Spam disappointment and Lava beds

This week was pretty mild compared to the past few. Still taking tennis lessons and thought I was getting better until this past session. Let's hope next week is better. Anticipating Wendy's arrival. She is coming to visit with me for about a week. I am so excited.

Friday night was devoted to cleaning up my condo. Saturday, I was so pumped about attending the Spam Festival in Shady Cove. This is 1 of 3 official Spam Festivals in the world. Having never consumed Spam nor attending a festival devoted to Spam, I was intrigued. All of my excitement quickly fizzled. I missed the parade because I was stuck in traffic. Once I arrived in Shady Cove and made my first loop around the booths, I realized this was no more than a glorified flea market. Only one booth had Spam paraphernalia. At least the people watching was good. So my friends and I opted for eating at a Mexican restaurant on the river. Not exactly Spam, but good food and a great view of the Rogue River. Seeking more adventure, Stephanie and I ventured out to find Butte Falls. Let's just say another disappointment. I was expecting at least 100 ft falls or more...it was about 10. At least Saturday night ended on a good note. Went to a pub to hear some blue grass with several people. After watching the incense, infused hippies dance barefoot on the dance floor, we all decided by default (Ally) to join in. It was a knee-slapping, toe-tapping good time!!

Sunday was no disappointment. Went with several friends to the Lava Beds National Monument. This turned out to be more than I expected. Over the last half-million years, volcanic eruptions on the Medicine Lake shield volcano created a rugged landscape dotted with cinder cones, lava flows, spatter cones, lava tube caves and pit craters. The caves were first developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1930's for public access. There are over 600 caves. Being as we only had a day, we were only able to explore 3-4 caves. Complete with our hard hats (or as they call them "bumphats") and flashlights (which are a must), we crouched, crawled under and over rocks, and performed the occasional duck walk to miss the low and sharp cave ceilings. It was a little eery as you walked deeper and deeper into these caves and farther and farther away from the light, not knowing what was ahead. Several of the caves have ice floors. Some of the caves were closed off due to bats. We finished off the day viewing petroglyph point, a formation created when volcanic tuff erupted from the floor of ancient Tule Lake to form an island. Waves undercut the cliff, and early people paddled out in boats to carve images in the rock. There is more Native American rock art here than anywhere else in California. Modoc Indian stories are still told about this formation. It was also very interesting because the weather has created crevices and now prairie falcons, great horned owls, and even Canada geese make their nests there. It looked liked someone had randomly poured white paint all across the huge rock...but not so. Just bird poop!

Starting the count down. Will know soon where I am going next.

Star gazing and Sea Lions

Wow, I have two weeks worth of things to catch up on. Let's see if I can make it the abbreviated version. I will start with this past weekend, since it is fresh on my mind. Drove to the coast Friday night to Bandon. Stayed in a cute little inn that overlooks the Coquille River flowing into the ocean and "Old Town Bandon". Walked down into this cute little Sea side town with tons of character and charm and started off Saturday with breakfast at the Minute Cafe. Walked around for a while and explored the many shops. Particularly enjoyed the hand-made candy and chocolate store...free samples, yum. Even the beer candy was good. That's right beer candy. Anyway, their specialty involves cranberries. For those trivia buffs, Bandon and the Oregon coast produce the majority of cranberries in the US. Ocean Spray has contracts with most of the farmers. So learned about the bogs and sampled berries. Also, visited an art gallery and finally did what I have been saying I was going to. I purchased some art painted by a local. And of course, I bought an ornament. For those of you that don't know it, I buy Christmas ornaments from every place that I visit. The only thing is, it has to be something representative of that area or something that I did. I hope to one day have a Christmas tree full of ornaments from all of my travels.

That afternoon, went to the West Coast Game Park Safari. There are free-roaming wildlife that you can pet and feed. In total there are 450 animals representing 75 species. A little stinky and tricky to walk around (watch where you step)....but fun and interesting. Drove along the coast and reached Face Rock. There are tons of off shore rocks and rocks near the shore with caves that you can explore. Absolutely beautiful!! After playing on the beach and taking a little siesta, headed back to the boat launch in Bandon for a little kayaking in the Coquille. Wasn't brave enough to head out into the ocean, but did make it far enough to see the lighthouse. Paddling was difficult with all the currents and totally made me exhausted. Luckily, had enough left in me to eat at the Wild Rose which had scrumptious, fresh seafood in a cozy atmosphere.

Sunday was rainy but ended being my favorite exploration. Kept driving up the coastline to a little town called Charleston. Visited Sunset State Park which had amazing views of the cliffs, seascapes, and crashing waves. A little farther up, at Simpson Reef and Shell Island, from the overlook you could see and hear endless numbers of Seals and Sea Lions. I have never seen anything like that. At the tip of the Cape, Cape Arago, was another great place to view the rocks and crashing waves. Spotted a humpback whale making its migration. Also visited Shore Acres State Park. I truly cannot describe this view...was what I call a "go God moment". Walked around the botanical gardens (formally a private estate in 1921) and marveled at the displays of floral and scenic beauty. Not wanting to get home late, started heading back. Just when I thought my adventure was over, spotted a sign for Elk viewing. Little did I know how much viewing there would be. The first field had about 8-9 elk just sitting there. Down the road, another field had about 20 or so. Overall, a great weekend!

So I won't bore you, I will make the rest short. I just have to mention the star gazing. Last week went with a large group of people to the top of Mt. Ashland to view the Perseid Meteor Shower. I don't think I have been closer to the sky nor had that view. The meteors sailed across and lit up the sky as their tails faded. One actually looked like it exploded. Everything was so clear up there. Also played in the park one day with a group of people. We were celebrating Julie's half birthday. It was complete with relay races and singing half of the birthday song...you would just have to be there. Went rafting again on the Rogue which was fun and visited an art festival in Shady Cove. Walked around Ashland and sat in the shade of the trees in Lithia park listening to Blue Grass music. Still having a blast and loving the West Coast. Whew...I think that is it, give or take a few details. Hope you are all doing great.

Wow is it hot!

Finally made it home for a much needed vacation. I have become quite accustomed to working three months and then taking a month off. So, extending this contract and not having my month off has been difficult. Traveling back home across the country was an all day affair. All of my flights were delayed but I managed to arrived only 30 minutes behind schedule. As I walked out of the airport in New Orleans, I suddenly remembered something...heat and humidity. I instantly felt that sticky, hot feeling. My hair screamed and frizzed out. Ah, to be back in the south.

Anyway, moving along. Visiting with my family and friends was wonderful. I just needed some more time. You don't realize how much you miss everyone until you are around them. My niece and nephews are growing like weeds but are so much fun. My dad is up to his nose in tomatoes right now. My mom is enjoying her new dining room table which is so big my nephew designated the chairs at each end as the "king and queen" chairs. My brother is all geared up for football (he is a coach). Life as we all know it, stops during football season. My sister is busy with the boys, and they are a handful-cute-but a handful.

Life in the south is just as I remember it, except for one thing. I cannot forget to mention my house. I have a new tenant in my house that I am currently renting out. So, I wanted to do a walk through to make sure that she was taking care of things. When I left my house a year and a half ago, it was cute, manicured, and one of the nicest houses on the block. Let's just say that I was very disappointed when I did my first drive by. The house is hiding behind all of the over grown plants. The yard needs to be mowed. There is a basketball goal just sitting in the front yard. There are some metal things laying up against the side of the house. And I most certainly cannot leave out the large cement lion statues that are sitting in front of the house at the edge of the sidewalk, my ranch style house. The lions are very out of place. Hopefully my chat with the tenant and the rental company will correct all of that. The real bummer of my whole trip was the gaping hole in my house from rotting wood that now has to be repaired. Oh the joys of owning a home.

I finally made it back to Oregon but only after rescheduling my flights about five different times. Flying across the country is no easy task. I am not looking forward to returning to work but I am looking forward to more exploring. I already miss my family and friends from back home and I am looking forward to returning again in October. Hope everyone is doing well.