregon Vietnam Memorial

1895 Portland Courthouse in Pioneer Square

Marilyn & Sandy shared this sampler

We were told to try Voodoo Donuts but the line was 30 people long and we were still full from dinner. Maybe next time!

Japanese Garden

Hi All,

Our next stop in Washington Park was the lush Japanese Garden. We took a guided tour with a docent which increased our appreciation for the different traditional garden elements and the tranquil beauty of the place.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Wisdom in the Gift Shop

Rose Garden

Hi All,

Our first stop this morning was the Rose Garden in Washington Park. What a glorious sight; 8,000 rose bushes over four and a half acres. We counted nine volunteers trimming and pruning the roses.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Roses Everywhere

More beauty among the roses

Hard to believe colors

Taking Time

Even Candy Stripes

Evergreen Aviation Museum

Hi All,

We worked eight of the last nine days, earning ourselves five consecutive days off again. This time we are off to Portland, OR. 

Along the way, we visited the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinville. This huge museum has original aircraft, many in flying condition, from the earliest days of aviation to modern military and commercial jets. 

The centerpiece of the collection is the enormous Spruce Goose built by Howard Hughes near the end of WW2. With eight turboprop engines, this craft has a wingspan greater than any other aircraft ever built. You can Google "Spruce Goose" to get the whole story in Wikipedia.

One aircraft had a wonderful history. It was a C-47, the military equivalent to the venerable DC-3. This plane was built in 1943, dropped paratroopers over France on D-Day and later flew over 5,000,000 miles as a commercial airliner. 

Carl enjoyed this even more than the Oregon Country Fair ;-).

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Spruce Goose towers over other aircraft and our tour guide

B-17 Bomber from WW2

P-38 Lightning-notice the drip pans under each engine. They take these babies out and fly them!

P-40 Flying Tiger from the China Theater in WW2

ME-262 German Fighter- first operational jet aircraft

Soviet Era MIG-29

Lunar Module from the Apollo Program. Carl's first job after college was working on this spacecraft at Grumman

Replica of the Mars Rovers Spirit & Opportunity

Oregon Country Fair

Hi All,

Friday we attended the most unique country fair ever. Held in a huge wooded area with rough planked stalls for vendors, the OCF easily displays its hippy roots including occasional whiffs of marajuana. Nearly 1,000 vendors selling hand made items and lots of food stalls. No fried dough here! Instead there was lots of tofu, tahini and tabuli. Lots of people in creative costumes and lots of people in nearly no costume at all. We had been "warned" that some women would be topless. This was the case though in addition to lovely young women with beautiful bodies, there were lots of older, heavier women and men we would have preferred to be fully clothed. We have been to many fairs with face painting booths but this was our first with a breast painting booth!

There were also seven or eight performance stages with continuous, varied music and other entertainment throughout the day.

Sandy had a great time shopping and when Carl got bored he would people watch.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Big Crowds and Quirky booths

Some even 2 Stories

Lots of Tie Dye

And Lots of Skin

And Costumes