Stargazing and Caving in Oregon!

Its hard to believe, but I get to check three things off of my list for this post!  
5. Star Gaze
111. Visit and hike through local caves
112. Visit local hot springs

Chris and I took another mini-vacation, this time we went down to Oregon.We spent the first three days of our trip visiting my family in Portland. Chris met my Godmother, Katie, and my Gran for the the first time. It went really well - it is clear that he knows how to make a good impression.

From Portland, we drove down to a place called Breitenbush near Detroit, Oregon. I wish I had taken tons of pictures there because it was so beautiful, but it felt like running around with my camera would have been highly inappropriate. We stayed in a tiny little cabin for the night and wandered the property. They have beautiful natural hot springs, a natural steam room fed by a geothermal vent, medicine pools of different temperatures, and a gorgeous lodge that serves three square organic and vegetarian meals a day.

It was such a serene and natural experience. At one point Chris and I walked within 10 feet of a doe and her baby. We bathed naked in the hotsprings and discovered that many couples had brought their children with them. It made for an interesting discussion - I think there is something to be said for exposing young children to real, natural adult nudity (normal, average, every day bodies) as it might keep them from believing that *only* what we see in the media is beautiful. At the same time, however, I also think it is important to be aware of other "kidless" adult's experiences in such a relaxing atmosphere.

The experience at Breitenbush was pretty unbelievable. I can't wait to go back and experience it during the colder months.

From Breitenbush we headed down to Bend to camp for the evening. We had plans to visit the lava caves the next morning. Chris and I set up camp and built our fire, then we lay back with our feet to the fire and took turns reading to each other while the other took in the stars. We eventually grew quiet and just soaked up the starlight. I love these moments with him. It makes me so happy to know that we both love to take time to appreciate the simple things in life.

The next morning - I look like a simpsons character in our tent!

He took this and then said he couldn't imagine a better picture

After packing up our camp we made it a point to stop and check out "Big Tree" which we had seen a sign for on our way in. It sure was big!

500 year old Ponderosa Pine

 I love the gnarled branches - reminds me of an old man's fingers

Putting it into perspective - note the sign and the "normal" tree in the background

Big Tree sat right next to a beautiful slow moving river. The morning was heavily scented by the forest and so tranquil.

A root system that looks like a sea monster

Sometimes I have to force him to show me a "real" smile

Though we had been planning to head to the lava caves right away, instead we headed up to Paulina Peak to check out the views from 7800 feet of Newberry Crater. We were so glad we headed that direction!

The Three Sisters

Paulina Lake from Paulina Peak

Mountains in the distance

Chris making me nervous by getting too close to the edge

A giant basalt flow from Newberry Volcano

I love him :) 

East Lake in the distance

We could not have had more beautiful weather

The man and his binoculars

After drinking in the delicious view, we headed for the largest of the lava tubes - a hike that would take us 2.2 miles round trip!

Before entering the cave - got my warm gear on!

The mouth of the lava tube

This hike was so incredible. After about 100 feet in we were swallowed by darkness. There was a pathway with railings for the first 500 feet, and we quickly reached the rough earth. Chris used his headlamp and I had a flashlight. It was forty degrees in the pitch black darkness! The tube was like a cathedral, with high rounded ceilings and a sense of sanctity unmatched by anything man-made. 

The deeper into the cave we walked, the fewer people we ran into. Chris commented that the walls and ceiling looked like an intestinal tract - quite appropriately the cave seemed to swallow all light and sound. As we neared the end of the cave we saw next to no one. We stopped often, turned off our lights and sat in complete and utter darkness, our senses heightened by our lack of sight. We listened to the water dripping from the ceiling and walls, working to erode the rocks to add to the sand beneath our feet. 

My flashlight started to dim and die when we were on our way out. I got a little nervous and clung to Chris after I shut it off and could only rely on his headlamp. I used his hat to cover my freezing cold ears and we trudged more quickly toward the daylight. I was relieved when we finally made it back to the 90 degree heat. What a difference!

The mouth of the cave on our way out!

I make an excellent cave-person!

Chris post-cave-conquering

Warmer and Happier!

Hiking that cave was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done. I am so glad we did it! We had meant to visit more of the caves, but by the time we ate some lunch in Bend we were homeward bound. We weren't too disappointed though, because we definitely made it to the coolest one. 

On our way back toward Portland we passed by Mt. Hood. It was so gorgeous up close I had to make Chris pull over and let me take a picture!

Gorgeous Mt. Hood!

It was a fantastic long weekend, and one thing is for sure - I love mini-vacations with my man! We travel so well together - setting a few goals and making loose plans, then letting the wind take us where she will... Pure Satisfaction!

Renaissance Faire

My cousin Caroline was in town on the first weekend in August, so I tossed in a few activity ideas from my list to see if I could cross something off - lucky me, we decided to hit up Camlann!
 109. Go to a renaissance faire
Camlann is a Medieval Village that is right in our own backyard! It literally took us 5 minutes to get there, and I could not believe we had never checked it out before. 

My lovely family (+Caroline) in front of Camlann's entrance

Me and the Momma

Our first stop once we entered the village was to watch a highly entertaining performance by the village trickster. He entertained the kids with his sleight of hand, made all of the adults laugh. Then, after requesting a lamb's bladder from the audience and being met with crickets, he settled for choosing a young lady volunteer to demonstrate his "famous lamb's bladder spectacle.

 His victim is selected

He explained the trick to everyone, and prepped his volunteer, then the next thing we knew he was poised with a sword to the young girl's neck!

Scary!

The kids were blown away when he pushed the sword quickly through the young girl's neck, and then the blade came out clean and she was completely unharmed. It was pretty amazing. The kids just ate it up.

We continued to wander the village and talk to the various villagers - the woman in the clothing shop (you could rent fabulous costumes for the day) and the couple who worked at the village eatery.

 Bathroom for Fair Maidens

The Village Inn and Pub

Bathroom for Young Gents

Our next stop was to watch the village blacksmith at work. It was pretty sobering to realize what a labor-intensive job working with metal used to be. The blacksmith had his young son's there to help him out - they were clearly thrilled to be spending their summer break fanning the fire for Dad.

The Blacksmith hard at work

I posed with a guy in a fabulous costume - he didn't even work there... 

We moseyed on over to the village choir - three women singing folk songs that had some lovely harmonies. They worked hard to stay in character, but there were a few amusing moments when they lost it.

The Adorable Miss Caroline

The ladies of the choir

Continuing on our way, we passed a booth with medieval flags and a woman sitting spinning wool. We also passed a candle maker and Dad was talked into walking around and around in a circle to dip a string into a tub of wax to create a candle (I have no idea why I didn't take a picture of this) and the rest of us learned a few traditional dances - it was so goofy and fun!

Medieval banners

Spinning and dying wool

My photo documentation of this outing was not ideal - I should have a few more pictures of our activities. After we finished out dancing lessons it was time to wander toward the exit. We bypassed an archery demonstration because we were a bit pressed for time - Caroline had a plane to catch.

 Near the exit of the village

The modest accommodations of the the time

It was a brief little visit, and I think my family probably never needs to do it again (it was deliciously kitschy). It was very appropriate for Duvall/Carnation, and I'm glad we checked it out! I am loving having the motivation to do things that are out of the ordinary!

Fireworks and Romance

I'm really not quite sure why it has taken me a month to write this blog. I could say that I have a lot of legitimate excuses, but deep down I know that if I really wanted to I could have forced myself to sit down and write it one night. I think the real reason it has taken me so long to write it is because the weekend of the fourth meant so much to me - I have so many feelings surrounding it, that it feels daunting to try to capture the pure magic and bliss that I felt during every moment.

Well.... here goes...

Chris and I took off on Saturday the 2nd of July for a trip out to the peninsula. We hopped on the ferry at Edmunds and headed for Port Townsend. This meant I got to check something off my list!

17. Weekend Road Trip within WA State


We drove out to Port Townsend with gorgeous weather, and no particular plans in mind. We had all of our camping gear, and no reservations anywhere, so we knew it was a possibility we might end up squatting.

Once we arrived in PT, Chris took a random turn to take a look at some beautiful houses, and - lo and behold - we ran into the cutest Victorian B&B I have ever seen. Oddly enough, they had 8 vacancies. We jumped on the opportunity, and were so glad that we did because two hours later the place was completely booked. This fortuitous turn of events allows me to check something else off my list!

140. Stay the night at a bed and breakfast

Our room was the loveliest one in the house - with a view of the bay! 

The entry way to the house 

It was difficult to capture the beautiful soft glow that lit our bedroom. 

Our gracious hosts 

Our view out our crescent bedroom window 

We wandered in PT on Saturday evening and we happened to stumble upon their monthly art walk, so we got to nibble and sip our way through the many galleries along their main street. There are a lot of really talented artists in PT! After wandering, we had a delicious dinner near the Marina. I  developed a stomach ache by the time our entrees rolled around, so Chris gallantly stepped up to the plate and ate both his duck entree and my halibut. Needless to say we were both a bit of a sorry sight by the time we got back to the Inn and collapsed on our deliciously comfortable bed.

The next morning was a bit gray - this lighthouse stood across from our B&B 

 The F.W. Hastings House

Oh boy did we take advantage of this!  

Highly recommended!

On Sunday morning we were fed some well-prepared Eggs Benedict and a delicious array of fruit, fresh juice, toast, and my favorite Chobani Greek Yogurt. We socialized with the other guests, though we could tell right away that none of them were our couple-soulmates. Saturday evening did not fully satisfy our window shopping desires, so we headed back down to the main street for a couple more hours to appreciate PT's fine wares. 

I had to have a picture under the Siren sign!

Chris bought me a few lovely pairs of earrings - he is so sweet and generous! He likes to buy me jewelry and I am developing quite the collection. It makes me feel so special the way he quietly tells me I should pick something out that I like. Such a doting manfriend.

When we had had our fill of the shops and galleries, we headed out to Fort Worden State Park to visit the lighthouse. The clouds had burned off at this point and the weather was just luscious.

Delicious homemade hummus and cucumbers for a snack 

The lighthouse is lovely, though we found it a bit underwhelming 

More exciting was the gorgeous view  

I took about 50 pictures of Chris monkeying around - essential 

Happy and Relaxed  

Hey Good Lookin'

With the weather cleared up we ran back to the B&B to snag a picture of this gorgeous clock tower. We had taken a few with the clouds, but they did not compare. We were off for the tip of the peninsula - our first aim Pillar Point to see if they had room for us to camp there. 

Beautiful Building!

When we arrived at Pillar Point we were disappointed to find out that the campground there was closed. The scenery was incredible, but the wind was biting and chilly. 

Incredible greens and blues 

Alone with the ocean 

Looking back toward the east 

Such incredible light - makes me want to get better at capturing it

After our stop at Pillar Point, we continued west toward Neah Bay to find a place to camp. The Makah Indian Reservation was buzzing with activity - the buying and selling of the BIG fireworks. We found a campsite on Makah Bay which was full, but decided to just haul our things out to the beach. 

My triumphant man having succeeded in finding us another beautiful place to stay 

 Me happy :) 

 He wanted to get me in the light of the setting sun

Sunset on Makah Bay 

Our campfire - roasting of s'mores did occur. 

We had the beach almost entirely to ourselves. The privacy was perfect. We set up camp and built our fire and sat admiring everything around us. It was slightly chilly, so we put on our layers and happily sat warming ourselves. As soon as the sun went down the campers came out to the beach from behind the trees and started lighting off all of their enormous fireworks. We were sitting between two dueling shows and they seemed to go on forever. 

I looked at Chris and told him that this was officially the most romantic night of my life. Everything felt so perfect - being close to him, feeling like the fireworks were going off just for the two of us. We munched on s'mores and cuddled next to our fire. 

At one point when we were in mid-conversation about something completely unrelated Chris barked at me, "Alright already, I love you!" It seemed as though he had been struggling against the feeling and all at once had given up. I couldn't do anything but laugh at him. Of course, I already knew he did, and I knew I loved him, but it was so funny to watch him explode. I had never been told that for the first time in quite such an aggressive manner... silly man. 

The next morning I took a walk and left this for him to find.  

 I wandered and tried to capture all of the beautiful things I was seeing

The real beauty is in the details 

Campers! 

 I love sand dollars!!

 Another lone man with the sea

 There were a zillion sand dollars

 I'm not sure what it is, but it looks like a heart

 Crab skeleton

Fresh faced and unshowered at the beach :) 

After packing up our campsite and loading up the car on Monday morning, we headed out to Cape Flattery for a little hike. Well, we thought it was going to be a hike until we saw incredible old and obese people on the trail and we revised our thinking a bit. Now we knew we were in for a stroll. 

 The tippy tip of the Continental US!

All in the details 

 These webs extended all the way up this tree creating what seems like a multi-story building

 Dead tree with an interesting shape that reaches up high toward the heavens

Seaweed! 

Gorgeous Cape Flattery 

We bird watched here - a family of peregrin falcons 

 

Tons of great species of bird to watch

The weather could not have been more perfect 

Mermaid Lagoon 

And a mermaid! Siren, to be exact... 

My wonderful manfriend :)  

A cave - I want to go caving so bad! 

Out at the tip of the point - happy couple! 

Love these colors 

More loveliness 

Giant Cedar 

 Chris loves it when I wear his clothes - His shirt was the perfect extra layer

After our awe-inspiring hike, we took off for the long journey home down and around the peninsula. I insisted that we stop in Forks - it had to be done. I geeked out for about an hour. 

"Shirts are optional" 

The fanfare was so humorous 

 Oh we were dazzled!

Off in a lonely corner... all that is left of Forks' great legacy as the logging capital of the world.  

Twilight seems to be like a virus that has taken over the town 

Inside the official Twilight store 

 I am totally team Jacob.

But Edward is still good too :) 

After an hour spent in the frighteningly kitschy town of Forks, Chris was losing his patience with my giddy school girl obsessive behavior. We ate a really crappy burger (Seriously, no one has thought to bring decent food to the good people of Forks! Could be a gold mine...) and headed on our way. 

We arrived home at 7 and I was super excited because I had convinced Chris to watch Finding Nemo with me. After watching the pelicans and seagulls out at Cape Flattery I desperately needed him to understand why I kept saying "Mine? Mine? Mine?"

His neighbors put on yet another fantastic fireworks show, but I doubt anything will ever top our incredible experience the night before on the beach. We ended the weekend feeling so happy and content with each other, so blissful. 

Who knows why it took me a month to write this?!