Trip to Richland, WA - July 1 - 2, 2011

Catherine (Crazy Cat), Christopher (Dancing Penguin) and I found 18 caches on the way to or at Richland, Washington. We attended the 2011 DTCB Meet and Greet at Columbia Point Park at 5:00PM (Catherine and I each won Geocoins) and did the Richland Geocoin Challenge afterwards finding ten of the 12 caches. We picked up our Geocoins at the Richland Community Center at sunset and wandered down to look at the Sternwheeler "Queen of the West" docked at the Waterfront. We stayed overnight at the Quality Inn in a suite. We found the last two Challenge Caches plus some other caches and two virtuals on the way home to Portland/Vancouver via Toppenish the next day. We had great weather for the trip. There were wildflowers in bloom. The countryside was still green from spring rains.

Friday, June 10 - trip back to Vancouver

On Friday, June 10 I woke very early. I had French toast with syrup for breakfast at nearby Sea Hag restaurant. Later I had a cup of hot chocolate with Catherine when she ate French toast for breakfast at the Sea Hag. We got gas at the Shell Station in Newport, checked the Internet at the library and later purchased a six-pack of bottled water. We found a few caches on the way home. We drove south to Waldport, east to Corvallis and Albany so I could pick up two more DeLorme pages, and then north to Vancouver, stopping briefly for a Starbucks drink for Catherine and an ice cream bar at Dairy Queen for me.

Thursday, June 9 at Depoe Bay, Oregon

On Thursday, June 9 I woke very early. I had oatmeal with brown sugar, raisins and milk for breakfast at nearby Sea Hag restaurant. I found two benchmarks on the Depoe Bay Bridge. I took several photos and looked in the closed shop windows along the street. Later I had a cup of hot chocolate with Catherine when she had French toast for breakfast at the Sea Hag. We visited the Newport Bay Aquarium, found a few caches and stopped by the Yaquina Head Lighthouse so I could get some photos. Again we had DiGiorno Pizza for dinner back at the Condo.

Wednesday, June 8 Trip to Depoe Bay, Oregon

I recently won three days and two nights at a Condo in Depoe Bay in a silent auction. My daughter, Catherine, and I decided to go Wednesday, June 8 through Friday, June 10. The weather was warm and sunny on Wednesday and got increasingly cloudy the next two days. We had Afternoon Tea at Serendipitea. The food was delicious however we did not like the Earl Grey tea. We found seven caches and did not find one as the coordinates were off. We visited Yaquina Head Lighthouse and nearby Cobble Beach. We had DiGiorno Pizza for dinner back at the Condo. I slept in the loft while Catherine had the Master Bedroom downstairs.

Afternoon Tea at the Lavender Tea House

My daughter, Catherine, and I drove to Salem, Oregon where she turned in her application for the Professional Engineering exam in the fall. On the way home we had Afternoon Tea at the Lavender Tea House at 16227 SW 1st Street in historic Old Town Sherwood. The house was built in 1892 as the John Owens Residence. We sat at a table for two at the front window. We each had four tea sandwiches, fresh fruit, three desserts, a large, fluffy sweet cream scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and a pot of tea. The food was delicious!

"South Riding"

Yesterday evening I watched the BBC production of "South Riding" that I had taped over the previous three weeks. The lives and loves of a 1930s fictional Yorkshire town starred David Morrissey and Anna Maxwell Martin. One reviewer wrote "The direction didn’t help. Every shot was gloomy, as if the presence of hope could be symbolised by the amount of electricity you could afford. The domestic scenes all looked dingy... The school was a shadowy labyrinth, with bars of light occasionally picking up the dust rising from the textbooks." Be that as it may, I thoroughly enjoyed the production and plan to read the novel soon.

Trip to Leavenworth, WA, May 13 - 14, 2011

On Friday noon, May 13th, my #2 son, Christopher, and I traveled to the Bavarian Village of Leavenworth for the Annual Maifest - May Festival 2011 celebrating Fruhling (Spring) in the traditional Bavarian fashion. Christopher is the pianist for the Portland, Oregon German Choral Group. We had a motel suite that offered a great complimentary breakfast.

On Saturday May 14th Seattle's premier dance group entertained the audience from 1:00 to 2:00 PM with numerous traditional German dances including the Maipole Dance. Village folks and visitors alike were dressed in Trachten and traditional fare. From 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. three Pacific Northwest German Choral Groups from Vancouver, B.C., Spokane, WA, and Portland, OR performed at the downtown Leavenworth Gazebo.

Christopher and I found caches on I-84 east, Highway 97 north, the one solitary cache in Toppenish, several caches in Leavenworth, Highway 97 south and US 90 westbound. We also found four benchmarks. Christopher got home at 11:30PM. I got home at midnight. It was a long trip made more difficult on the way home by the pouring rain.