Lots of fun and friends at Silverwood

We saved the best for last!!  Theme parks are much more fun with lots of people, so we invited two other families!  The Brown family and the Aab family booked in with us.  Karen and Kenny decided to bring 3 extra kids, just 'cause they like to travel with even more stress!!  With six adults and nine kids we were a bit outnumbered, but they kids had a great time.

Silverwood is an amazing theme park and water park in Athol, Idaho, just north of Couer d'Alene.  David's favourite is the wooden roller coaster - a little too rickety for me!!

Columbia River Gorge

If you have never done this drive, you are missing something!  It is so beautiful.  There are wind surfers and para sail surfers, (bottom photo) sail boats, and huge barges. There are dams, cool rock formations, orchards, vineyards, and a replica of Stonehenge!

Friends in Portland

We had a lovely visit with friends in Portland.  Marci Rose really enjoyed the Voodoo donuts!  Cheryl made a lovely brunch which we ate on their deck.  The view at sunset the evening before was beautiful since this is west facing.  Their neighbourhood is great - lots of restaurants and coffee shops.
We were lucky to catch Johnny in between business flights!  Dinner, brunch, & Marci Rose's Summer Camp Graduation. It was a busy visit!

Voodoo Doughnuts

Apparently Voodoo Doughnuts are a very well known export in Portland, I however, did not know they were famous.  Very yummy, Rianna and my favorite was the Oreo, Sean's the Fruit Loop, and David's the Maple Bacon.

University of Oregon

David and I have a buddy who works at the University of Oregon.  Twenty years ago (ugh, that sounds like a very long time ago, but really it wasn’t) we took a little road trip with Brent.  We raced out of town on the last day of school; David and Brent taught together at Van Horne.  We went white water rafting, watched Fourth of July fireworks over the water in Seattle, and explored the Oregon Coast.  Then we went to the University in Oregon where he had an interview…and he has worked in the intramural department at the university ever since!

It worked out beautifully that he was able to show us around the university after we went for lunch.  They have pretty amazing resources for the athletics department at U of O and their teams, the Ducks.  It just so happens that Phil Knight, found of Nike, is a graduate of that University.  He has been very generous with his donations to his alma mater.  They just finished a multi million training centre for the football players, and we had an inside peek at the brand new basketball centre, as well as the Autzen football stadium.  (Notice the cheerleaders practicing in the background!!)

Any US town that is a University town tends to have a different feel and focus.  We could tell that right away in Eugene.  Not really sure that we can deal with foreign student fees, but Sean sure got a good idea of what life could be like going to school in a place like this!!  University athletics in the States are on a whole other level than anything in Canada!

Interesting Fact - many of the scenes in Animal House were filmed in Eugene, and there are multiple connections to the Simpsons show as well - like the statue of Jebidiah Springfield.

Push Your Limits

Even though we have had many unique and even somewhat scary experiences during our travels over the years, today’s adventure comes out on top as the scariest for me.  (Our drive down the Moki Dugway, also on the blog, is probably scary adventure #2 of the list)  We went to book a dune buggy tour, and ended up taking a Sand Rail adventure instead.  The lady at the ticket office compared the two vehicles as the difference between taking a trip on a bus vs a race car.  Under the “things I know for sure” category…I never need to ride in a race car!

The sand rail is a modified dune buggy, built for speed and agility.  We went up and over dunes that I would have thought impossibly steep.  We went around bowls of sand at such an angle, I was sure we would roll.  Even with a roll bar and 5 point harnesses, the danger was pretty high for my mom radar!

The young man who was driving was obviously very experienced and new what his machine could do.  It is like when snowmobiles go zooming up the hill and then turn at the last minute and come down.  Sometimes we came down, and sometimes we just went up and over.  I cannot remember when I have been so scared!  Half way through my stomach started to protest – maybe not the best ideas for someone who gets car-sick. 

The kids loved it; Sean was over the moon. They were a little worried about me, as the tears streaming down my face were a good clue that I was not having that much fun. Sean loved the speed and the turns, but I think he was a bit scared, too.  In the first couple minutes of the ride we were up to highway speeds – felt like a roller coaster on steroids!  About half way through, we headed out to the ocean and drove along the beach for about 2 miles – that was pretty tame, and my favourite part!  The second half of the ride was just as crazy, but at least I wasn’t as scared, knowing what the car and driver were capable of.  Now I just needed to get through the rest of the ride without throwing up and thoroughly embarrassing my kids! 

I am glad that I had that experience with S & R, but can safely say that I never need to do it again.

North Jetty, Florence, Oregon

Moon, sunset, sand, ocean and dune grass - was absolutely beautiful, and a photo doesn't do it justice!