Portland, Oregon Adventures

For the past month I've been going with Bob down to Portland for some caching.  He's all about the numbers and the milestones and Portland is one of the best places to "get numbers and to achieve milestones."

The first time we went we did a lot of urban caching.  There were a bunch of areas that no one takes care of them very well.  It kind of takes the fun out of it when you can't find them or we find out they have no been found for several months because they are missing and the cache owners do not take care of them.  Especially when you have a quota for the day, which we do when we go with Bob.  The last few times have been the bike path runs by GeoSpaz and his team.

Each time we go down there, we try to get at least 50 caches or more.  We figure we drive the two hours down there might as well rack 'em up!

So far we've gone down about 4 times and have gotten at least 350 caches.  We will probably continue to head down until the weather turns on us.

Some memorable moments include:

• Finding dildos and condoms next to a cache zone.  The tree will forever been known as the dildo tree.
• Smashed hotdogs on the I-205 bike trail.
• Fun graffiti all over the PDX area.
• Everyone who uses the trails in Portland smoke.
• Needles in parks.
• Places where bums steal and hoard their stolen items and belongings under shrubs.
• Weird sculptures and art placed all over the city.
• Weird homeless people who yell obscenities at people.
• Random people sitting in the middle of a bike trail talking on their phone.
• Tons and tons of garbage, glass and cigarette butts EVERYWHERE.
• Cartlandia (an area of just food trucks)  http://www.cartlandia.com
  8145 Southeast 82nd Avenue  Portland, OR 97266

Mount Hood from NE Portland, Ore.

Enjoying a sunny day!

 Gresham, Oregon after completing the I-84 Bike Path.

The beginning of the I-84 Bike Path.

Inside a forested part of a baseball park in Portland.

Bob retrieving a cache on the MD Path along the Columbia River.

Bob had a small stint in Gresham, Oregon as a small child.

Bob peddling along the I-205 Bike Path.

Me caching along the MD Path in NE Portland.

I had a hand in finding this cache along the I-205 Bike Path.

Next adventure:  Psycho Vertigo, northwest of Shelton, Wash.

10 Years Ago, I was a Freshman at WSU

Go COUGS!

I can't believe it's already been 10 years since I stepped onto WSU's campus as a freshman.  I felt the same way when my 10 year high school reunion approached all of a sudden.  Whether you're prepared for it or not, 10 years flies by way too fast.  It really doesn't seem like that amount of time has passed already.  I feel like I haven't done anything since then.  When I put it into perspective I actually have done a lot in those 10 years.  I just don't have a full time job, I live with my parents, I have a piece of crap car, I am not married and I don't have kids, unless you count my cat as a kid.  I am just thankful I do not have responsibilities I can not provide for or that I made a huge mistake by marrying someone and it ending in divorce a few years later.

That first year of college was tough.  It was weird not being around family every day.  It was weird waking up with an alarm (at home, mom woke us up), my habits changed, I had to wash my own laundry but had a schedule (which I washed my own laundry at home anyway), I had to deal with lots of drama on my floor.  Finding rides anywhere especially back home for holidays were almost impossible, I did get lucky throughout the year.  Meeting people and becoming friends with them was pretty easy.  I really wasn't there to find a boyfriend.  If something happened so be it, it wasn't the focus on why I was there.  The hardest part about college was finding your routine and how to balance out everything.  I balanced everything very well.  I got to do a lot of things and found time for my studies. 

Me in front of my dorm sign, Fall 2002.

Me and some of the people I hung out with my freshman year.

 Me and Megan watching a Coug game, this was the year we went to the Rose Bowl.

Throughout those 10 years, I have learned a lot about other people and mostly about life itself.  I believe if everyone can afford college do it, it is worth it in the long run even if the economy doesn't allow you to get a job right away.  You learn more life lessons at college than you would if you didn't go.  I can pick out the people who didn't go to college to those who did.  They seem more seasoned and more aware of what's going on in the world.  I had a great experience.  The only regret is not getting a job right out of college.  Other than that, I know things will work in my favor.

Ape Event: Tunnel of Light, Snoqualmie Pass

This event has also been on the calendar since February.  I got up around 6:45 and got all my stuff together.  I did a tune up on my bike the night before, WD-40 and pumped up the tires.  I made a sandwich and grabbed a few drinks and put them in my cooler.  Bob rolled up about 7:30 and loaded my bike in the back.  I put my stuff in the truck and off we went.  We met Mike at the store in McKenna.  And we were off to Hyak/Snoqualmie Pass.  We stopped at one of the North Bend exits to drop off Mike's truck.  We had planned to ride the Iron Horse Trail from the tunnel down to his truck, roughly 18-20 miles total.  We found out most of those caches have been archived, so it really wasn't worth it.

We arrived about 15 minutes before the actual APE event started.  We parked the truck, got our stuff together, took the bikes out, went potty and were on our way through the tunnel.  We thought there would be at least one or two caches we haven't gotten yet.  I guess not.  We took some pictures and ate our lunch.  We sat at a picnic table at talked to some cachers from Walla Walla for a while.

We went back through the tunnel.  I wish we would have brought bikes last year.  We flew through it.  We got back to the parking lot, dropped off some stuff in the truck, went potty and hit up the eastern side of the trail.  There were four of them.  I figured since we are here might as well do them right?  We headed off.  They were very far apart from one another.  We had no trouble finding them and each of them had some really cool views.

On our way back, Mike got a flat tire and continued to ride it until the tire and tube came off.  Then he walked it back to one of the parking areas.  We figured no one was going to take it.

We decided to go for the island cache off of I-90.  I've been staring at it for about a year now and since we were here I was going to do it whether Bob or Mike wanted to or not.  It was about the right time of year to go get it.  Part of the lake bed was dry enough to walk out and grab it.  We saw some kayaks heading out towards it.  We had Bob go get his truck while Mike and I went to check it out.  It was a muddy walk in some parts but not that bad.   Then we came to an area that probably is covered in water year round.  We met a cacher from Clackamas, Oregon.  We talked to him for a bit.  The people in the kayaks were his grandkids he sent to go sign the cache.  Since we both grew up by the river, this was no big deal.  We took our socks and shoes off and walked across the 10 foot wide river.  We got to the other end and but socks and shoes back on.  We headed towards the tree island.  We had to actually climb up the rock face and onto the top of it.  We heard the ammo can open and close.  We figured it was one of the grandkids signing it and putting it back.  We got up there and he said, go find it!  Haha.  Finding it was easy.  We opened it, signed the log, enjoyed the victory and put it back.  We still haven't seen Bob show up yet.

On our way back down and to the river we saw his red truck.  Once again, socks and shoes off, walked across and put socks and shoes back on and then walked across the muddy-dry lake bed.  We weren't sure if Bob was gonna get mad at us for going to get it without him.  I don't think he really cared as long as his name got on it.  We thought about going for the oldest cache in Washington but we decided to save it for another trip.

We went across the freeway to Gold Creek Lake and trail area.  We parked the truck and headed around the loop.  It was a very pretty area.  I'd totally go again.  The water was so clear!  We grabbed two caches here.

We walked back to the truck but used the restroom before we left.  I totally walked in on a guy peeing.  Who doesn't lock the door!!?  A little girl advised me very upset that I was suppose to wait my turn.  How did I know there was someone in there when the door wasn't locked?  Oh well.  It happens.

We headed west on I-90.  We stopped for a couple off the ramps to grab some more of the Roadkill Cafe series and others.  We headed off to the Tinkham area and grabbed some off of a dirt road.  Not much luck there so we headed off to the Rattlesnake Lake area and the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.

Since Mike's bike was broken, Bob and I did the trail while Mike did the walking trail near Rattlesnake Ridge.  Bob and I rode the two miles down hill to the one furthest away and made our way back up grabbing the other caches.

One of them gave us a really hard time.  When I finally found it, the coords were 100 feet away!!  I don't think I would have found it if it wasn't for the carbiner that was attaching the string to the stick.  We pressed on.  We grabbed a couple more before meeting Mike in the parking lot.  He grabbed about 5 or 6 of them too and he was sweaty.  I guess he almost climbed the ridge as he explained his trip.  We told him about ours too.  We grabbed the rest of them in the area and finished off with one at Christmas Lake.

We headed back to the truck, dropped Mike off at his truck and drove into North Bend for some dinner.  We were tired and hungry.  Overall we rode our bikes about 18 miles and walked about 5 miles.  The weather was decent and we had a great time.  Until the next adventure!

Next:  10 Years ago I was a Freshman at WSU

2012 Block Party and Wedding

I've had this scheduled on the calendar since early February.  I had such a great time last year I really wanted to do it again.  We learned that my aunt Angela was getting married on that same day.  I hoped it was later on that afternoon.  Her wedding started at 2.  Block Party was from 11-3.  Could we get it done in time and go to both?  Bev and I hammered out the details about a week before hand.  However, we had to change the plans just slightly.  Doug was going to do something with Spencer at Ocean Shores so mom had to stay behind to drive up to the wedding in Bellevue with dad.  Bev was going to go with mom and I, instead, I went with Bob and Bev up to Fremont and mom chose not to go this time.

We left at 8:00 just to be sure we get there on time.  You never know what's gonna happen on your way up to Seattle.  We allowed a large cushion.  Surprisingly, the traffic was minimal and we got there in record time...with a lot of time to spare.  We used that time to find a parking spot and to visit the vendors.  I knew two of the vendors.  Lisa, with Cache Advance and Mr. Attwell, from Colorado with Cache Addict.  I met him while attending his event near Denver back in February.  We saw Frisbee'r and Countrygirl.  We stood in line for the Groundspeak coins, wandered over to Lisa's tent to get a few things and then went through the geocaching museum, which contained some cool stuff and even the travel bug who has been in space, before heading out to find the five unpublished caches around Freemont.  We even got to do the the puzzle piece challenges like they had us do last year.  These ones were easier than the ones from 2011.

We headed off towards the furthest one out from the block party.  It made sense to go west and then come back east towards Groundspeak.  We found our challenges and caches with ease.  It only took us about an hour fifteen to finish it.  The first cache was at the outdoor Fremont theater and the first challenge was across the street by the chocolate factory.  We were to draw and color a rendition of our own take on Signal, the frog.  We were to pin it up on the board when we were done.  We received our puzzle piece.

We headed east on the next block down.  We grabbed the cache near the rocket and headed to the Burke-Gilman Trail, where our next challenges were.  One was find Signal, similar to Where's Waldo?  We had to find two other lackey's as well.  We earned our next puzzle piece.

The next cache was a plastic boat with a micro in it, floating in the Lake Union boat canal, followed by another challenge where we had to fish for frogs.  We had a magnet on our fishing pole and there were washers on the frogs.  We had to take them to the volunteers and got our third puzzle piece.  We headed to the next cache and the final challenge near the Aurora Bridge.  There, we had to blow up a balloon and pop it without our hands or feet, I used my knee.  We had to present the broken balloon to the volunteer for our fourth and final puzzle piece.  We saw Ohjoy, JacksonClan, Sunnydae and other familiar faces at the balloon challenge.  We headed up the road to the Block Party.

Bob and I walked up to the troll for our fifth and final cache.  We headed back down to the party to get our tag for finishing the challenges and the caches.  We received a Block Party tag and for finishing our caches we got a Signal headband.

At that point it was 12:15, almost picture time.  We couldn't have timed that any better. We had ample time for both events.  12:30 rolled around and we were front and center in the picture, mostly so we could find ourselves in the huge crowd.

 We said goodbye to Fremont and headed over I-90 towards Bellevue.

We got to the church at about 1:20.  We had enough time to change into our nice clothes and shoes before going into the church.  I talked to my cousin Derek for a while.  He was wearing his Marine uniform, he was going to walk Angela down the aisle.  Mom and dad arrive shortly after.  We found our seats and watched the ceremony.  It was short.

We made our way downstairs to the reception.  We had chocolates, punch and cupcakes.  My orange one tasted a lot like orange fruit loops.  Since we really didn't know anyone else we headed out and cached around Bellevue a little bit before heading home.  We got about 10 caches today all together, not including the 5 unpublished fake caches.

Next:  Ape Event, Snoqualmie Pass.

Harvey Update

On Friday, we took Harvey into the vet to get his drain tube out.  We didn't have to wait very long to get into the exam room.  I have never been to the vet with the lady doctor.  They had a tough time getting the tube out because the male doctor sutured a part of the tube into the stitching.  Harvey cried a little bit when they were trying to remove it.  After getting it out, we put him back into the cat carrier and took him home.  He showed signs of improvement on Saturday when he was acting like himself.  He really hated wearing the cone of shame.  He figured out how to eat and drink in it and can use the cat box fine.  This weekend reached 90 degrees plus and you could tell he was miserable having to stay in the house.  He did ok.  He spent most of his time sitting in front of the fan.  He gets his stitches out Friday Aug. 17.

Harvey Gets Shaved Again

Erika got Harvey in 2006 from a friend she went to high school with.  He even went to Pullman with her the year she moved out of the dorms.  He came back home because he didn't like to be an indoor cat.  He's had several wounds over the years to where he's had to get shaved.   I believe this is the second time he's had a tube sticking out of him. 

Recently we've been having strange cats (we don't know if they're stray or they belong to the neighbors) hang out in our yard freaking out or cats and fighting with them.  Well, this time Harvey got bit and on his side was a large lump.  We should have taken him in sooner than we did.  I took him in on Tuesday to see what was wrong and the Dr. said it was a huge abscess and it needed to be drained right away.  They gave us antibiotics to take in the mean time.  The next morning I took him into surgery.  Harvey was there until about 2:30.  I went and picked him up.  He was not happy.  He made weird yowling noises all the way home.  He even tipped the cat carrier upside down because he moved around so much on the passenger seat.  I brought him in the house and let him out.  He ran all over the house and wanted to go outside so bad.  Later, we had to put the cone of shame on him so he wouldn't pull the tube out or lick the stitches.  He had his meds when mom came home.  He wanted to hide the rest of the night in mom and dad's room. 

He gets his tube out on Friday and the stitches out two weeks from there.  His hair won't grow back for a while.