Hot Springs, Wineries, and Wind Storms...

King Estate Winery

Last weekend, March 11-13, we decided to stick around Cottage Grove and do a bit of sightseeing locally. On Saturday we spent several hours in the afternoon driving around to some local wineries. We went first to the King Estate Winery, which is one of the largest and most well known wineries in the state of Oregon. The winery has 1,100 acres of land with 465 of them dedicated to their organic vineyards...it is actually recognized as the largest organic winery in the United States. Along with the vineyards it also has 30 acres of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. King Estate has a restaurant at the winery in which they serve all local and organic food...most of it grown right here on the property. There is also a bakery on the site in which they prepare all their own baked goods that are served in the restaurant. It was a very cool place to visit and walk around and do some tasting of their world renowned Pinot Gris wines.

Sweet Cheeks Winery

After visiting the King Estate we went about three miles up the road to the Sweet Cheeks Winery where we did some more sampling of the local wine scene. Sweet Cheeks has a great outdoor area where Katy and myself decided to sit and relax for a while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

McCredie Hot Springs

On Sunday we drove up into the foothills of the Cascades to go to the McCredie Hot Springs. To get to the springs should be about a 45 minute drive for us...the key word..."SHOULD" as it took us over 2 and a half hours to get there! When we left it was raining pretty steadily, but as we've learned over the past two months living in Oregon, weather here is quite fickle and so can be pouring rain one minute and then be bright and sunny in the blink of an eye! So, we thought nothing of the rain and started driving fully expecting sunshine at the next turn. Well, as you can guess by the length of our trip we did not encounter any sunshine but rather the worst wind storm Oregon has seen in the past 15 years! We were heading up into the mountains on a twisting two lane highway bordered by the typical plethora of Oregon evergreens. The wind was whipping like crazy (we'd find out later that wind gusts were as strong as 65mph) and not long into our trip we were forced to slam on the brakes as the truck in front of us had a pine tree come crashing down in its path. The driver jumped out of his truck to try and move the tree and so I jumped out as well to give what help I could. Within just a couple minutes there were 10 of us lifting this tree together to move it off the highway. After this little adventure we kept pushing on towards the hot springs, but about another mile up the road we encountered another downed tree. At this point Katy raised the point that it might be a good idea to head back home and visit the springs another day...but I was set that we were going to make it and that no little gusts of wind would stop us. Well, after six more trees down, some Paul Bunyan like men who just happened to have chain saws in their trucks saving the day, and another two hours in the car, we finally made it to the springs.

There are no signs letting you know you're there, so we were not positive we were in the right spot. We parked on the side of the highway and found a beaten foot path that we assumed must lead us to the Hot Springs. We started walking through the rain down a muddy and uneven path along the Salt Creek River not sure if we were headed the right way, but just when we were ready to turn around we saw steam rising above the water and knew we had made it. There are certain Hot Springs in Oregon whose temperatures can reach 200 degrees Fahrenheit, but the springs we were at ranged anywhere from 95-130 degrees! There were definitely areas of the spring that were a little cooler then others, and areas that were a little too scalding to sit comfortably in. It was a very cool experience to soak in the springs and we hung out there for over an hour enjoying the warm water and the gorgeous mountain scenery of the running river and the huge pine trees.

Reading by flashlight

Our trip home was much easier as the storm had passed, but we returned to bad news...the wind storm had knocked our power out! We ended up being without power for two and a half days and did not get it back on until Tuesday night! So...no water, no heat, no electricity! On Monday night we broke down and used bottled water to wash each other's hair and we ate dinner out three nights in a row as there was no cooking being done in our house. We were very thankful for the power to come back on Tuesday night...especially since the NCAA tournament was starting up on Thursday!

Washing each other's hair!

This past weekend we were the laziest we've been since coming to Oregon...we took advantage of the weather and did a lot of playing outside with the dogs and we watched a lot of college basketball. On Sunday we returned to the King Estate Winery to eat lunch at their restaurant....it was very tasty! They informed us that all their meat comes from just a couple miles down the road at an organic farm, so Katy thought we should go tell the pigs thanks for allowing me to eat one of their brethren as I had a sausage with my meal!

King Estate Winery Restaurant 

Keep Portland Weird

On Saturday Eli and I drove two hours north to Portland, Oregon while our landlady, Paula, was nice enough to keep an eye on the pups.  It was something I’ve looked forward to for a long time with the main reason being that we planned to meet our dear friend Tara Stewart to spend the weekend exploring and catching up.  We lucked out on weekends as the well-known Saturday Market was kicking off it’s first weekend of the year.  It is an impressive set-up and is the longest continually running open air market in the United States that comprises several blocks of vendors selling locally made art, clothing, food, etc. There is also live music and the occasional street preacher.  After several hours exploring the market we walked to Stumptown coffee which is a local favorite and on the “must-do” list Rachel Dirito created for us.  She had spent two months in Portland for a clinical rotation and told us all the best spots to hit!!  After leaving Stumptown we strolled around the city by foot.  We came across an open area with live music and lots of dancing known as the Pioneer Courthouse Square.  This was a people-watcher’s paradise.  It was drizzling at this point but it did not stop anyone from having a good time.

View from our table!

The big pink building
is hard to miss!

After exploring the city, we headed to the Portland City Grill.  Paula, our landlady, recommended this place.  She could not remember the name but told us it was the big pink building which was very easy to spot.  She was right…you can’t miss it.  Just before 4:00 people start lining up to get a good spot by the window of the bar which is located on the 30^th floor and looks over the city, the Columbia River, and you can see Mount Hood in the distance.  We rushed in and luckily Tara used her skills to get us great seats.  We enjoyed piano music, food, drinks, and watching UNC whoop Duke!!  Eli asked our waitress if she could put on the game and she was more than happy to but had to come back three times to ask, “now, what are the names of the teams playing.”  We knew we were far from home when someone was not familiar with those two schools and the rivalry it entails, but we cheered loudly and proudly anyways!  Following dinner, we walked back to our hotel, The Jupiter, which was just across the Burnside Bridge and within walking distance to all that we had done.  There were two bands playing in the bar attached to the hotel.  We really enjoyed the first band, the Foxstreet Allstars.

The wait for VooDoo Doughnuts!

On Sunday morning we walked back downtown to finalize our shopping and get Voodoo doughnuts.  We have read that these doughnuts are a must so we were going to get the doughnuts at any cost….even if it was an hour and a half wait!!  Eli initially waited while Tara and I shopped.  After we waited and waited, it was finally time.  Eli and Tara both got the Voodoo doll doughnut and the maple bacon doughnut, which really had slices of bacon on top!!!  We got our box and headed to Stumptown to enjoy the doughnuts and coffee.   After a wonderful weekend with Tara we headed back to Cottage Grove to gear up for another week.

For the love of traveling!

This past weekend we loaded up the dogs and drove five hours down to Redding, California. What was so exciting down in Redding, you might ask. Well, nothing. We drove there because that was the closest place to us in the state of California where they do live scan finger printing on Saturdays. This was something Katy needed to get accomplished so she can get her California license in time for us to be there by the beginning of May. Oh, the things we do for this traveling adventure! It was, however, a pretty drive as we had Mt. Shasta in our sights most of the way. Regardless of the drive, it was a productive weekend as Katy got fingerprinted, had passport size photos taken, and forms notarized all so she could finish and turn in her paperwork for state licenses in Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and California! Sunday was a great day because it was a lazy day! We played outside with the dogs, went running, and ordered some pizza while watching the UNC basketball game.

Tuesday I was back at the community garden and was able to bring a few goodies home with me to share with Katy. They cook lunch for the volunteers every day the garden is open, and everything they cook with is grown on the property (except for a few spices and the bread is donated by a local bakery). So, needless to say the lunches are awesome and I have realized that I need to diversify the vegetables that I eat. Katy and I eat a salad most nights, but every night is the same...spinach and, depending on what we have, some combination of peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, and carrots. Well, Tuesday night I made a salad solely with the handful of veggies I picked before leaving the garden, and then made a homemade salad dressing that one of the workers from the garden told me about. The salad had in it cabbage, kale, chard, peeled red and yellow beets, red and yellow beet leaves, corn salad, and the dressing was made with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dark brown sugar, a little salt and a little pepper, and then you caramelize some fresh garlic and fresh leeks and mix that into the dressing.

On the far left is the leek, beside that at the top is the cabbage, to the right of the leek is the red beet and beside that the yellow beet. Directly to the right of the yellow beet is the corn salad and then the colorful leaves is the chard. At the very bottom is the kale. 

My little helper...

 We got some snow today, but, surprise, not what the weather report was calling for. We were supposed to get between 6-12 inches in the valley, so Katy spent the night down in Roseburg with some of the other hospital staff to ensure they could make it into work. However, when we woke up this morning we had only a couple inches and its now the afternoon and the snow is all gone except a patch here and there. Despite only getting a couple inches, Colby enjoyed the snow we did get as she raced around in it for the good part of an hour.


 After Colby played in the snow for a while she tagged along with me as I went down to the barn. Every time I go to feed the animals Colby tags along. When I spent a couple days in the barn doing some work, Colby was by my side the whole time. She sits there and checks out the horses or watches me to make sure I am doing a thorough job. Barlow never really got into the habit of following me into the barn. He has always been one to listen to the beat of his own drum, and so he was usually off doing his own thing. Sadly, his own thing turned out to be repeatedly getting shocked by the electric fence (four times now) and so he typically enjoys his outside time from the comfort and safety of our deck. Katy and I are working with him to convince him its only the fence that will hurt him and that in fact the whole property is not haunted as he seems to believe. He usually goes about 10 steps off the deck to use the bathroom and then right back up...but we're working on it. His first several weeks on the farm he was zipping all over the place and constantly going swimming in the pond...so we're hoping to get him back to enjoying this beautiful setting. At least I have Colby to keep me company wherever I go around the property....I think in another life Colby was a farm dog..or maybe its just the border collie coming out in her!

The Civil War

hanging out with Colby

Five weeks ago today we left Virginia to start our road trip. We got to Oregon on January 21st and today marks one month that we have been living in Cottage Grove.  Crazy! Mom and Dad recently sent Katy and myself a care package (its like they think I am back overseas, only really I'm just on the opposite side of the country) with some goodies and a letter. Here is an excerpt from that letter that I thought should find its way to the blog...

"It's very strange having you the whole way across th country, but we're glad you get to have this experience...just don't forget where your home is! I read something the other day that made me think of you two..."the world is a book and those who do not travel it read only a page." So read and enjoy!"

This week we got some typical Oregon weather....rain...and lots of it! Not hard rain, just a steady drizzle intermixed with periods of sunshine with the rain still falling. We woke up several mornings with a light dusting of snow, and then on Friday we got some heavy snow during the day...but after it laid down close to an inch it was gone within the hour as the snow switched back over to rain.

The Grass Roots Garden

Thursday night we went into town  to the Axe and Fiddle to listen to some music and have a drink. It was a good time and a place we'll definitely go back to. Saturday we took the dogs running in the morning and spent the rest of the day in Eugene. We went to the "Civil War" basketball game between Oregon and Oregon State at Oregon's new stadium, the Matthew Knight Arena. After the game we went to the Wandering Goat to grab some coffee and then drove over to The Grass Roots Garden that I have started to volunteer at. I go up to this community garden every Tuesday and Thursday and work from 9am-3pm. There are three of these gardens in Eugene and last year they harvested over 140,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce for Food for Lane County, a non-profit food bank that serves Eugene and the surrounding area. Its an amazing organization and is run by wonderful people and I feel very fortunate to have found this opportunity. After visiting the garden we did some shopping and grabbed dinner at Steelhead Microbrewery.

A little sampling

We spent the morning on Sunday being lazy and then went up to Eugene that afternoon to meet up with my good friend from high school, Laura Hutchinson. Laura is based in Coos Bay with the Coast Guard. She is the Executive Officer of a boat with her and fifteen other guys on board...she's a brave woman! We met her and three of her friends, all pilots from the same base, at Nankasi Brewing Company to have a drink and then we went to a Mediterranean restaurant downtown for dinner. It was a great time and wonderful to see Laura and catch up.

Now on to our second month here in Oregon!

Birthdays, snowmobiles, and Crater Lake!!

Eli and I were very lucky to have grown up in beautiful Staunton/Fishersville, Virginia tucked in the valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We were never short of gorgeous sites whether heading down to Smith Mountain Lake, going to Douthat State Park, going to the beach, hiking Humpback rock, and even just hanging out in Historic Downtown Staunton.  So while we are on a quest for beauty across the United States, we often think of the beauty back home both in the land and all our amazing family and friends.  We miss home and all that it entails dearly, but are enjoying seeing the different types of beauty that has been spread across the US…and now specifically in Oregon.

Eli likes to call himself blue collar
and myself white collar..whatever! 

This week was a laid back week from Monday through Friday.  Friday, Feb. 11^th, was Eli and Seth’s 26^th birthday.  We wish we could have celebrated with family and friends back home but instead Eli chose his BigMac birthday dinner and a movie after he put in a hard day of work pulling up more thorn bushes and cutting down trees.

 

We got up Saturday morning and drove about 2 and a half hours to Diamond Lake.  It was another beautiful drive along the North Umpqua River up into the Cascades.  It was 55 degrees out and sunny.  We didn’t see snow until about 15 miles from Diamond Lake, where there was several feet of snow on the ground.  Right after we checked in we rented snowmobiles for 3 hours, which was an amazing experience.  There are over 300 miles worth of trails in and around Diamond Lake through the evergreens.  We decided to take the trail to Crater Lake, which is the deepest lake in the United States formed from a volcano.  Crater Lake is a difficult site to see as the whole park is usually only open during August and September due to the usual 40 to 50 feet of snow that it gets each year.  Snowmobiles are the way to go as there was a trail that took us right to the top where we could look over the stunningly blue lake and see

Looking over Crater Lake!

 for miles around.  After admiring the lake, we buzzed around other trails including a trail that went all the way around Diamond Lake.  Once snowmobiling was done, we checked into our Jacuzzi suite and got ready for dinner as we were famished from the trails.  We ate both dinner and breakfast at the lodge which sat right the Lake and had a huge stone fireplace which I loved to stand in front of because it kept me warm and toasty.

A little scary...this is a rock
slide that happened on
our way back home.

The frozen-over Diamond Lake

We got up Sunday and headed back to Cottage Grove, where the pups had been kept by our landlady, Paula.  As we drove in our two pups and Spot were sprinting all over the farm.  We enjoyed the nice weather outside for a bit and then got our workouts done.  Now we are going to make chicken enchiladas to finally celebrate Eli’s birthday the right way with his favorite dish that his parents make and watch the movie, Food Inc.  We definitely had another nice week in our adventure!  J

To the Coast!

This past Saturday we loaded up the dogs and headed for the coast. We decided to follow the advice of our landlady and go the back roads along a scenic route. We drove along the Umpqua River for most of the trip and drove past an Elk Reserve where we pulled off to enjoy the sights. After about an hour and a half we were at the small coastal town of Reedsport. From here we took Highway 101 and headed north towards the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. Once at the dunes we unloaded the dogs and took off. From the top of the dunes we could see the ocean, but once we started hiking down we lost track of the water (we could still hear it and smell it). We felt like we were in the forest as there were trees and flowers all around us. We certainly did not feel like we were at the beach, and, just a tidbit of information about Oregon....they don't call it the "beach", they call it the "coast". It was a beautiful hike and after about a mile of walking down the dunes and through the woods, all of the sudden we were right beside the ocean! We had the entire beach all to ourselves and so we let the dogs run a little bit and get wet.

 After our hike we kept trucking north on highway 101, which runs right along the coast and provides some pretty amazing views. The coast in Oregon is much different then the beaches of North Carolina and Virginia. Instead of miles and miles of sandy beaches, there are miles and miles of rocks and steep cliffs. Our next stop was at the sea lion cave. We took an elevator 208 feet down into the largest sea cave in the world where you can view hundreds of sea lions lying around and swimming in the water. Just being in this cave was impressive enough, but being able to view the sea lions in their natural habitat was definitely a highlight of our time in Oregon so far!

 After seeing the sea lions we drove just a little farther north to the Heceta Head Lighthouse, which is supposedly the most photographed lighthouse in the world. It was a mile hike to see the lighthouse, and so once we were done walking it was about 5 in the evening and we had left Cottage Grove at 11, so needless to say we were ready for some food, and since we were at the coast, there was no doubt about what we were having for dinner! We drove into old town Florence which is a nice area right on the water that has shops and restaurants. After doing a little shopping we went to a place called the Bridgewater Seafood Restaurant for dinner....we knew it must be good because of its name! The two of us split an appetizer of crab cakes and salmon cakes, and then for our main course we had a fettuccine pasta with homemade marinara sauce that had salmon, scallops, and shrimp in it! It was a delicious meal and to top it off we even had desert...a hot fudge brownie sundae! It was a great day and by the time we pulled back into our driveway Katy was knocked out in the passenger seat and went right inside and to bed....it was only 9:00pm!

Katy on skype with June beside our deck!

Eli with Jack...they've come to expect treats!

On Sunday we enjoyed a gorgeous day of blue skies and temperatures in the 60s! We played tennis in the morning and then went up to Eugene to go to the 5th Street Market Place to do some shopping and grab lunch. When we got back home we enjoyed spending time with the animals and being outside, and then we settled in to watch the super bowl...which came on at 3:30pm for us! It was another great weekend and now we're ready for week 3!

Spot

Blue

June

Rex

Week 2 in OREGON!!

WIPED out after WORK!!

After Eli pulled up thorn bushes
all day his hands were torn up!
I made him wear socks on his
hands with ointment that night!

This week was a busy week at and away from our cottage in the woods!  Eli began the week working on the farm digging a trench for the line that goes to the electric fence which keeps the animals in the correct pasture.  Then he got his first score with craigslist.  We have been told that as soon as something is posted on craigslist in this area that within 5 minutes there are already about 30 responses.  So getting jobs are hard around here!!  Eli worked for a gentleman that owns rental properties and said he would definitely be calling Eli back because he did such a good job.  Eli worked on a hill digging up blackberry and other thorn bushes for 15 hours!!  While he was working hard, I was getting my feet on the ground at Mercy Medical Center.  I have definitely been kept busy and am enjoying meeting the locals.  As I walk through the hospital I occasionally get a smile on my face because I remember that I am a “real therapist.”  It is fun to finally be doing what I want to do after all those years of school.   I have my eyes set on doing inpatient rehab for my career, but this is a great facility to get my feet on the ground with good co-workers!

UMPQUA icecream!
Eli came to eat lunch with me on Friday :) 

As for our free time this week, we spent most mornings trying to keep up with Shawn T doing insanity and watching Modern Family or basketball in the evenings.  We had our landlord, Paula, over for dinner on Wednesday and had Ed and Jan’s newly famous Vegetable Pie!  It was great to get to know her better.  We have definitely lucked out as the dogs are in heaven and we are enjoying our adventure!!  To the coast this weekend…more later! J