sandboarding, sleepovers and science

June 12, 2009

Florence, Oregon to Portland Oregon

Sand boarding on the giant dunes was something new to all of us. We met up with the fellow who invented the sport back in the 70's and he outfitted us all with the proper equipment. Honeyman State  Park was the best place in the area for the sport and was beautiful to boot. It took us all a few minutes to get used to the feeling of gliding down the hill with our barefeet strapped to the board but soon we had the hang of it and we spent a glorious day in the sun whizzing down the sand slopes. You get a bit dirty  climbing the hill  but the state park provided showers for the campers and we qualify so after a day of some awesome exercise we were off to Pacific City for dinner at the popular Pelican Pub and to find some camping

The local brew  and the food at the  Pelican Pub lived up to it's name. We just happened to entering the pub during  the last 2 minutes of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Our boys refused to sit in the seats the waitress had found for us and instead had their eyes glued to the tv set. The game ended without  a single reaction from the surfing, sand boarding and yachting set. They may as well have been watching an infomercial.

 After a good feed we drove a few miles to  the stunning Cape Lookout State Park for a sleep before heading into Portland to see Susie and Judy ( friends Liz met in Oaxaca at a cooking class)

Portland is a great city and our friends live in a very hip neighborhood within walking distance of some great cafes. restaurants and grocery shopping. Sellwood was where we would spend the next 5 days ( 2 days longer than anticipated ) as we needed some engine work done on the van and we needed to wait for parts. Of course that meant we didn't have our sleeping quarters and Susie lives in a small house with just one bedroom. It was time for a sleepover in the livingroom! Thank goodness Susie comes from a large family and is used to crowds! 

Day one was spent watching the gay pride parade and attending the Portland Saturday Market on a Sunday. We think it's much more interesting to see the market after a gay pride parade than at any other time.

Day 2 we cycled to the OMSI ( oregon museum of science and innovation) we think its innovation- could be industry.

Anyway, we ate and drank very well in Portland. Liz got to go to Trader Joes and the boys got loads of new Quicksilver threads from Susie ( she works for the company which makes her exceptionally cool in our boys eyes)

We LOVE Oregon and have already thought we need to come back here and spend more time. The camping is amazing!!

-Liz