Last Weekend's Adventures

In anticipation of the summer semester that started today and in celebration of the end of Spring semester (not to mention our first anniversary), we took a week off work and enjoyed some relaxing time.


We left on Thursday the 17th and headed east into the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. That night we camped at Claire Engle Lake just north of Weaverville. The night was quite warm, but we built a fire anyways and enjoyed the setting sun reflected across the lake.




On Friday we headed north through Klamath Falls to Crater Lake National Park. The main road that circles the lake was mostly closed, but we were able to drive to the rim on the south side and see how beautiful and blue it is. The lake is magnificent and we look forward to returning to hike and camp near it once the snow melts!




That night we camped at Diamond lake which is just north of the Crater Lake NP. There were a lot of people there: fishing, biking and hiking around. There were also a fair share of mosquitos, so once again we built a great fire.


We planned on camping the next evening west of Bend. On the map we saw many opportunities for lakeside camping, but each attempt to reach said lakes resulted in closed roads. I couldn't believe the amount of snow still there, but at higher altitudes sometimes the snow lingers well into June or even July. We headed into town to try to find a room at the inn, but due to some big event (Pole, Pedal, Paddle?) most places were filled to capacity. We did manage to find a nice large suite with balcony overlooking all the crazy construction going on in Bend. That place is really growing and fast!


On Sunday we headed to Portland to spend some time with our good friend Robyn. She had to work a bit, so we took our time and stopped along the way at Smith Rock State Park. Famous for its rock climbing, it was hard to miss on the horizon!



We also decided to swing by Mount Hood, but not long before we reached the base it started snowing. The mountain was socked in and we never even saw it!

Proxima estacion: Portland and Seattle!

End of the first Semester

CD survived his first semester teaching. He still had to endure getting dressed up for the commencement!



The weekend was spent with graduation parties and activities. Otherwise I decided to paint our bedroom. New updated pictures will follow.



in the meantime we went bowling (but not Rock 'n' Bowl-ing) at Harbor Lanes, Eureka's premier bowling alley!

All work and play

The last two weeks have been busy with work, but the weekends seem to bring plenty of activity. The weather has been pretty sunny and warm. Today CD said that the car registered 85 degrees out!

Last weekend (a week ago that is) we got out and obtained our first dishwasher. It is sooo nice! I haven't lived in a house with a dishwasher since high school- on the plus side, I consider myself an excellent washer of dishes. This baby really cleans them! CD installed a new countertop and we removed the nasty tiles on the old area. CD also made a large drawer to fit in the space next to the dishwasher to put our recyclables (to his right in the pic). In the meantime we had been keeping things in bags in the kitchen before heading to the recycling center. It's great to have things put away and not always in the way or an eyesore!







We also did some yard work. The side yard contained some unruly ferns (and weeds) and a few large oakleaf plants. It just looked so unkept that I ripped it all out and put in some smaller plants: rosemary, lavender, chives, campanula and a few lupine that will hopefully fill out the space once they grow. The vegetable garden is growing and doing well. We look forward to beets, carrots, arugula, sweet peas, zucchini, peppers, tomato and spinach. The latest addition is basil which I hope to harvest abundantly and load up on for next winter's pesto. Let's hope the snails and slugs keep away!





As I mentioned before, the weather has been so enjoyable that it's been hard to stay indoors! Saturday we ventured down to Ferndale (the victorian village) to check out their first farmers' market of the season. I think there were 3 trucks selling mostly plants. We continued walking around and checking the town. Sooner than later we found the community center where Cinco de Mayo celebrations were taking place. We watched the 5th and 6th graders do some typical dances from Michoacan and can only assume that all the regions were represented, but it was so crowded that we didn't stay to find out. Next we headed out to the beach at Centerville. It had some dunes (which of course means 4-wheelers!) and we took a nice walk down until the tide wouldn't let us pass any further.

On Sunday, we got an early start so that we could head to the beach again. I sealed the front porch since it was nice and warm (but not too warm).




Next we went in search of a kite to take to the beach. Success! We got our cute little kite, but when CD tried to make a go at it, it was too gusty and wouldn't stay up. We just lounged in the sun (yes to sunscreen!) and walked around the low tide flats.




Today we went back to work...