We had a great weekend to celebrate our anniversary, comprising of both family activities and adult nightlife thanks to the nanny service provided by our hotel.  We stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown Portland, which I really need to plug.  It combines a great location, a grand old building, and creature comforts.  The hotel sits in the Pearl district in downtown, which has many restaurants and nightclubs, is centrally located and near the river, and was a short walk to bike rentals.  It’s located in the historic Multnomah hotel building, which had interesting architecture and wasn’t bland like so many Embassy Suites. The suites have 2 separate rooms (privacy!) along comfortable beds and pillows (a must!) at very reasonable price (plus the bellhop comp’ed the $25 day parking charge which didn’t hurt).  They have a nice fitness room which has windows overlooking the pool, so we were able to work out while watching the boys swim in the pool (everyone’s happy!).  They also include made-to-order breakfast (a generous buffet and made-to-order omelets).

For our first dinner, we walked as a family to a pretty good Thai food place called E-San.  The next morning, we rented bikes at Waterfront Bicycles – they had kid’s trailer bikes so the kids could ride along at our pace – and followed a great path that took us along both banks of the Williamette River.  We had lunch at a great market

For our anniversary night out, Paula and I started with a warm up at a local watering hole, then went to Saucebox, which has a hip, energetic atmosphere and tasty Asian cuisine.  Service was perfectly paced and there only when we needed something.  We would definitely go back.  After dinner, we hit up the Thirsty Lion to see some live music.  Marv Ellis was playing.  He seemed promising on MySpace (I like to preview before going to see acts live), but was just OK live – a little bit too much of the white guy wannabe rapper in him (remember Eminem?).  All-in-all, we had a great night.

The next day we visited Powell’s Books on West Burnside at Nate’s insistence (we told him about the many suggestions we received to go there), which is an amazing book store.  The kids were happy for hours, and we each left with at least 2 books.  Before heading to the Columbia River Gorge, we also visited Washington Park (home to the Rose Gardens and the Japanese Gardens).  Again this was thanks to recommendations we received, and we all enjoyed walking around the park and playing on the teetor totters (which aren’t outlawed in Oregon apparently).

Dynamic Duo: Nate and I are teamed up and ready to go cycling around Portland!

Rest stop: We stopped at the amusement park along the river for a few rides, games, and a corn dog for Nate.

Geese in the road: Portland has great bike paths, but bikers aren't the only ones who use them!

Teetor Totters: The boys enjoyed playing hide and seek in the Rose Gardens at Washington Park, but the teetor totters were their favorite attraction.

Maybe this is why all states should outlaw teetor totters?

New statues: The boys add their own flair to the Portland Rose Gardens

View from the Japanese Gardens in Washington Park - you can see Mt Hood in the background

Watch your step: Paula and Nate hike along Eagle Creek Trail in the Columbia River Gorge area.

Punchbowl Falls: one of the scenic rewards along the Eagle Creek Trail.

Rusty stops to pose for a picture along the Columbia River.

Following Diamond Lake, we headed for Corvallis.  On the way, we met Paula’s parents for dinner in Roseburg (they happened to be driving up to WA to visit her brother).  Oregon has many, many wonderful campgrounds that are state owned, but they tend not to be along the 5 freeway.  So we stay at a cheapee motel in Corvallis. 

Corvallis is home to Oregon State University and supposed to be the quintessential college town, but it was hard to get a good feel for it in a few hours.  However, there was nothing pulling at us to stay longer.  We don’t have a schedule, but we do need something to grab our attention to make it worthwhile to stay in one place.  So after driving around town a little bit, walking around OSU for an hour or two, and eating lunch at American Dream Pizza (something about being on a campus made us want pizza), we headed up to Portland.

With the exception of the 5 freeway, it seemed all of the roads in Oregon seemed to follow rivers or waterways. This is one of the many scenic streams we saw while driving.

Our $12/night campsite at Diamond Lake. This is one place we really wished we had a screened-in enclosure for the picnic table... the bugs were relentless during our Scrabble game.

Mining operation: the boys dug for hours, pretending they were miners, complete with head lamps and laterns. Unfortunately, they didn't find anything of value - they only succeeded in becoming filthy.

Lumberjacks in training: the boys found a floating log that they rolled around Diamond Lake.

Other than driving through parts of Redwood National Park, Crater Lake in Oregon is the first National Park we’ve spent any time at during our trip (many CA state parks though).  Not knowing much about Crater Lake, my first thought as we drove through the entrance was that we finally get to use our National Parks Pass – not that the $10 we saved paid for the $80 we spent, but it was still satisfying.  My thoughts quickly turned as got our first glimpse of the natural beauty of the lake.

If you don’t know much about Crater Lake, let me enlighten you (as I was).  It’s the deepest lake in the U.S. and one of the cleanest lakes in the world.  Visibility is over 100 feet on a good day.  It was formed when the volcano imploded and dropped from 12,ooo feet to 6,100 feet in a day.  It must have been a sight to see, and even though it happened nearly 8000 years ago, the stories the local Indians told about the event survived through the ages.  There’s a lot of interesting stories and facts about the lake itself, but you’d appreciate it much more if you visited yourself… which I highly recommend… the volcano boat tour is a must do.

Our campsite at Crater Lake: the public (gov't owned) campgrounds are almost always the best because you have more space (in your site and from your neighbors) and better scenery. This one didn't disappoint.

Secret Agents: One of the boys favorite games when we're camping is to pretend they are secret agents. This is one of the hideouts they set up.

One of our first views of Crater Lake... it's so BLUE!

Worth the hike: It's a mile hike down to the dock where you pick up the boat to tour Crater Lake. Going down is the easy part... you have to hike up after your tour is over.

On the tour boat (yes, that's me in the picture)

"Phantom ship" - so called because it vanishes into the background as you get farther away

"Take a picture, Daddy" - Jake appreciates the scenic backdrop (but of course knows it's better if he's in the picture)

Crater Lake again

And again... this one shows "Wizard Island" - the only real island in the lake. Some tours will drop you there for 3 hours, but we missed that boat

Exhausted but happy: Nate and Jake are glad to be back in Rusty after the hike back up from Crater Lake (the equivalent of 65 flights of stairs took its toll).

I’ll post some more pics later on… I only have my iPhone with me at the moment, not my camera, and I had an iPhone catastrophe today.  All my data got wiped out – it was connected to my computer doing a software update when my computer shut down – and it had to be restored to factory settings.  I didn’t lose anything irreplaceable, but it’s a pain in the arse none-the-less.

The boys amuse local teens as they splash each other at a fountain in downtown Ashland

Waiting for the Green Show: the boys are transfixed by the rehursal of the modern dance routine, performed to Cole Porter music.

We ate breakfast to music at Key of C coffee house (it's a little blurry, but you get the idea)

Why'd the deer cross the road? Apparently they do it all the time in Ashland...we saw a few cross the road while wondering around a neighborhood near our hotel.

Both Ferndale and Eureka were worth a stop.  Ferndale is like visiting the Midwest in the 1950′s… there are no stop lights, the mainstreet is quaint and lined with all the stores you need, the pace of life is much slower (there are no lines or traffic anywhere!), and the small town center is surrounded by farms.  Eureka, on the other hand, is trying to remake itself as an artsy, more cultured place to be – and the downtown waterfront area is in the midst of a transformation from industrial area to walking village of (somewhat) hip shops and restaurants.

On the way to Oregon, we stopped at Myrtle Beach on the Smith River in Redwoods State Park for some spontaneous cliff jumping.  The water looked so clear and deep and refreshing, when we climbed down toward the water, the best way in seemed to be to jump.  We hadn’t planned to go swimming, but it was too tempting, so we went in our clothes.  Nate and Jake in their underwear.

More later… including video of the “cliff” jumping…

Didn't quite make it - Rusty tried to fit through the drive-thru tree in Leggett, CA

Jake during his morning routine of playing with his building set at our Hidden Springs campsite in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Paula and Nate play word games in Rusty.

Eureka! We stopped in Eureka for dinner and some live music - they were having a free concert on their boardwalk area in downtown.

Paula and the boys standing in the crowd for the free concert. The band was Santana-esque, and the bikers and hippies were out in force (you can't see well from this picture) - or maybe that's just the demographic of Eureka.

Boys admire the wooden scuplture garden of Romano Gabriel perserved in a downtown Eureka storefront. (You'll have to Google this one if you want the back story.)

The photo doesn't do it justice, but we came across a herd of Elk just north of Eureka in a viewing area right off Hwy 101.

Forgive me as I don’t have good measurements – I always make pesto by taste. I add more of an ingredient if needed. You’ll need:

• Basil (fresh, rinsed and stems removed – I used most of a bunch from the grocery store)
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Butter
• Yellow Bell Peppers (diced or cut into thin 1″ strips – I used half a medium sized pepper)
• Asiago cheese, freshly grated (I used a good aged Asiago as it’s my favorite, but you could also use Parmesan. I think I used about a 1/2 cup)

Chop the basil leaves finely or add them to a food processor or blender. Add just enough olive oil to moisten the leaves (the butter from the peppers will also add liquid, plus you can add more later if it’s too thick – but you don’t want too much). Add a pinch of salt and the cheese. Mix together in the food processor.

Sauté the bell peppers with butter and a pinch of salt in a fry pan (preferably an iron skillet). You want to brown the peppers and the butter. The browned butter will give the pesto a nutty flavor. Add the bell peppers and butter you cooked it in to the ingredients in the food processor and blend. It will be a little lumpy as the bell peppers will stay in chunks – don‘t worry, that’s just how you want it (add a nice texture).

Serve the pesto by tossing with a pasta of your choice. We used a whole grain spaghetti cooked al dente. We served with shrimp and broccoli over the top of the pasta (sautéed separately with butter and a pinch of salt). It makes for a tasty meal!

• Dancing in the kitchen: Paula and I must have rocked out for at least an hour while the boys watched a movie.  The neighbors walked by and couldn’t help but stare…
• Go outside?  Not us! The house we rented had a massive yard with an expansive view of the coast, trees to climb and a big deck… but did they want to play outside?  No… the walk-in closet in their bedroom was too much fun!  (Think fort)  I guess they’ve had enough outside time on this trip…
• Are we almost there? Hiking to a 30 ft waterfall in Russian Gulch State Park.  Jake kept asking if we were there and saying he was tired, yet he was running out front of us all.  The boys climbed around the waterfall and held races to the top of the opposite bank.  Good thing I packed a snack!
• Blackberry pie: We picked blackberries during our hike in Russian Gulch State Park and made a pie the old-fashioned way (from scratch).  Delicious!
• Cold showers: One thing you look forward to when getting a break from camping is a real bathroom… but we had no hot water!  Paula had to wash her hair in the sink it was so cold in the shower.  (We had a guy come out, but he didn’t fix it.  We’re still waiting to hear back from the vacation rental place… staying in Spendocino ain’t cheap, and you expect all the plumbing to work right!)  OK, there was a hot tub, so don’t have too much pity on us.
• Making dinner in a kitchen: Maybe the reason Paula and I danced in the kitchen so much was, well, because we were in a real kitchen (but then again, maybe not ) .  I love camp food – but I also love cooking in a real kitchen.  We made 2 great dinners… local caught red snapper fish tacos one night, and basil and yellow bell pepper pesto with shrimp on whole-wheat linguine (Harvest Market has great sea food and produce).  We did have ice cream out one day at great place called Frankies (their pizza looked tasty too, but we were just having a snack).

Elk Cove in Mendocino County - one of many postcard-like views along the coast.

The "Dolphin House" - we became quite fond of the house just below the cottage we rented... for it's view, the character of the building, and the little dolphin that juts out from the left end.

The secret deck of the Dolphin House: While we were nosing around, we discovered a hidden deck on the property of the Dolphin House... not bad, huh?

Paula and Nate dancing: OK, so I wasn't the only one Paula danced with...

Watching the sun set from deck of our cottage.

Are we almost there? Hiking to a waterfall in Russian Gulch State Park

Redwood house: Jake and I take a seat inside an old redwood stump.

We made it! Nate and Jake atop the waterfall.

Obligatory family shot at the waterfall

A view of Russian Gulch State Park from the west.

Blackberries! Not sure which was the most fun... picking the berries, making the pie, or eating it.

Jake enjoys strawberry ice cream at Frankie's in Mendocino.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the campground we last stayed in was great (Gualala River Redwood Park)… see the pictures below for a few of the highlights.  Tonight, we’ll be enjoying cooking in a regular kitchen and sleeping in a king bed.  The cottage is appropriately dated – think Brady Bunch with a woodsy touch – and it suits us just fine.  Tomorrow we’ll spend more time exploring Mendocino and Fort Bragg, as well as Russian Gulch State Park.  We’re now in territory that neither Paula nor I have ever been, which is definitely exciting.  The weather is glorious, the natural beauty is awe-inspiring, so who knows how long we’ll stick around?

My view as I'm writing this latest blog posting (from the deck of the cottage we rented for a few days)

Playing with Giants: Nate and Jake enjoy climbing on (and in) the enormous trunks of redwoods at our Gualala River campsite.

A river runs through it: Ok, not right through, but a river runs right next to our campsite and the boys were desparate to go fishing.

"Dad, you caught a big one!" Not quite... but at least we caught something. Here I am with with a very small rainbow trout.

Better than fish: Nate didn't catch a fish, but he caught a frog. It provided for hours of entertainment that a fish never could.

Wildlife spotting: we followed an otter for a few hundred yards up river. He seemed oblivious to us, and we had a great view. Better than the zoo! (We've seen deer too, but this seemed more noteworthy.)

Hot-diggety-dog: The boys cook their hotdogs the real man's way - right over the open fire!

Of course, I will keep my eyes on the road (thanks for the concern).