Wow, I have two weeks worth to catch you up on. Where do I start. I am torn on Thursday nights now between playing Ultimate Frisbee and going to EdenDale Vineyard for "Jazz in the Garden". It was so pretty to watch the sun set over the vineyard while listening to music and enjoying sampling the local wines. The Britt Festival is going on now and lasts until September. It takes place in historic Jacksonville (a cute little town but almost too perfect) in an outdoor amphitheater. Musical acts from all over play all during the week. Went to see Indigo Girls and Brandi Carlisle. How relaxing to sit on a blanket, enjoy a picnic and watch the sun set while listening to music. Minus the lesbian love fest (sorry I know that wasn't too PC), it was wonderful. Going back to hear Lyle Lovett soon. Still taking tennis lessons and surprisingly getting better. Went hiking up to Pilot Rock with some friends. Reaching the summit was very difficult and involved some actual rock climbing. The view from the top was amazing.
The most exciting thing that I have done recently was my weekend trip to San Francisco. While the trip was more business than pleasure, I loved it. Went down for a conference. Got to visit with 2 cousins that I have not seen in over 6 years. Both live in SF. It was a great and fun reunion. Tried my best to avoid all the festivities associated with Pride Weekend. Also got to visit with Stephen, Nick and Mike at the Giants and Yankees game. Thanks again Stephen for the invite....I had a great time!!! It was awesome to sit and watch a baseball game while viewing the bay and sailboats surrounding the stadium. Even joined in with a few "boos" after B. Bonds was consistently walked and not allowed to hit. Hiked on a trail with my cousins until we came out to a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Was only my first visit to SF, but I will definitely go back and visit again.
Hope everyone is doing well. Looking forward to coming home to visit soon!!!
26 June, 2007
10 June, 2007
Cultural Experiences
Well, nothing too exciting to write about but definitely some cultural experiences to share. A few weekends ago, I went to "Baga Fete". This is a traditional celebration of West African music, dance and culture. The Baga ethnic group is located in Guinea, West Africa. The drumming (by hand, not with drum sticks) was fascinating as they produced rhythms by which the girls danced to. We are not talking the two-step or the waltz but full out African dancing with flailing hands and big movements. At the end, the raising of the "Kakilambe Mask" was performed which is invocation of positive hopes for the community in the coming year. You were invited to dance around the mask and throw what looked like crushed corn. While this was very interesting I must tell you about the location of the event. It was held at Wellsprings which is a natural hot springs spa. Until that night, I had not seen a lot hippy, granola, tree hugging people like I expected to see when I first arrived to Oregon. That all changed. It was like a little hidden community. They had tents, trailers and RVs everywhere. Lots of dreads, long hair, no make-up, tie-dye, flowing clothes, etc. We went to view the natural springs before the performance began. There were several people in the water and walking/lying around. Apparently after 8pm, clothes are optional. I believe it was about 8:30 at that time. You get the picture.
This past weekend, I went with a group of people on a jet boat ride through Hellgate Canyon. If you remember the movie, A River Wild, it was filmed in this canyon. It was a fast, wet ride. We sped over the water very quickly and then suddenly did a 360(many, many times). No staying dry on this ride. We saw a sea otter, 2 bald eagles, osprey, and wild goats on the mountainside.
Coming home for a brief visit at the end of July. Hope to be able to visit with some of you. Miss you all.
This past weekend, I went with a group of people on a jet boat ride through Hellgate Canyon. If you remember the movie, A River Wild, it was filmed in this canyon. It was a fast, wet ride. We sped over the water very quickly and then suddenly did a 360(many, many times). No staying dry on this ride. We saw a sea otter, 2 bald eagles, osprey, and wild goats on the mountainside.
Coming home for a brief visit at the end of July. Hope to be able to visit with some of you. Miss you all.
29 May, 2007
Holiday weekend travels
I know that I said I couldn't top my camping/rafting trip, but I think I did. Congratulations and a big thank you to Matt, my first and only visitor to Oregon. I had so much fun! I will try to give you the abbreviated version of what we did Memorial Day weekend. That Saturday we went on a guided fishing trip down the Rogue River. We caught several fish (cut throat and steel head trout) but no Salmon. We did see them rolling in one section of rapids though. The scenery was great as we drifted down and we spotted wildlife and birds, including an eagle. After a quick nap to recover from our so very tough day of fishing (ha), we walked through Lithia Park in Ashland and threw the Frisbee a while. The trees and plants are absolutely gorgeous. This is no typical park. It is so manicured and so clean. We ate at a local brew pub and sampled the home brew. That was day one.
Day two gets better. We drove down to Northern California through the Redwood Forest and toured the "Trees of Mystery". Saw Paul Bunyan and his blue ox babe. We took a tram ride above the tree line. Absolutely fascinating. These trees are massive. The Brotherhood tree is 19 ft in diameter and almost 300 ft tall. I was a dot compared to that tree. I actually drove my car through one. We stopped at the harbor in Crescent City and watched the sea lions sun bathe while we ate a delicious lunch. We then followed hwy 101 up along the Pacific coast to Gold Beach. We stopped off at many view points along the way. I cannot truly describe how amazing and beautiful the coast line is. These large monoliths just shoot out of the water and the waves crash against the cliffs. Once Matt and I reached Gold Beach, we began to realize we had limited options for going straight across to the east to get back home and were going to have to back- track. But as luck would have it or not, we found a small pass that crossed the mountains led back home. Now there is a reason why parts of the line indicating a road on the map were dotted. For two solid hours, we climbed mountain after mountain on a one-way road that was washed out in many spots. Parts of the road were not paved. We passed a tree with about 20-30 pairs of trees thrown up in it...I have no clue?. There was evidence of rock slides everywhere. I was starting to get nervous and hearing that banjo song from Deliverance in my head. We came around a curve and there in the middle of the road was a huge black bear. My heart was pounding. I have never seen a bear in the wild. Luckily, he was just as scared of us and ran into the forest but not before stopping one last time and staring at us. We continued our meandering with no civilization in sight. At last we began to descend and finally reached a road and saw lights. Turns out, that is the same road that the Kim family was stranded on last year when they found the husband dead about four miles from the car.
Day three would not be lacking either. I had never heard of Crater Lake before I moved here, but wow!! It was formed after a volcano that erupted caved in. It is 2000 ft. deep and the water is sapphire blue. The snow outlined the edges and was reflected in the water. As we drove back down from Crater Lake, we searched and found several waterfalls. We also found the "Natural Bridge" which is were the river flows through the rock created by lava tubes. The water is hidden as it passes through.
There are so many spectacular things to see here and the sheer beauty is amazing. From clear, green rivers to lush, green rolling mountains, I am constantly amazed. I will be here until October now, so feel free to visit. Miss you all!!!!
Day two gets better. We drove down to Northern California through the Redwood Forest and toured the "Trees of Mystery". Saw Paul Bunyan and his blue ox babe. We took a tram ride above the tree line. Absolutely fascinating. These trees are massive. The Brotherhood tree is 19 ft in diameter and almost 300 ft tall. I was a dot compared to that tree. I actually drove my car through one. We stopped at the harbor in Crescent City and watched the sea lions sun bathe while we ate a delicious lunch. We then followed hwy 101 up along the Pacific coast to Gold Beach. We stopped off at many view points along the way. I cannot truly describe how amazing and beautiful the coast line is. These large monoliths just shoot out of the water and the waves crash against the cliffs. Once Matt and I reached Gold Beach, we began to realize we had limited options for going straight across to the east to get back home and were going to have to back- track. But as luck would have it or not, we found a small pass that crossed the mountains led back home. Now there is a reason why parts of the line indicating a road on the map were dotted. For two solid hours, we climbed mountain after mountain on a one-way road that was washed out in many spots. Parts of the road were not paved. We passed a tree with about 20-30 pairs of trees thrown up in it...I have no clue?. There was evidence of rock slides everywhere. I was starting to get nervous and hearing that banjo song from Deliverance in my head. We came around a curve and there in the middle of the road was a huge black bear. My heart was pounding. I have never seen a bear in the wild. Luckily, he was just as scared of us and ran into the forest but not before stopping one last time and staring at us. We continued our meandering with no civilization in sight. At last we began to descend and finally reached a road and saw lights. Turns out, that is the same road that the Kim family was stranded on last year when they found the husband dead about four miles from the car.
Day three would not be lacking either. I had never heard of Crater Lake before I moved here, but wow!! It was formed after a volcano that erupted caved in. It is 2000 ft. deep and the water is sapphire blue. The snow outlined the edges and was reflected in the water. As we drove back down from Crater Lake, we searched and found several waterfalls. We also found the "Natural Bridge" which is were the river flows through the rock created by lava tubes. The water is hidden as it passes through.
There are so many spectacular things to see here and the sheer beauty is amazing. From clear, green rivers to lush, green rolling mountains, I am constantly amazed. I will be here until October now, so feel free to visit. Miss you all!!!!
14 May, 2007
Nature Girl
I survived...I made it almost 3 days without a shower, make-up, bed or the luxuries of a home. Okay, so maybe it sounds a bit exaggerated but it is true. I love camping. We left last Friday night and headed to northern California on a road that curved a lot and followed the river. We were out in the middle of no where. There were 16 of us. We set up camp and after visiting a while around the fire, we all settled into our respective tents. We woke up to the sounds of birds chirping. After drinking our coffee and eating breakfast, we were picked up by a van and dropped off at the river. We had a full day of rafting on class IV rapids. It was so much fun and so exciting. The scenery was amazing as we drifted through canyons made of marble and granite. Occasionally we encountered a small waterfall. Back at the camp, we all changed out of our wet suits (definitely needed those...the water was freezing) and gathered around the fire while dinner was being cooked. We had dutch oven brownies, smores and food that was better than what I normally eat at home. I actually had no problem sleeping in a sleeping bag. The sky at night was beautiful under the canopy of trees. I almost got car sick on the way back due to the curving roads. Went through a small town called Happy Camp...apparently, the legend of Big Foot exists. They have a huge statue there.
Still playing tennis and taking private lessons. I can actually volley for a long time now. Enjoying ultimate Frisbee and even bought some cleats this past weeks...I am serious now. Have been talking with my scheduler. I am more than likely going to extend my contract and stay here until October 12. I have been told the summers here are great. Come visit!! Just in case the rumor spreads (...Seana) I am not a tree hugger, yet.
Before I forget, I want to wish Jon a very happy belated birthday. Also, want to congratulate The McPhails on completing their nuptials and hope they had a great time in Greece!!. Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all.
Still playing tennis and taking private lessons. I can actually volley for a long time now. Enjoying ultimate Frisbee and even bought some cleats this past weeks...I am serious now. Have been talking with my scheduler. I am more than likely going to extend my contract and stay here until October 12. I have been told the summers here are great. Come visit!! Just in case the rumor spreads (...Seana) I am not a tree hugger, yet.
Before I forget, I want to wish Jon a very happy belated birthday. Also, want to congratulate The McPhails on completing their nuptials and hope they had a great time in Greece!!. Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all.
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