Japanese Garden Photos

Portland, OR

From beer and doughnuts to roses and zen, Portland really does have a little bit of everything!

Our second day in Portland was spent in Washington Park. This is a big downtown park with everything from gorgeous public gardens, to the Portland Zoo, to soccer fields and tennis courts. I think I was originally the only one excited about seeing the rose garden. It is the largest test garden for roses in the US, and it really is beautiful. I thought it would be fun for us to each find our “favorite” rose. Nicholas found a beautiful peach/orange rose called “Strike it rich”, Lloyd found a purple rose that smelled really nice, and I was surprised that it was a pure, sparkling white rose that got my attention. My favorite was called the Maria Shriver (which worked out well, because I really like her) and not only was it a beautiful white, but it smelled really nice. That was one of my requirements, the rose had to be beautiful and smell great! I tried to press Garrett to “pick a favorite” but he just wouldn’t. Something about “not being into roses”…

After the rose garden we hiked up to the Japanese Garden. I read that this is one of the most authentic Japanese Gardens in the US. We were all very impressed with this one! The garden is divided in to areas by time period with an emphasis on natural elements, stone and water, and an occasional metal sculpture, like a crane, to represent long life. Many of the elements are arranged in groups of five for the five directions… north, south, east, west and centered. Oh, and what’s the difference between a rock and a stone? A stone is simply an intentionally placed rock. That’s what the tour guide told us!

There were two areas designed as large Zen gardens that were filled with small pebbles, a few large rocks (stones) and several swirl designs made with a special rake. Nicholas asked if we could turn our backyard into a Zen Garden. Lloyd told him we could but he wouldn’t be able to play out there anymore. He thought about it and then said that would be ok. He could just play guns at his friend Jake’s house. A peaceful, meditative garden / gun play…. At least he understands yin and yang.

Garrett also really enjoyed the Japanese garden. I think he liked the design so much that he may have even offered to help Lloyd make our yard a little more Zen like!

The Magic is the Hole

The Magic is in the Hole!

We love Portland! Martha got us to the Voodoo Doughnut Shop without a problem! This was our first downtown stop after dropping the camper at the Portland RV Park.

The Voodoo Doughnut Shop is a total hole in the wall kind of place, which attracts a real mix of tourist and locals. The line to get in, at 3:00 in the afternoon, was down the street and around the corner. This place is most famous for the “Voodoo” doughnut- a chocolate covered, raspberry jelly filled doughnut, shaped like a voodoo doll which comes with a little pretzel stick so you can poke it like a real voodoo doll. I had read about this place a couple of years ago and it just sounded crazy! I knew I would have to check it out when we got here.

I don’t think Lloyd was nearly as impressed with the creative doughnuts as I was. He basically handed me a $20 and left the kids and I in line while he went and wandered around a bit. The choices once we got in the store were amazing! Garrett went with a rather disgusting looking “oreo” doughnut, Nicholas had the classic voodoo, I had an orange “tang” (yes, it was covered with real orange tang dust), and I couldn’t help but get Lloyd the “maple-bacon” which, just like it sounds, was a maple glazed doughnut with strips of bacon on it. There were lots and lots of crazy/disgusting choices, so it was really hard to choose!

After we ate doughnuts we walked around the arts district for a bit and then stopped in a pub to try one of the many locally brewed beers. Our first afternoon in Portland was spent eating doughnuts and drinking beer… a good big city kind of day!

The Magic is in the Hole… This is the logo for the doughnut shop. I picked up a bumper sticker for the camper with this design on it. We have been collecting stickers from the various parks and places. The other voodoo bumper sticker I wanted read “I got VD in Portland!” I thought this was hilarious, Lloyd… not so much.

More Pictures

Oregon

3 weeks to the day…

Three weeks to the day we left Winston-Salem, NC, we arrived at the Pacific Ocean. Pretty awesome. We pulled into Nehalem Bay State Park and the kids immediately ran over the sand dunes to the beach. Lloyd and I set up the camper and wandered over the dunes towards the kids and the ocean. The dunes were filled with blooming wild flowers, and the ocean… well, while the sand and dunes look remarkably like the outer banks in NC, the big difference is the mountains. The huge, gorgeous, amazing mountains and the wild, jungle-like forests!

Between the tall trees, the ferns, and the lush greenery, it feels like a tropical rainforest. You almost expect to see little monkeys swinging from the trees. Or on an extra special day, a unicorn!

Note to karen: Yes, that was a gum wall. You have a good eye for that kind of stuff! ;-)

Seattle photos

Seattle, WA

Happy July 4^th and 5^th!

We spent the 4^th of July weekend in Seattle, WA, at Pete and Rhonda’s house. Pete is Lloyd’s brother and he is the president of a bank out there. They have a beautiful condo on the top of a building downtown. The view of the city is phenomenal! We spent lots of time at the infamous Pikes Market. The flowers and fruits and vegetables, and gourmet breads and baked goods, were incredible! The art and jewelry and crafts were also really neat. I bought some raspberries and postcards. Garrett bought a pack of Pokemon cards and Nicholas got a plastic robot character from the Simpsons show. It’s neat that my kids are so into local handicrafts.

As most of you probably know, Starbucks started out here. The chain was named after a ship character in Moby Dick. We went to the original Starbucks and it is the only “chain” store allowed in Pikes Market. We also did a really fun “Duck Tour” of the city and waterways and passed 37 Starbucks during the tour. The lure of coffee is pretty strong out here!

On the evening of July 4^th, we had a courtyard party with Pete and Rhonda’s neighbors. It was really nice. We met some really interesting and creative people and the food was super!

We did the Duck tour on Sunday morning. I wore the “Journey at Forty 2009” shirt that Bobbye gave me but the message didn’t show up well in the picture. We went ahead and paid the $20 for official photo. I would not have normally purchased something like this but it was actually a good photo, and it was my 40^th birthday and I figured that might be the best picture I get.

We spent the day downtown and later that evening went to the top of the Space Needle for dinner. Garrett fussed when he saw the menu ahead of time because he didn’t like anything on it and while they had hamburgers, they came with Gouda cheese. Garrett knew he wouldn’t like Gouda cheese! The idea that he could order a burger without it just made no sense to him.

By the time we got in the elevator and made our way up to the observation deck, things got better. I think the kids forgot we were there for dinner. When we were finally seated, the kids were thrilled to learn that the entire restaurant rotated, and they had a kid’s menu!! Garrett was able to get a burger without Gouda!! Nicholas had a small tenderloin steak with potatoes and fruit. They both had Italian sodas. Lloyd and I had a bottle of wine. The food was actually very good as was every drop of the wine! Lloyd and I split a few really good appetizers and a seafood pasta dish. Everything was delicious! Our dinner reservation was for 8:30 and this worked out perfectly for watching a beautiful sunset and a gorgeous night sky. We even had a perfect “Sleepless in Seattle” moon. Oh, we did see that neat Sleepless in Seattle houseboat while we were on the Duck Tour. It’s currently on the market for 2.5 million.

My 40th birthday was a really great day! I also loved all the emails, the facebook and blog comments, and the phone calls! While I am having a super time on this amazing trip, I do miss you all and your comments and good wishes make me feel connected and close to all of you. Thank you!