Afternoon Tea at Myrtle's Tea House, Ridgefield, Washington

I had afternoon tea at Myrtle’s Tea House at 112 S. Main Avenue in Ridgefield, Washington yesterday, October 29, 2008 about 11:30am. The Tea House, formerly the Ridgefield Library, had lovely décor. I had a corner table so I did not feel crowded as the customers came pouring in. I even had bit of a view out of the front window. I forgot to request that my pot of Earl Grey tea with bergamot be served with my first course, peach sorbet, rather than when I sat down so the tea was lukewarm by dessert time. I had dainty tea sandwiches, a bowl of tomato soup and a bit of fresh fruit followed by a scone and desserts. Although the scone was good I prefer the traditional scone that looks like a tall biscuit. Reservations are a good idea. I just got lucky. Afterwards I went to the gift shop to pay my bill plus tip and browse the gifts. Tearoom hours are 11:30am to 3:00pm Wednesday through Saturday. Contact: 360 887-9018.

Warrior Rock Lighthouse Hike

On Sunday, October 26, my #2 son, Christopher, and I hiked to Warrior Rock Lighthouse. We drove to Sauvie Island over the new access bridge. The older bridge had been completely destroyed recently. I purchased a parking permit for $3.50 and a paper map for 25 cents at the country store. We drove a paved road and then a gravel road to the north end of Sauvie Island to the parking area.

We climbed over a low gate past a couple signs--one stating that the area was closed for hunting season which we did not see. We met a lot of people and dogs on the trail so we were not the only ones who did not see the sign or chose to ignore it. We met one hunter and his dog at the beginning of the trail and occasionally heard gun shots during the afternoon.

We found six benchmarks, waymarked the Lighthouse Keeper's bungalow chimney ruins, did not find the geocache (it was at least 15 ft. away from the hint location), and took a lot of photographs. We walked back over three miles rather quickly as the sun was setting. It was a lovely day--warm with a light breeze. It was dark as we crossed the new Sauvie Island bridge to Hwy 30 homeward bound.

A Day at The Oregon Zoo

On Saturday, October 11, my daughter, Catherine, 36, and I went to The Oregon Zoo, formerly the Washington Park Zoo. The zoo is located two miles west southwest of downtown Portland, Oregon in Washington Park. It was founded in 1887, making it the oldest North American zoo west of the Mississippi.

We walked across the Great Northwest Tree Top Suspension Bridge with a view of Cascade Canyon. We wandered through the various animal exhibits. My favorites were Bats and Meerkats in African Rainforest; Reticulated Giraffe in African Savanna; Ocelot and Blue Poison Dart Frog in Amazon Flooded Forest; elephants Rose-Tu and Rose-Tu's baby named Samudra; Polar Bears, Malaysian Sun bears and American Black bears in Bear Exhibits; Leopards and Amur Tigers; Humboldt penguins in Pacific Shores; Steller Sea Lions and Sea Otters in Stellar Cove; Red-Handed Tamarins and White-Cheeked Gibbons in Primates; Beavers and North American river otters in Cascade Stream and Marsh; Bald Eagles in Eagle Canyon; Mountain lions, American Black Bears, Bobcats in Cascade Canyon; and a high open air aviary for people to walk through (an "airlock" sequential door arrangement keeps the birds at home.)

I am looking forward to the Predators of the Serengeti Exhibit in 2009. It will have Lions, Cheetahs, African Wild Dogs, Caracals, Scorpions, Chameleons, Nile crocodiles, Mongoose, red-billed hornbill and Aye-Ayes.

Lincoln City Geo Coin Hunt

My #2 son, Christopher, and I went to Lincoln City, Oregon on September 27 & 28, 2008 for The 2nd Annual Celebration of Honor and Coin Kick Off. It was a fun (for the most part) Geo Coin hunt.

We had problems with three of the 20 Virtuals. No. 3: The full sentence should have the name of a suspense movie in it not the name of an individual person or group. Luckily I had taken digital photos of the two back-to-back plaques. No. 4: was not the plaque dedicated to Mrs. (and Mr.) Robinson but a plaque 10-15 ft. away partially hidden by bushes. We had to drive back six miles round trip to get the correct answer. And No. 9 was not located at the Police Station (the coordinates) but at the Lincoln City Library.

After receiving our Geo Coins we went back to #20 for "the best burgers, fries/chips and shakes in town." We did several other geocaches, benchmarks and waymarks. Great weather!!

Pendleton Oregon Geo Coin Hunt

My #2 son, Christopher, and I traveled to Pendleton, Oregon for three days of geocaching, benchmarking and waymarking from September 16-18, 2008. We had a Jr. Suite at the Pendleton Red Lion which was a great location.

We found 26 geocaches and benchmarks during the trip. In Pendleton I waymarked a "Survey Gaging Station Shelter House," a Union Pacific Yellow Caboose, and a sculpture "Art Inspiration."

While it was interesting visiting a place where I lived briefly as a child, I was deeply disappointed in the Pendleton What a Kick! geocaches. Christopher and I did nine of the 12 Pendleton What a Kick! geocaches (three were temporarily unavailable/archived). Some of the caches I was not physically able to hunt for, no tie-in between Pendleton's history and the cache locations, way too difficult and time consuming for a Geo Coin hunt, and dozens of ants and wasps/bees but, thankfully, no rattlesnakes.

My favorite geocaches were not part of the Geo Coin Hunt: "A Sculpture Tour of Pendleton" (GCTWCA), "Helping Hands" (GCTP6X) and a Virtual. My absolute least favorite geocache was "Reith Overlook" (GC1A64D)--great view, clever hide but miserable long search in the scorching sun ending in a DNF.

2007 Mt. Hood Territory Geocaching Contest

My #2 son, Christopher, and I did the 2007 Mt. Hood Territory Geocaching Contest. We found all ten caches plus two other caches. We ended the day at the historic Timberline Lodge looking for a virtual cache. We covered over 250 miles. The weather was absolutely perfect -- not too hot and not too cold (except at the 6,000 ft. level on Mt. Hood).

Dedication Ceremony for Interpretive Trail, Fields Bridge Park, West Linn, Oregon

On Saturday afternoon, August 23, 2008, I attended the Dedication Ceremony for the Interpretive Trail at Fields Bridge Park along the banks of the Tualatin River in West Linn, Oregon. The Missoula Ice Age Interpretive Trail is a project four years and #100,000 in the making. Miniature bronze replica of the Willamette Meteorite and Signboards about the Meteorite and the Missoula Ice Age Floods that scoured most of the Northwest were displayed. The Willamette Meteorite weighed 151 1/2 tons. The Meteorite is believed to have been grounded during one of the larger cataclysmic Missoula Ice Age Floods on a hillside in West Linn. It had floated over 400 miles from Canada on an iceberg. It is the 6th largest meteorite found in the world and the largest found in North America and Canada. The Willamette Meteorite is currently on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York City.