I Left My Heart in Santa Fe

Ok, so the real words are "I left my heart in San Francisco" but hey - VacationGirl is in Santa Fe, not San Francisco.

Actually, it would be easy to fall in love with this place - really cool city. You can walk just about everywhere. And if you're into the artsy stuff, this is the place for you. We're not but there's still some neat stuff to see. Lots of old history.

On the way out of Colorado, we stopped and saw the oldest church in Colorado. Would have gone in but there was a funeral going on and we didn't think it would be too appropriate to barge in to take pictures. Did get a good outside picture though!



















Churches were the theme of the day - that's about all we saw. San Miguel - the oldest church in the U.S. - and we rang the bell at San Miguel (apparently, there's some custom about that). We also saw Loretto Mission and St. Francis Cathedral. We also saw the oldest government building in use - the Palace of the Governers. The people that work/volunteer at the chapels are extremely knowledgeable and friendly - they really can tell you a lot about things.

We're staying at a really nice hotel - the Inn and Spa at Loretto - the room is done up in Southwestern decor - really pretty. Too bad I can't afford the $200 massage in the spa - oh well - I'll have to be happy just to have a room here, I guess.

Tomorrow, we're heading back north just about 20 miles to see some church that has healing dirt - apparently people make pilgrimages back here for its healing powers. Dear husband said he wants to try it on his back - we'll let you know if it heals!

After that, we're going to see a bunch of cars stuck nose first in the ground - yep - the Cadillac Ranch. Don't know why - just want to. From there, on to Frisco (near Dallas) to see a friend of the almost 18-year old's. Should be fun!

See ya later!

Say Good-Bye to Colorado Springs

We were supposed to stay in Colorado Springs until Thursday but when we woke up this morning, we decided to head to Alamosa to see the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It's about a 3 hour drive so we checked out of our great hotel and headed down the road.

The drive took us down I25 along the Sangre de Cristo mountains. In the distance, I could see two really large ones looming ~ now this is what mountains should look like! If they only had snow capped tops like those in Washington, I'd be thrilled.

We made it to the Sand Dunes - pretty impressive. Pretty tall - some are 750 feet tall! I took one look and decided to let dear husband and almost 18-year old trudge up the sand. I walked out just a little ways with them so I could take pictures of their trek and almost had 3rd degree burns on my feet. I had sandals on and as the sand came up into them, it burned horribly. Just before they started, the almost 18-year old decided to go bare foot. It took one shoe off for about 3 seconds to change his mind. That sand is HOT, HOT, HOT!

After the dunes, we headed to our Best Western Movie Manor hotel - it is situated on a drive in theater and they pipe the movie into the rooms. We drove about 20 minutes past Alamosa, took one look at it, and drove back to Alamosa and booked a room at the Holiday Inn Express (tomorrow we do surgery because we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express). I'm sure the Best Western rooms were nice but it looked like it was about 100 years old - rickety and run down.

We did make a stop at the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge Center but for some reason, changed our minds and chose not to take the 1 hour drive around. It was mostly wetlands - so lots of birds. No lions, tigers, or bears (oh my).

Tomorrow we head to Santa Fe. I'm hoping it's as beautiful as I've heard. I need some good pictures!

See ya tomorrow!

Pike's Peak (gasp) or Bust

Today was Pike's Peak day. And in true VacationGirl fashion, she got dear husband and almost 18-year old up early as we had to be at the Cog Railroad 30 minutes before our 9:20 reservation. Got them up real early - in fact, we arrived at the railroad at 7:55. But at least we weren't the only ones there!

When we walked outside to start our journey to the railroad, VacationGirl was sure the vacation curse would appear and all she would have to show for the trip would be beautiful fog pictures. Pike's Peak wasn't even visable. Yesterday was SO clear ~ but not today.

Curse you vacation Gods!

But being the troupers we are (and figuring fog pictures are better than no pictures), we continued onward to the railroad. Good thing! By the time we got there (at our ridiculously early time), you could see the mountains again. Sun prevailed.

Ha! Take that vacation curse!

The ride up to the summit takes about 1.5 hours and then another 1.5 down with about 30-40 minutes on the summit. We boarded the train at 9:10 with about 3,000 other people. OK, maybe not 3,000 but it sure seemed like it. Every seat was full - actually close to 200 people. We had assigned seats so we got to experience the trip up backwards! It was ok though - we could still see good.

VacationGirl really wanted to see some black bears, mountain lions, and big horn sheep on the way up (or down). But no big, black bears popped out wanting handouts and no mountain lions made an appearance. However, we did see some of the 350 big horn sheep that make their home above the tree line. They weren't clip-clopping over the rocks, but hey, we saw them! The conductor said that we were pretty lucky as they don't usually make an appearance as close as they were. COOL!

After we reached the 14,100+ summit, VacationGirl could understand why Mr. Denver spoke of a "Rocky Mountain High" - she was a little loopy up on top! (yes, a little loopier than normal). The air up there is about 50% of what it is in Kettering so some people experience light-headiness, nausea, and some even pass out. I just felt really winded - so I drank lots of water as they suggested.

Once we reached the bottom, back in Manitou Springs, we headed to the Air Force Academy to see the Chapel and then the visitor center to buy some Air Force stuff. The chapel is really beautiful. We were up on a bridge like structure looking down at the main part of the campus and housing for the Academy. The "road" below us was about as wide as a runway - mostly concrete but edged in marble-like material. Periodically there were marble-like strips crossing the road horizonally so you ended up with lots of BIG rectangles of concrete outlined with a marble-like substance. This is important - trust me!

As we stood and watched, there were many cadets that appeared to be coming from classes (or something). Sometimes, one at a time, others in small groups - never more than 3 - 4 at a time. As the came around from wherever they were coming from they had to turn left to get on this concrete/marble "road". (I say "road" because it's what it looked like but there were no vehicles on it.) As each cadet made that left turn, each started jogging. It was kinda comical to watch because some of them would pause for just a second, take a deep breath, and then start jogging.

Well, of course VacationGirl wants to know why! There was no one there telling them they had to jog. And they each stayed on the marble part - no one jogged on the concrete. If they went from one side of the 'road' to the other, they waited until they reached one of the horizontal marble strips and then jogged on it. So why do they do this, she wonders? So she stopped a very nice looking young man in full camo and asked him. He very politely replied that he didn't know - he was a visitor himself. Then I glanced at the HUGE patch on the front of his camo's that read U.S. Army! Guess an army guy wouldn't know why the cadets jogged. Guess it will remain a mystery to VacationGirl.

We snapped a bunch of pictures of the outside of the chapel and started to leave but then decided to walk (ok, trudge - she's tired) to the far side of the chapel and actually go inside. Wow! Glad we did that! The inside is absolutely beautiful - worth the trip up to the Academy! The pictures do NOT do it justice - it is much prettier than the pictures show.

Don't know what's on the agenda for tomorrow. We decided that it was too far to head to the Sand Dunes for the day. Maybe Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, maybe US Olympic Training Center, maybe the cliff dwelling houses, maybe nothing! Who knows! Decisions will be made in the morning!

See ya then!













View from the top





A.F.A. Chapel

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

Ding, Dong, the witch is dead!

Well, at least there are no more red lights on the Tahoe! And the passenger side has air conditioning once again! Of course VacationGirl and Dear Husband had to sit in the local Al Serra Chevrolet dealership for 3 hours this morning - but it was worth it!

Today was Royal Gorge Bridge day. As soon as the Tahoe was functioning as expected (around 10:30), we dropped by the hotel and picked up the "almost 18-year old" and headed south to the Royal Gorge Bridge. It was about 1.5 hour drive. Very pretty. The bride is huge! First we rode across on a little train and but you couldn't see down over the sides so we got off on the other side and walked back. Sure is a LONG way down to the Arkansas river. Not sure how we got the Arkansas river in Colorado but it is!

The bridge is the world's highest suspension bridge - at 1,053 feet above the Arkansas. It was pretty windy out on the bridge too.

When we left the bridge, we decided to take this 35 miles road that should take us to Cripple Creek (notice should not would). The road is called the Phantom Canyon Road. Thirty five miles isn't much, right! HA! It is when you're only able to go 15-20 miles an hour. The books do warn you to not drive the road if you are not experienced driving on mountain roads. But do we listen???

NO!

And although VERY tiring, VacationGirl is glad we didn't listen. Dear Husband really loves the dirt roads and this was pure dirt road - nothing paved. It started out at about 5,000 ft and rose to 10,000 by the time we hit the thriving metropolis of Victor, CO. About half way through, the 'almost 18-year old' decided he wanted to drive. Ya know, off-roading, Mom!

YEH, Mom knows.

But he did good! Most of the time, only one car could drive so you really had to watch for people coming the other direction and plan ahead. You couldn't get too close to the edge because it was muddy and you'd easily get stuck or too close on the other side and you're off the side of the mountain. We could see the storm clouds as we began to start climbing upward and sure enough we got pelted - small hail and everything. Pretty wild. But once we got out of the mountains, the rain stopped.

Tomorrow if Pike's Peak day - riding the Cog Railway up. Hope it's as clear on Tuesday as it was today (at least in the morning).

Will post pictures tomorrow - too tired tonight!

Pike's Peak or Bust!

Toto, We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Just let me start by saying "Bad things happen in Kansas!"

First, the red lights on the dashboard, then VacationGirl's cute little travel mouse broke (frayed wires) and she is touch-pad impaired - it doesn't do what she wants it to do! Then on top of all of that, when she and Dear Family got in the Tahoe to head to CO, the air conditioning quit working - but only on the passenger side. Everyone else has wonderful, cold air blowing on them but the passenger in the passenger seat (which is typically where VacationGirl sits) is blowing horribly, hot air - not just warm - but HOT! The type of hot air one needs when on top of a snowy mountain - which we're not. She now has roasted toes!

So to recap:
1. Red lights on dashboards
2. Passenger air conditioning broken
3. Travel mouse broken
4. Rain
5. Dorothy & Toto (can't forget about them)

With VacationGirl's deductive reasoning powers, she has concluded that Bad Things Happen in Kansas!

After we filled up and left Junction City, we headed out I-70. She expected the mind-numbing wheat and corn fields for 7 more hours but surprisingly enough, for the first 2 -3 hours, Kansas was quite beautiful. The word that popped into her mind was serene. Of course, it wasn't serene in the strict sense of the word - there were white, fluffy clouds - but the landscape just rolled along - very calming.

When we hit Oakley, Kansas, we decided to get off the highway and take some back roads. So we headed down Rt 40 for several hours and then Rt 94. Definately back roads but pretty. At one point, we thought for sure we'd get our tornado - heavy dark rain clouds right over head but we only got about 5 minutes of rain and then back to blue skies!

Got to our hotel (Residence Inn on the North side of Colorado Springs) arouond 3:00 local time and vegged for about an hour then we headed off to Garden of the Gods. It is even more beautiful than I remember it from the last time I was here. We walked around the park for about a hour or two.

An observation - although beautiful - the Rocky Mountains (at least those in Colorado Springs) are not breath-taking like those in Washington & Oregon. Maybe it's because the altitude in Colorado Springs is higher so they seem less impressive or maybe because they're all bunched together - but they just don't take your breath away like Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood. Of course, that opinion may change when VacationGirl heads up to the top of Pike's Peak and looks out over the same view that inspired America the Beautiful!

Tomorrow our first trip of the day is to the local Serra Chevrolet dealership to get the Tahoe patched up. I'll take pictures - won't they be great in my scrapbook? Hopefully, it won't take long and then we're heading to Royal Gorge Bridge. That should be pretty cool!

Here's some pictures from Garden of the Gods. Enjoy.

Going to Kansas City, Kansas City Here I Come

Oops, that's a lie - VacationGirl is NOT going to Kansas City. That was her milestone for today and we were able to blow past it - to Junction City. Whoo hoo! Going through Kansas City was much curvier than she remembered - many of the curves on the highway were at 35 mph. MUCH slower than the speeds she's used to traveling at.

As expected - many corn field and wheat fields. VacationGirl and dear family's minds are actually numb - as in mind-numbingly boring. Some would say that that is a regular state for all of us - and we wouldn't argue to strenulously.

VacationGirl was really bummed - we drove right past the Oz musuem - at 5:00 - and guess what time it closed. You've got it - 5:00. Doesn't open until noon on Sunday so I guess the Oz musuem will be something that won't get visited this trip.

Dear family and VacationGirl have determined that bad things happen in Kansas. Yes, it's true. Just ask Dorothy if you don't believe us. She got sucked off to Munchkinland and I'm not sure what could be worse than that. Oh wait - maybe I do know - that would be red lights on the dashboard.

Red lights are NEVER a good thing on vacation. Red lights and rain.

The weather was pretty nice for the whole trip. There was an occasional sprinkle but nothing that lasted more than 2 - 3 minutes and then it cleared up. For the most part, the sky was a beautiful blue with pretty white fluffy clouds. Until we got to Kansas.......

I wish I could claim that the wind began to switch - the house to pitch and suddenly the hinges started to unhitch. Just then the Witch - to satisfy an itch went flying on her broomstick, thumbing for a hitch.

But I can't! It did start raining when we got a little past the state line - heavy but not stormy - thank goodness! But as VacationGirl was driving, she glanced down at the dashboard and saw an ominous message "Service 4WD". Well, that can't be good. So dear husband pulls out the handy, dandy user manual and it gave instructions to stop immediately and turn off the car - then turn it back on to see if the message reappears.

I don't think so - not in the middle I-70. So she pulls off onto an exit in the middle of nowhere, stops, and turns off the car. Turns it back on and the message came back. Hmmmm, this doesn't sound good. VacationGirl doesn't want to Service her 4WD - she doesn't use 4WD - EVER. She just took her Tahoe in for service - why couldn't the Tahoe very nicely have told the mechanic to service it then? but NOOOOOO - let's wait until we're in the middle of nowhere (oops, in the middle of Kansas) and then decide we want service. Gesh!

So Dear Husband did want any other red-blooded American would do - we drove off - for another 60 miles to Junction City. And we'll drive another 400 on Sunday to Colorado Springs and take it to a dealership on Monday (provided it still runs on Monday!)

So maybe Pike's Peak or Bust is appropriate after all!

Wish us well.....

By the way, the 17-year old (or as he now says - "the almost 18-year old") drove for about 2 hours - right through St. Louis - with LOTS of traffic. He did really good!

See ya in Colorado!

Calgon...Take Me Away

Usually, VacationGirl doesn't come up with Very Important Discoveries (VID) until she (and wonderful family) are actually on vacation. However, this year, a VID has uncovered itself a little earlier - VacationGirl cannot wait until the 3rd week of August to take her first summer vacation!

Usually, family vacations start the last week of July or the first week of August. But since the almost 17-year old's school doesn't start until Sept 5 (Thank you very much), decisions were made to go after the almost 17-year old's birthday and before the start of school.

Oh NO - never again!

VacationGirl needs a vacation NOW! That much hated state up north's project is making her much older than her years! She does love the project but wow - it can make one crazy (but in a good way). Still vacation time is needed and fortunately, is only 4.5 working days away. By this time next week, she will be hopefully somewhere in the mind-numbing boring world of Kansas on the way to Colorado Springs.

This week will be spent gathering all the goodies that will occupy the Tahoe - things that will most likely never be used, but that VacationGirl and family believe they cannot travel without! Good thing we're driving and not flying.

So, washing, drying, folding, and gathering will be the name of the game this week. Need to try out the new card for the camera too - something has to be downloaded before formatting - hopefully it will be rather self-explanatory! Not in the mood to think!

Pike's Peak or Bust!

44 Days and Counting

Only 44 more days until vacation. Can't wait!

VacationGirl bought a nice, new, big camera to lug around but hopefully, it will take some award winning pictures! She's played with it some but has no clue what she is really doing! But still - with the beautiful scenary in Colorado, it shouldn't be too difficult to get a good picture or two.

Hotel reservations are booked - at least for the main portion of the week. Found a REALLY great hotel in New Mexico. Although VacationGirl and family will only be in NM for 1 night, she still wants to stay in one really great hotel on the trip. Tried to book on-line but no openings. Will try the phone today.

So much to see, so little time. The travel route is fairly set - going straight there by way of I70 - from home to Colorado. Boring road but gets us there the quickest! Coming back, it has been decided that the route will take VacationGirl and dear family through New Mexico (Santa Fe), Texas (Amarillo), Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), Tennessee (Memphis) and finally home. In all, we will have traveled through 12 states in the course of 10 days. Lots of driving - but lots of good picture opportunities.

Reservations have been made for the Pike's Peak Cog Railway. VacationGirl determined that it would stress her out waaaaayyyyy too much to drive up with dear husband. Good driver, but she's a bad passenger when it comes to mountains!

More to come as the time nears.....

Crowder Mountain-Whew

I've been lazy on this vacation - missed Saturday & Sunday. Saturday was a lazy day - didn't do too much (did get a new pair of sandles - leather - so I won't have another allergic reaction!)

Sunday was church day. First time that Dear Husband and VacationGirl visited the Newton Christian Church. It's a little country church but the people are incredibly friendly! It was a good service. Went to eat after church so didn't get home until 2:00 - then had to turn around and leave again for Sunday night service at 4:30 and didn't get home from that until 9:30. Long Day.

The Sunday night service was a showing of the movie "Passion of the Christ" - directed by Mel Gibson. It is an extremely accurate portrayal of the last days of Jesus. However, I couldn't watch the majority of it. He was beat so badly - very violent movie! And I don't do violence well - I'm a chick-flick kinda gal.

Today, Monday, started out lazy. Two of the dogs ran away so we made the men saddle up and go looking for them. The dogs made it home on their own - about an hour before the men! It was kinda scary cuz they are great dogs and we were afraid that something would happen to them. But all is well in dogland.

Someone had the great idea that we should climb this mountain near Charlotte that has 300 stairs to the top. Hmmmm, VacationGirl things this could rank right up there with her famous tips - don't climb mountains that have 300 stairs. Don't climb anything that has 300 stairs. So we drive out to the mountain - VacationGirl is thinking about reading a book. But, foolishly, she heads up the path to the stairs, thinking that she can wait at the bottom and enjoy the beautiful day.

HA!!!

No one mentioned that there is a 1 mile strenuous trail to even get to the bottom of the 300 stairs. And when trail maps say strenuous, they mean strenuous! It took me an hour to trudge up, up, up the rocky trail. Dear husband stayed with me for awhile but I sent him on ahead with the camera. Someone had to take pictures, and it sure as heck wasn't going to be VacationGirl. About half way up, there was a nice bench. She rested there for a few minutes and then foolishly started walking up, up, up the path again - all the while thinking that the stairs HAVE to be close.

HA!!!

They weren't even close. VacationGirl finally gave up and rested - leaning on a tree. She could have gone on down to the bench but she wanted everyone to see just how far she made it. It may not have been all the way to the top, but it was at least .8 of the trail. You can tell she's not a hiker - she was thinking that coming down would be easier!

HA!!!

Going down the trail was MUCH harder. She thought her toes were going to poke out the front of her gym shoes - because what goes up, up, up must come down, down, down and it was steep.

This vacation seems to have a common thread so far - sore feet! And they are VERY sore! So since VacationGirl can't find an open usb port on this computer, she won't be able to download pictures until Wednesday night - you can see the new baby horse and Crowder's Mountain - the source of my sore feet!

see ya!

Crowder Mountain

Spring Break and Red Feet

Hi Dear Friends and Family,

Well, Spring Break vacation has officially begun. We're in un-sunny NorthCarolina now - for 4 full days - heading home on Wednesday to do un-spring break like things to the house (like clean)!

The trip got off to a good start. VacationGirl and Dear husband picked up the 16-year old from school at 2:10 with the car fully packed and ready to go. Of course, we had to make a last minute swing past the house because the 16-year old forgot his church clothes. No big deal - it's on the way. While he ran to get his clothes, VacationGirl decided to change from sneakers to sandles - a rather benign decision, one would think!

So, the Vacation Family got on the road about 2:30-2:40 along with all of the other happy families traveling to warmer destinations for the week. Traffic was slightly heavy but not horrible. Unfortunately, there were severe thunderstorm warnings out for the whole trip. Could we be lucky? Hey, it's VacationGirl and Family - of course we can't!

We got our first rain - a rather torrential downpour - in Lexington. If it had been night, we would have been treated to a spectacular light show - the lightening was extremely heavy. But as it was, we just got treated to rain so thick and heavy that you could cut it with a knife - all the way from Lexington to the Tennesee/Kentucky border. But then, miraculously, it stopped. Whoo hoo!

We stopped somewhere just after getting on I-40 to get gas and noticed on the TV that they had tornado warnings for the area so we high-tailed it out of Dodge and got on the road. VacationGirl was actually able to get through most of Ashville while it was still dusk - it turned true night just before she made it through - and all with NO rain. This will have to go down in history - VacationGirl ALWAYS gets rain in the mountains on I-40. The Gods must be with her today.

NOT!!!

(As a side note, right about this time, VacationGirl's feet were beginning to bother her a little but she thought nothing of it - figured they were just tired of pushing on the gas pedal!)

We made it to the Triple C Ranch about 10:30 - great timing for us - the earliest we've every gotten in! Almost immediately, we trecked down to the barn to see the new baby horse - 4 days old (pictures to follow in the next post). Lad, Lucy, and Tag were happy to see us. Lad was most happy to see his "boy" (and the boy was MOST happy to see his dog). I think Lucy will be my favorite - she the littlest of the collies and really sweet - we made friends right away.

While we were in the barn, VacationGirl kept feeling like there was something in her shoe - they are sandles, so this was not a totally unexpected feeling. But nothing was there - however, the feeling wouldn't subside. So she and Ramsey niked back up to the house where VacationGirl got out of her shoes, finally. WOW! Everywhere that the sandles touched her feet was bright red and swollen and horribly itchy. Apparently, after three years of wearing the sandles, they decided to create a wonderful allergic reaction. It hurt to walk, it hurt to itch, it hurt to even lay them down on the bed - she had to hang them over the side. But fortunately, Ramsey saved the day with some cortesone cream - VacationGirl woke up in the morning with new feet (actually, just her old ones back to normal).

Don't know what the day holds yet - we slept in - haven't even had a shower yet. It is rainy but at least we're on vacation. Let the fun begin!

Rocky Mountain High

Well, it's looking more and more like Colordao is beckoning VacationGirl & Family to visit. It's reasonably drivable - only 18 hours to Colordao Springs which is where "base camp" will most likely be. Rhode Island is still a possibility in VacationGirl's mind, however, she may be out-voted by her wonderful husband and now 16 year old. Colorado is one of only a few states that is not on the 16 year old's "place I've been" map although many of the states for him were just drive throughs.

From what information VacationGirl can glean, Colorado Springs offers the most for a 3-4 day stay: Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, Air Force Academy, Royal Gorge Bridge, and the Great Sand Dunes. (As a matter of substantiated fact, climbing sand dunes is much worse than climbing lighthouses!) Lighthouses are understandably sparce in Colorado so VacationGirl will only have mountains and bridges (and sand dunes) to photograph if Colorado wins.

Someone mentioned Durango and Grand Junction as good places to go - will have to check those out as possibilities - but time will be limited. The 16 year old must manage this vacation and a few weeks in N.C. which could be pushing the limits at his job. We'll see what happens.

Of couse, in a few weeks, we're N.C. bound for the annual trek to see the family! Always a good time - but not one of VacationGirl's favorite drives. I-40 in the mountains is horrible. And since VacationGirl will be driving down, there is guaranteed rain once it gets dark. It wouldn't be spring break without it.

Stay tuned for the spring break adventures.

Time to Plan

It's time to start thinking about this year's vacation. This year will be slightly shorter than normal - the 1 6-year old is working now and money is tight. VacationGirl has actually thought about not even taking a vacation this year - instead staying home to paint!

Hey - wait a minute - that's WORK! Not vacation!

However, 2 rooms desperately need paint and there's just no time to do it on the weekends - too much other stuff to do. But I digress.....

Colorado is a definate possibility this year. Alaska is still my first choice but I want a driving vacation this year. Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico are all on the list too. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

More later when the brochures start rolling in.....

Mountains and Cities

Monday, August 8, 2005.

LAST DAY! Although it has been a great trip - enjoying incredible sights - it's time for VacationGirl and family to come home. Their flight leaves at 12:03 Tuesday afternoon and if all goes well, they'll touch down at 11:42 pm, Dayton time. Should be home and asleep by 1:00 a.m. However, since they are connecting in Chicago, anything can happen!

VacationGirl has made two very important discoveries on this trip. The first you already know about - look, don't climb, the lighthouses. Another very important discovery was made today - Don't drive and expect dear(???) husband and almost 16-year old to navigate! It's a recipe for disaster.

Making "very important discoveries" like these are critical to one's health and well-being - or better yet to the health and well-being of dear (???) husband and almost 16 year-old. Everyone should make such relevant, critical discoveries on their vacations.

Enough for the discoveries - on to the trip.....

Group decision was made to visit Mt. Rainier - why come all this way and not see one more big rock! So VacationGirl and family pulled out of Kelso around 9:00 and headed up I-5 to Rt 12. That took them on the north side of Mt. St. Helen's and the south side of Mt. Rainier. VacationGirl was starting to have panic attacks because there was a HEAVY cloud layer today. All she wanted was one more day of the incredibly beautiful weather that they had experienced all week. But it didn't look like it was meant to be.

They got to one "scenic" view of Mt. St. Helen's only to see all clouds, no mountains. But VacationGirl had faith, even with the clouds blocking out everything. And sure enough, as they neared Mt. Rainier, the fog burned off and as they made their way around the east side of the mountain to the Sunrise visitor center, there was nothing but blue sky.

Sunrise is not the prettiest view of Mt. Rainier but it is the closest view that you can get to by car. Most of the pictures were taken at a view point at 6100 feet up - and then some at the visitor center at 6400 feet. You could almost touch the mountain. From the 6100 ft viewpoint, you could also see Mt. Adams - he lives right next door to Rainier and St. Helen's. Very pretty view. So up the mountain and down the mountain and on to Seattle to visit the Space Needle.









VacationGirl was dying to get one of the beautiful pictures of Mt. Rainier from Seattle - the ones from the Space Needle were ok but she had to shoot between the wires that kinda hold the thing up. The view is really great - it's right on Puget Sound and they saw cruise ships and ferries all over the place.










After leaving the Space Needle, VacationGirl headed for the hotel in Sea-Tac near the airport. (This was when critical discovery 2 was made!) . As she pulled off I-5 onto her exit, the mountain was right in front of her - the view she wanted! So she did the only thing possible - she pulled into a park and took a picture - it's the one you see below. She found that it would be very easy to live in a place where she could look out to the mountain every day - for some reason, it seems to speak to her. (She hasn't figured out what it's saying yet, but someday she will!) It may be telling her to lighten up and not be mad at dear (???) husband and almost 16 year-old for being directionally, map-reading challenged - or maybe not! However, that's what she'll assume for now as she begins the repacking process so that suitcases will close tomorrow morning!









"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. " ~ Rachel Carson

See ya back home!

Volcanos

Sunday, August 7, 2005
One more day.....
That refrain kept going through the vacationing family's minds all day long - like that song that just won't go away.
It's been fun but.....one more day! YEA!

The almost 16 year-old has been entertaining himself by taking cell phone pictures of all the "hot girls" in Oregon & Washington. As he, VacationGirl, and wonderful husband were sitting in a local restaurant being thankful that this particular chain does not exist back home, the cute little waitress and the almost 16 year-old kept giving each other "those looks" that only can happen between two young adults. He claimed that he was going to ask to take her picture. And when she asked why, he was going to tell her that he wanted to show all his friends back home how pretty the girls were in Oregon. Of course, VacationGirl and amused husband called him on it and darned if he didn't ask her. He took her picture and she blushed quite cutely.

Good thing she didn't ask 'why' since we were in Washington, not Oregon, and she might think we were raising an illiterate young man that didn't know what state he was in!

Today was Mt. St. Helen's day. The trip was an easy one - a quick 10 miles up the road to Rt 504 which takes you directly into Johnston Ridge Center, which is the closest that you can get to the mountain these days.

There were many good stops along the way - at one point, we had a great view of Mt. Adams and for a very short time, we could see Mt. Rainier poking its top up over the ridge. It was actually a very beautiful but sobering trip into the park. All around you can see new life growing up where the trees and grounds were stipped from the 1980 blast. But also all around the park, you can still see the downed timber - reminents of the blast.

The view from Johnston Ridge is great - you can actually see the new lava dome building. Apparently, it started building almost immediately after the blast 25 years ago. The new dome can be seen in the picture below - it's the one with the steam coming out. All around the park are warnings about what to do if there is an ash cloud - but we were also told that Johnston Ridge is typically not hit with them.

Standing on viewpoint from Johnston Ridge was kinda weird - it was named after a young geologist that died in the blast 25 years ago. He was monitoring the activity from there and calling in results - during his last transmission, he was "Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!" , then where was silence. Apparently, there was a ham radio observer named Gerry Martin that was parked two miles north of Johnston Ridge. He saw the avalanche and explosion and transmitted "The camper and the car just over to the south of me (Dave Johnston's observation post) are covered. It's going to hit me too."

They say that if you took the Washington Monument and placed it in the crater, it would only be a little more than half as high as the new lava dome. The crater that got blown out in 1980 is 1-mile wide and 2 miles long and 2000 feet deep. - It's huge.














Monday is going to the whirlwind tour - a quick drive by of Mt. Rainier - because it's there and then on to Seattle to go up in the Space Needle and visit a few more points of interest. Should be fun!

See you there!

Waterfalls, Waterfalls, Waterfalls

Saturday, August 6, 2005
Today was Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway day. VacationGirl was hoping for some WOW pictures but none developed - good ones yes, but wow ones no!

The Scenic highway starts out in Troutdale, Washington. Talk about a happy accident. VacationGirl randomly picked Troutdale/Greshman from the map only to find out after arriving that it was the beginning of the historic highway route. Luck was with her!

They hit the road early today - that was good because there was a full day ahead but bad because the fog hadn't burned off yet. The pictures that she had hoped would be WOW pictures were instead FOG pictures! But a Couch family vacation would not be complete without at least 1 fog picture. This one was taken from Vista House - high upon a ridge overlooking the Columbia River.

From there, the narrow highway wound its way down hairpin curves until it came to Waterfall Country. That's not what they call it in Oregon but there's one every mile. And because of all the grief that VacationGirl caught several days ago when she didn't want to go to some of the Crater Lake falls, everyone one of these would be viewed, climbed, and photographed! Yep - every angonizing step of the way.

Actually, she has to admit that the falls were all really great - each one was different and most were viewable without too much effort. They didn't get to see Bridal View because the trail was closed but they got all of the other! First on the list was Latourell Falls:

Next was Shepperd's Dell:

After that was Wakeena Falls - and yes, VacationGirl and family trudged all the way to the top! Very steep climb - very sore legs - but very worth it for the view.

Next on the trail came Multnomah Falls. It is the tallest waterfall on the route but unfortunately, we got to it right at noon when the sun was directly overhead. Between the sun and the mist from the waterfall spray at the bottom, pictures didn't turn out so great!

Last (at least for VacationGirl and family) came Horsetail Falls:

It's official - VacationGirl and wonderful family have seen enough waterfalls to last them for years and years. Please, if anyone hears her start talking about future plans that involve waterfalls, gently remind her to shut up!

Next on the scenic drive was the Bonneville Dam and fish hatchery. Can't say that fish hatcheries were a big attraction - something that just couldn't be missed but it actually turned out to be pretty neat. Some of the sturgeon there were absolutely huge - the one in this picture is actually pretty small compared to some of the bigger, more camera shy ones that we saw.

We also saw some "fish ladders" where the fish can get through the dam in special areas designed just for them - and for people to 'count' them so they know how many come through each year. We didn't really get to see any fish in the fish ladders - this isn't spawning season but it's still interesting to see the pictures (which were taken with the 35mm camera - not the digital - sorry!)

We drove on down the route to Hood River - apparently, it's the unofficial windsurfing capital of the world. With the gorge shaped as it is, it becomes a huge wind tunnel so wind surfers love it. We saw tons of them on the water. Pretty neat! (again, on the 35mm camera - carrying two and remembering to use them both is more than VacationGirl can mentally handle on day 7 of her vacation so give me a break!)

OK - it's about 3:00 pm - it's taken since 8:00 this morning to go roughly 60 miles and we're tired. So we turn the car around and head back west on I-84 to I-205 to I-5 that takes us out of Oregon and into Washington.

Tomorrow will be all about Mt. St. Helen's. There was a small 3.5 earth quake the day we got here under the mountain but apparently not enough to worry anyone. So, tomorrow we hope to get some good shots from the Johnston Viewing Center and hope to not get completely covered with ash.

See ya tomorrow!

Mountains

Friday, August 5, 2005

Today was Mt. Hood day for VacationGirl and family. After completing mundane tasks, like laundry (that she swore she wasn't going to do on this trip), they hit the road for Mt. Hood - Oregon's tallest mountain and the 3rd largest in the Cascade peaks.

The drive took the vacation family through parts of the Columbia River Gorge. They got so caught up in scenery that they missed their exit - by 12 miles! Tomorrow is Columbia River Gorge day so no diversionary trips were taken but all she can say is WOW! No pictures of the WOW stuff yet - that will be tomorrow - but WOW - it was beautiful.

But back to Mt. Hood. As we turned off of I-84 to Rt 35, we began to catch glimpses of the rock - and a large rock it is - 11,239 feet tall. Even half bare, it is still a beautiful mountain - as seen in the picture below:

There was a sign for Sahalie Falls so of course, the it just had to be visited. As the vacation family took this narrow, winding road, they were suddenly stopped at a stone bridge by barracades across the road.

To walk or not to walk. Well, we all know VacationGirl's choice - but VacationGirl's adventurous husband walked a few feet to the bridge. Much to everyone's amazement, there was no walking involved this time - other than the few steps to the bridge. And once those steps were taken, they were treated to this view:

After spending a suitable amount of time admiring the falls, the trip up to Timberline Lodge was started. Timberline Lodge stands at the 6,000 foot mark on the mountain - where most of the skiing and snowboarding takes place. Talk about a freaky sight - there were tons of skiers and snowboarders around - in August!

What's up with that?

Because Mt. Hood is so tall, people can enjoy year-round skiing and 'boarding. Kinda cool - but snow skiing was never a favorite pasttime of VacationGirl. Tried it - hated it. Adventurous husband claims to like skiing and almost 16 year-old wants to learn to snowboard - but they'll be doing it without VacationGirl. Hey, maybe she will go along and drink whoosie drinks in the lodge - yeh - that works! But, skiing and snowboarding are not in the picture today so, because of that, the whoosie drinks are not happening either.

As the Trailblazer made it's way down the mountain, another large mountain popped up in front of them. Where did this one come from? It wasn't there when the trip UP the mountain was made!

VacationGirl is thinking that these things are just like prairie dogs - they just pop up all over the place.

Curiousity got the better of adventurous husband so he stopped at a teeny tiny little store on the guise of needing something to drink. But as he walked out of the "store" with a smirky little grin, VacationGirl knew he found the answer to the question that plagued her - Mt. Adams! (Didn't know there was a Mt. Adams, but there is!) It's the second largest in the Cascade range but it's in Washington, not Oregon and since Mt. Rainier overshadows it, it's just the poor red-headed step child of a mountain. Poor thing! As they made their way down the road, Mt. Adams disappeared behind the scenery of the Columbia River Gorge - dispelling the fact that they just magically pop up - the mystery had been solved.

Since all they mysteries of life (or at least mountains) had been solved for the day, VacationGirl and family made their way back to their 'home away from home' and played Canasta before hitting the sack (and writing blog entries).

Off to the historic Columbia River Gorge highway Saturday. See ya then!

Half Way There

Wednesday Pictures:









Thursday Pictures:













VacationGirl and family are done "roughing it." They stayed Wednesday night at the Mazuma Motor Inn within the confines of the Crater Lake National Park. The rooms had no phones, no television, no air-conditioning! Couldn't even get a signal for the cell phones. All outdoor trash cans are virtually bolted down because bears frequently come into the camp grounds - right next to the motor inn. Was hoping to see one - from a distance - but Yogi must have been visiting a different part of Crater Lake Wednesday.

VacationGirl, wonderful husband, and almost 16 year-old took a vote on Wednesday morning. It was a unamimous decision to forgo the last few Oregon lighthouses and head inland for Crater Lake. There was a room waiting for us that couldn't be cancelled and dinner reservations at the only restaurant for hours. So when dawn broke on Wednesday morning, she was on the road again, leaving Reedsville and driving through the Umpqua river valley towards Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is spectacular - the pictures do not do it justice. Hopefully, the "real" 35mm pictures will do the color justice - an incredible color of blue. Thoughts of taking the 2 hour boat tour to the island in the middle (hey, sounds like Gilligan's Island) were entertained but quickly discarded when it was discovered that the trail takes a 1,000 foot drop to get to the boat. Down would be ok, but up? No Way! VacationGirl was seeing visions of moutain side helicopter rescues! How embarassing would that be! Even her loving husband and son decided that enough climbing had been done!

In the words of John Ohrenschall - "Climbing would be a great, truly wonderful thing if it weren't for all that damn climbing."

As we waved good-bye to Crater Lake, maps were consulted to find the "best" scenic route to Portland. The Rogue-McKenzie Pass scenic route was chosen - 82 miles from Sisters, Oregon. It took about 5 hours to drive. Well, in VacationGirl's case, it took 5 hours to ride. Along the route were many things to see - most involving climbing - but muscles had 24 hours to rest so they were ready.

In the first Thursday pictures, the 3 sisters mountains are pictured in the distance. Once you get into the Willamette National Forest, there are a ton of lava all around. As you observe Mt Jefferson in the distance, and our four-legged friend we met along the way, you can see all of the lava. At first glance, it just looks like chunks of dirt, but it really is lava - 65 square miles of lava flow. They call this part of Oregon volcano country. (VacationGirl is not quite sure who "they" are but it was in one of her zillions of Oregon travel books so it MUST be true!)

One of the last spots that we stopped at within the Forest was Proxy Falls. Our trusted travel book says that the falls are a short hike into the Three Sisters Wilderness. Hmmm, her experience tells her that "Wilderness" and "short hike" really don't go together. However, since all of the waterfalls on the way to Crater Lake were ignored, (and she caught absolute hell for this) it was decided that this one was a 'must see.' The trail was a mere 1.5 miles. After much huffing and puffing and being totally drenched from sweat, the refreshing sound of water was heard. Then VacationGirl and wonderful husband came to the perverbial 'fork in the road.' She felt like she was on the way to Oz and the scarecrow pointed both directions when ask "which way to Oz." The sign on the tree pointed in both directions to get to Proxy Falls.

Wonderful husband talked her into taking the trail to the right where someone had carved in "lower falls." She has reservations because 'lower' usually means walking DOWN and climbing BACK UP but she goes with the flow this time. But she wants to know where almost 16 year-old is! He went ahead - way ahead - but no one knows which trail he took. Motherly instincts are about to erupt!

Fortunately, wonderful husband was right. (Don't you just hate it when that happens?) After about 5 minutes, we came upon the falls and WOW - it was worth the hour of sweat it took to get there and back! They were beautiful. And better yet - way down where VacationGirl refuses to venture (her view is wonderful from where she is) is the almost 16-year old! He was up getting wet under the falls - where lo and behold - another family was there - one that just happened to have a teen age girl with them! We now have pictures of her at the falls too! Twenty years from now, we'll all be sitting around, scratching our heads, wondering who this young girl is!

So, after viewing the falls, we completed the trail and collasped at the car - after all, it is the hottest day of 2005 for the area. Boy, do we know how to plan vacation times!

After the falls, we had a 4 hour drive - we wanted to be east of Portland for the night so we could branch out to Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. Budget Rentals will wonder where in the heck their poor car has been - we've logged over 1000 miles in 4 days - and we're not done yet.

Wonderful husband and VacationGirl have noticed an interesting phenominom in Oregon. When one pulls in to those lovely roadside refueling centers, commonly known as gas stations, one cannot pump their own gas. Apparently, this is unheard of in Oregon. Someone will always be there to pump it for you. Hmmm, is this why gas is SO much more here? $2.41 to #2.69 a gallon!

As an interesting side note - on Tuesday, while passing through Lincoln City and then again today while driving up I5 towards Portland, VacationGirl and family passed the 45th parallel - we were exactly half way between the Equator & the North Pole! Maybe that explains why she's hot, then cold, then hot, then cold, then hot.....

Oh well - enough for today. Friday starts the 2nd half of the trip - with either Mt Hood or Columbia River Gorge drive on the agenda - one Friday, the other Saturday. VacationGirl is thinking some snow would feel really good right now!

See ya tomorrow!

The Lighthouse Tour Continues

Hi friends and family.....
Not too many pictures today. We took a lot but none that really jumped out and said "post me!" The almost 16 year old decided that he was going to take most of the digital pictures because "he needs to practice for his upcoming photography class." We've taken 4 rolls with the 35mm but undeveloped film does not translate well into blog posts.

Today VacationGirl and her wonderful husband found that they do in fact have more bones, muscles, and ligaments that can become sore. She's considering a petition to make all attraction accesses flat - no hills, no slopes, no stairs.

First stop was Cape Mears lighthouse. The weather is beautiful - jeans and t-shirts are the order for the day - and we're quite comfortable. Comfortable until we started down the path to the lighthouse. We were certain we had been transported to Alaska. We all headed back for sweatshirts and even that wasn't enough. Getting to Cape Mears is like walking through a wind tunnel. It's a teeny little lighthouse but because it's on a 217 foot cliff, it packs a whollup - it can be seen for 21 miles out to see. That is, if the crew doesn't turn to ice first!

Next stops, Yaquina Head Lighthouse & Yaquina Bay Lighthouses. VacationGirl was hoping for a visit from the ghosts that reportedly haunt Yaquina Head but alas, they moved south for the summer to warm their little ghostly selves. If possible, it was even colder here than at Cape Mears. Since no ghostly appearences were in the works, VacationGirl just stood at the bottom of the lighthouse, hoping feverishly that a whale would make an appearance, while Tim & Steven climbed the 104 steps to the top of the lighthouse. She learned her lesson on the first day - no climb, just look! No whales, either.

We made our way down the coast to the jewel of the trip - Heceta Head Lighthouse. Only 1/2 mile to the lighthouse - all uphill - 162 feet - very, very long feet - very, very long 1/2 mile! By now, even VacationGirl's wonderful husband is beginning to feel pain in muscles that didn't exist before this trip. Of course, the almost 16 year-old jogs half way up - walks the rest - comes down to meet us and jogs up again. VacationGirl and loving husband are beginning to plan his demise as he mocks our poor tired bodies. Ha! Just wait another 20 years! Then he'll see!!!

Heceta Head is really not all that great up close - worth the climb but not one of the more spectacular lighthouses. However, the view from a distance and from across the cliffs is worth every climb we've made - it's truly beautiful.

One of the few 'attractions' that is not a lighthouse, bridge, or mountain is near Heceta Head - the Sea Caves. Since Guiness World Records shows this as the world's largest Sea Cave, we just had to see it. It was pretty neat - it's home to at least a kazillion wild Steller sea lions. We watched one little guy trying to get back up on the rock with everyone else - he finally caught a wave that took him to the rock and he was almost up and WHOOPS - another washed him off again.

VacationGirl knows just how he feels - her body feels like it's been beat against the rocks!

There's an elevator that takes you down 200 feet into the cave (after you walk down a steep, long path that you must then walk back up after your visit) where you can observe them through the glass - definately worth the walk - and a must-see if you're ever in Florence, OR.

Starvation is beginning to set in - we decided to skip lunch for the sake of lighthouses - and after far too many of them in a 48 hour period, we're ready to crash for the day. Hmmm, maybe should have thought of that a few hours earlier before all the hotels filled up! But we found a beautiful room in Reedsport - and we're resting our weary bodies.

No posts, no pictures tomorrow - we're staying in the Crater Lake National Park and the hotel supposedly has no phones, no television, no air conditioning. Guess there's no wireless either! It's a 5 hour drive inland and from what we hear, it is beyond description. Hopefully, VacationGirl can snatch the digital camera away and take some pictures.

See ya in a few days!

Only The Beginning

Yep, the pictures just about sum it up - pretty darn beautiful out here!

VacationGirl and family's internal clocks are still set to good old Eastern Daylight Time - we slept in until 8:00 today - EST - 5:00 Pacific time. UGH! But it did get us on the road and out of Seattle by 7:00!

First stop was North Head lighthouse in Washington. We were able to climb to the top of the lighthouse here. (first picture) VacationGirl made a critical discovery at this lighthouse. She enjoys looking at lighthouses, but not climbing up them! This was a very important revelation as it will save many bones, muscles, ligaments and other little used body parts from unnecessary strain as we visit the remaining lighthouses on the west coast tour. Discoveries like these are very good! So in this sense, the trip has been a rousing success thusfar!

Next on the agenda was Cape Disappointment - and it was! Oops - it wasn't that bad! Seriously, it is a nice lighthouse but not worth too much effort. There's a nice view from the Lewis & Clark Interperative Center as you can see from the 2nd picture. Steven found a trail that was only 7.5 miles to the lighthouse. Ha! Another important discovery made before disaster struck. VacationGirl very quickly reasoned that hiking 7.5 miles to see a lighthouse (that she can see quite nicely already) would be just as bad as climbing to the top of one. So she chose to visit Mr. Lewis and Mr. Clark in their Center while Tim & Steven hiked to the lighthouse. While VacationGirl meandered around and leisurely made her way to the car to relax and read, thinking she had a LONG wait, she spots a familiar face. Hmmm - did they come realize that VacationGirl's very importnat discovery was truly remarkable? Nope - they made it to the lighthouse and back. How could this be? Dots are such peculiar creatures - especially when they are not seen correctly - 7.5 was really .75 miles. So much for relaxing and reading.

So on down the road to Cannon Beach. (More stops were made in the land of lighthouses, bridges, and mountains, but those details will come in the scrapbooks later). Cannon Beach draws visitors from all over - the main attraction is a rock. Granted, it's a very big rock, but nonetheless, it's a rock. But in keeping with the tradition of Couch family vacations, rocks are something we visit. Haystack Rock is the name of this remarkable creature - it rises 235 feet from the ocean and is full of all kinds of living sea life - as you can see in one of the pictures.

Although our hotel had an ocean view, it was from about a block away and the rock could not be seen from our hotel room. But a short walk to the actual beach left us with wonderful views. It was low tide so we walked down the beach to the rock to see all of the sea creatures that call the rock home. The hotel manager said the rock was about a quarter mile down the beach.

He LIED!

It was at least 6 miles away. Ok, it just seemed like 6 miles. It did take us about 20 minutes to actually reach the rock. It seemed so enticingly close. But no matter how many steps VacationGirl took, that damned rock never got closer. Or so it seemed.

Finally, VacationGirl made it to the rock. She had to wade through the water a little to get to the rock to see the sea life - thank goodness VacationGirl's family doesn't travel with video cameras. There's a whole episode just waiting for America's Funniest Home Videos! Two camera's hung around her neck - trying to keep her balance amoung all the tide and rocks! This is when VacationGirl makes another very important discovery -

The Pacific Ocean is darn cold!

But after wading for about a minute or two, one's feet are numb to the cold! Finally, her kind, loving husband came to rescue her from the rocks and start the journey back to the hotel. Is it possible for the distance back to be longer than the distance to the rock? Well, just ask VacationGirl, because the distance was at least 3 times longer! Or at least her poor legs thought so. But we all trudged to the hotel (ok, the 16 year old got cute and jogged down the beach) only to be greeted by the prospect of walking up 3 flights of stairs to the room.

Note to self - ALWAYS get a ground floor room or at least a room with an elevator!

And although VacationGirl hoped for a Haystack Rock sunset picture, the restaurants were not cooperating and she couldn't make it back to the rock in time. However, sunset over the Pacific WAS captured and still looked beautiful.

Now, it's time for VacationGirl to attempt to crawl to the bed - the floor is looking really good right now - no climbing involved - and get some sleep for the next day's agenda of more lighthouses, bridges, and mountains.

Until then.....

Oregon - Here We Come

Whew! We made it! VacationGirl and family are in Seattle. Long journey, cramped seats! Although not comparable to India's travel time, 10 hours is still a long time to live in cramped little seats made for people that weigh less than 100 lbs and airports where cell phone conversations seem to be loud and never ending.

TIP - NEVER where hiking boots on long flights!

But make it, we did. Since the flight arrived at 6:31, VacationGirl had big plans to get the car, get to the hotel and then head to the space needle. Whoops! THAT'S not happening. Yes, the flight was on time, but when the person at the front the rental car line doesn't own a major credit card and is trying to come up with every way possible to rent a car anyway (and that's after spending 20 minutes trying to find the Budget counter - you know, the ONLY rental car counter that is no where near the other company's counters.), it tends to slow down the plan - finally got out of the airport and to the room (1 mile from airport) at about 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Unfortunately, our bodies think it's 11:00 p.m. so space needles will just have to wait.

Dinner at Denny's - whoo hoo! VacationGirl remembers when Denny's used to be good - but maybe those memories are colored a bit by the haze of alcohol - but it was still food. We did have a triple-priced lunch in the luxury of the Dallas-Fort Worth fast food court but by the time we arrived at our "final destination", we were ravenous! Even Denny's tasted good.

Monday we head for the land of lighthouses, bridges, and mountains. VacationGirl and family are all pretty tired tonight - so we'll just post the first pictures - from the plane on the way to Seattle.

See ya in Oregon!