40x40 - Sun, Sand, and Shelton

Mark two off my annual bucket list - Visit a Beach - DONE! and See Blake Shelton in concert - DONE!

Bullard's Beach Lighthouse

I thankfully got tickets to the Cape Blanco Music Festival. A large country music festival held each year at Cape Blanco (duh) which is a gorgeous spot on the Oregon Coast. Located near Bandon and Port Orford, the quaint sea towns offer your usual mix of artsy craftsy stores, plenty of wind and sea air, and lighthouses. It's sort of nostalgic. Maybe a little sad the way our coastal towns seem to be in a bit of disrepair but at the same time beautiful.

I absolutely love the Oregon coast. I can't say that I absolutely LOVE country music. I'm a bit of a rocker myself - Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains are more my speed. But I like all music and can appreciate a good country song.

What makes a good country song, you ask? Well if you ask ME, I'll tell you it's a bit twangy and sounds country. None of this "crossover pop" bs - I like my country to sound like country. Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Senior - those guys knew country!

That's Blake right there

What else? Blake Shelton. I do love me some Blake so this year's festival was perfect for me. He's good looking. He's tall. He can sing.

We arrived at Bandon late on Friday and headed to the concert. The traffic was insane. It didn't help that some panhandlers parked by the side of the road playing a fiddle asking for handouts. Smart move for them - about 300 cars stopped to give them money. Bad news for us - it took us 2.5 HOURS to go 17 miles and finally arrive. Grrrrr!!

The bar

After the concert, we headed to Bandon to get some grub. Only bad side to a small coastal town. Every single restaurant, grocery store, and convenience store was closed. No fast food. No late night Denny's. Nothing. Then we spotted a bar connected to a closed Chinese restaurant. They happened to serve food (and whiskey - score one for me!). It was one of those "record-screeches-to-a-stop-and-all-the-locals-
stare" kind of dive bars. It was remarkably clean and I'll say the food was fresh and yummy (I was starving!). The bartender was fun and awesome. It ended up being a great time.

the whiskey

I didn't take pictures but I can assure you there are some great places to eat in Bandon. The Minute Cafe for breakfast was nice and tasty and the Chowder House by the water in downtown had delicious crab/shrimp sandwiches and of course, chowder. Over the weekend, we enjoyed more music, fun with friends, plenty of beer,shopping in some quaint little shops and just some downtime. So glad I can mark this off my list.

Fair Food!

Our view of the stage

Tala, Brian, and Rob at the Beer Garden

 

My selfie stick came in handy

A Family Tradition

Sitting around the campfire. Telling stories. Eating together. Walking the woods. Hunting. This is a family tradition. I'm proud of my youngest son for carrying on. He passed his hunter safety class this past weekend.

He sat through hours of instruction, had to actually demonstrate safe gun handling, and pass a test. Of course, as a family, we've discussed gun and hunting safety often over the years.

Our community's hunter safety was full so we actually headed to the coast to make it happen. It was a great way to get out of town, celebrate the end of summer, and of course, accomplish his goal.

The field day (live demonstration) was held in a small town at a community center that had once been a school. The community has turned it into a library/community center. After an hour or so of waiting (bored), one of the organizers let me in on a secret...there was a hiking trail with falls. So I set out to see what I could discover.

Well, lo and behold... it was in fact a waterfall. These used to be a state park but the road caved in this past winter and it's shut down, barricaded. But the nice Sheriff's deputy I ran into said it was fine to park and walk up.

It was a gorgeous walk. Easy. It's fun to be somewhere different. Here in Klamath we have gorgeous pines, mountains, sagebrush....head to the coast and there's ferns, huge gigantic trees, and thick underbrush. Here in Klamath it's 90 degrees, there it's 58.

Of course, you saw my post earlier this week so you know I spent some time on the beach and at Shore Acres. On the way home, I surprised Nate with a trip to the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. My grandparents lived in Roseburg while I was growing up and a trip to the Wildlife Safari was in the cards each year. I was excited to take Nate. You can walk through a certain part and it's sort of like a zoo. And then you can drive through and even feed the animals. It's worth it if you're in the area. The pics aren't great but here are a few:

The boys pose in front of the safari bus

you know when you're taking a photo and it turns out funny???

a bear in the mud

the giraffe

These little guys came right up to the car

You could buy food to feed them

All in all it was a great trip!

Camping on the Oregon Coast

A steep and dramatic cliff overlooking a rocky shoreline. Dangerous waves washing away the rocks. A small
picturesque house and beautiful gardens blooming with roses, dahlias, bamboo, and trees. It's romantic and tragic. . . at least that's the way I've always seen it. My grandparents used to take me to Shore Acres when I was young and I always thought it was hauntingly beautiful. Gorgeous and sad.

A few years ago, I read A Gathering of Finches which is the story of Shore Acres. It affirmed the gorgeous and sad truth of the park. The woman gives up a marriage and her only child for an affair. Her affair has his own secrets. They discover money can't buy happiness. If you decide to go to Shore Acres, read the book.


At any rate, the gardens are beautiful.

 We walked through the park and Nate even stopped to smell the roses.

The house is nestled in the middle. Not huge, not pretentious, just a cute little house. There was a wedding getting ready to happen. White chairs filled the lawn, tuxedo-ed men walked in and out looking nervous, wringing their hands. Photographer was setting up equipment.



















We also spent some time on the beach, going through tide pools. So fun.

We camped at Bastendorff Park which was a good place to stay. Clean. Well kept. The showers were a bit dated but we had a great spot.

And who doesn't love a good campfire....

It was a great way to wrap up a summer!

Burney Falls - 129 ft. Waterfall

For years, I've wanted to take a trip to McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park in California. A friend had told me about the gorgeous waterfalls and the opportunities to hike. This weekend for Spring Break, the weather was nice and so we loaded up to make the short trek. The Park is approximately 140 miles from Klamath Falls (perfect for a day trip). We packed a lunch and headed out in the morning. 

On the way, we pass the Veteran's Living Memorial Sculpture Garden. I've been here before but decided to take the boys through. Being 10- and 17-year old boys, I wasn't sure they'd find it interesting. I was pleased when they both took an interest and insisted on walking around to each monument. The memorial features large metal, welded humanoid type sculptures. It's sort of remote with Mt. Shasta looming in the background. It's awe-inspiring, moving, and worth the stop!

A tribute outside the POW/MIA sculpture

This sculpture is title "Coming Home"

The entrance of the memorial

Continuing on, you come to the silly little town of Weed, California. They've embraced the "Weed" name and you can buy shirts that say I love Weed, Weed makes me happy, etc. We didn't explore but we did buy a souvenier. 

Traveling on down the road, listening to some rap and rock from my days (Tone Loc, Dr. Dre, Guns N Roses), we rocked out. The kids began to get hungry. My plan was to wait until we got to the falls but we saw a turnoff for a "vista" and pulled over. It was worth it - we found bonus falls that I didn't even know existed. 

We turned into the Lower Falls Picnic Area. It was well-maintained, nice roads, and clean bathrooms/picnic tables. We ate our lunches and walked down to the falls (a very easy, very short walk). 

Marc stands near the falls

 The rocks to climb over have been worn smooth and holes have been created from the water.

One of the holes was big enough for Marc to stand in.

Love them!

Nate found a relaxing rock

After the short hike and our bellies full, we headed out to Burney. According to the website, the centerpiece of the Memorial State Park is the falls themselves. The falls drop 129 feet. The weather was drop dead gorgeous, I even took off the jacket and hiked in my tank top. We took the Falls loop trail to begin with. It's a 1.4 mile hike. Pretty easy. Some uphill but not enough to complain about. 

The boys pose at the entrance

The Falls! GORGEOUS!

Marc posing for the camera

He asked for this photo - pretty sure it was to send to a girl

squirrels everywhere. 

 After hiking and playing, we began the trek back home. On the way down, I'd seen a sign for historical McCloud. I took the exit while the boys slept and drove through a cute little town that I want to revisit. Victorian looking homes, quaint shops -nothing to interest the boys but it'll be on my list. How can you resist neat architecture against bright blue skies and quiet streets with no cars?

The boys slept (they take after me) as we trekked back to Klamath. Driving through a short little detour to view Mt. Shasta City added another "next time" destination to my list. I'm excited to drive down and explore this seemingly "hippy-dippy" new-age-y town that boasts psychics, stores with crystals that heal, and the best drinking water anywhere! I suggest making the drive to Burney Falls - it's worth it! 

A Wake-up Call

Let's get back to football shall we?

Nate plays on Saturdays and this week we were out of town. We got up in the morning and headed to Lakeview, a roughly 90 minute drive (I mean, 2 hours Mr. Officer). Lakeview was reported to have the toughest team in the league and we were prepared for a dogfight - we were definitely the underdogs in this game! 

Nate gets his "football face" on!

Man, what a tough game that was but our boys showed what they were made of!

At the end of the 3rd quarter, we were still tied at 6 to 6.

Then Lakeview scored twice to take the lead 19 to 6. Then we scored again with three minutes left in the game.

We closed the gap - 19 to 13. Unfortunately, we weren't able to score again and our final score remained 19 to 13.

The team takes a break in the shade

Nate is starting right guard and back-up center. In the second play of the game, the coaches put him as center and he played the rest of the game, never letting anyone by and protecting his quarterback. Great job Nate!

So proud of that kid. 

Back to important things....awesome kids! I can say while we lost, our boys played really really well. So proud of them. Nate has really stepped it up this year. Now all Nate can talk about is how bad he wants his football picture in the paper - I've tried explaining it'll be when he's in high school. He has no patience!

Sporting a Swimsuit in Public

Last year as I made my list, I added "Take Nate to a Waterpark" with much hesitation. Weighing in at much closer to 300 lbs than was comfortable, I didn't fully expect to make this one happen.

While Nate and I both love the water, I definitely lack the confidence to wear a swimsuit in public.

And my first and only waterpark experience (nine years ago) had left me somewhat traumatized. Nate was nine months old when we left him with a babysitter to take Marc to the waterpark. I felt huge. We arrived at the waterpark to find out that I couldn't wear my flipflops, I needed watersocks instead. So as we left for Walmart, my then-husband let me know just how unhappy he was with me for this. If only that was as bad as it got. I was going to share the story but now that I'm here, let's just say my confidence took probably the biggest hit ever that day (and I should have foreseen the end of our marriage). Oh well. . .

I reviewed my list last week and figured this weekend would be my last chance to cross that milestone off. And having lost 50 lbs (yay me) I decided to give it a shot. I would be lying if I said I wasn't anxious, nervous, and worried. I tried to talk myself out of the trip three million times.

But we went.

And we had a FANTASTIC time! I had no idea a waterpark could be so much fun. It feels like you are traveling down tubes at the speed of light before plunging into the water....your stomach in your throat the whole time! Nate thanked me about three million times for taking him. We raced down the water slides, we relaxed in the lazy lagoon, we tubed down the Cyclone (aka the toilet bowl according to Nate). We braved the Avalanche. We avoided sunburns. We ate ice cream. We laughed and played. Nate slept the whole way home.

What I didn't do was take any photos. My camera and phone aren't waterproof so no pictures of all our fun. But I am going to share this (warning....you're about to see a grown woman in a bathing suit). Why am I putting this out there? Because I'm amazed at my progress so just deal with it (and be kind, I realize I'm not going to be invited to pose in Sports Illustrated any time soon)....

First, let me remind you what I looked like the end of April:

And here I am 50 lbs less in a bathing suit. . .

Don't ask me why I have my sunglasses on. Let's pretend it's like the little boy in Big Daddy, I'm invisible as long as the sunglasses are on. haha

I did discover that unless you are a) cute and can pull off a bikini or b) really huge and THINK you can pull off a bikini, no one is even looking at you. A mom of average size (size 16 thank you much) in a black one piece with black shorts really is nearly invisible. hahah

So back to what's important....my favorite youngest son....Nate. This was sort of our last "hurrah" before school started.

Today he started 4th grade. Yesterday I asked him if I could meet him at school (he was with his dad this morning) or if he was "too cool" for mom to show up. He looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "Mom, I'll never be too cool for you." It made me grin even though I know this may be the last year he wants his mom showing up on the first day to take his picture as he sits at his desk, looking handsome and grown up.

What a handsome kid!

Have a great day!

38 x 38 - Silver Lining Rafting

For three years now, rafting has been on my annual bucket list and I never get to mark it off....until now! Woot woot!

Some good friends of mine organized a rafting trip on the Rogue River. The boys and I (plus Marc's girlfriend) decided to join in. So yesterday morning we woke up to head out to Shady Cove, Oregon. The sky was cloudy and ominous with the feeling of rain. As we drove closer to our destination, the downpour began. My windshield wipers were doing double-time as we drove. The kids were convinced that we should still go.....they're "justification" was that we were going to get wet anyway. Good point. I could see blue skies in the distance so held out hope that there'd be a break.

Waiting in the rain for a table that can seat 21!

We arrived at the rafting place (and I'm going to not name them because...well, I'm going to make fun of them) and ducked under the awning as we watched the rain fall. Twenty-four of us showed up and three promptly left (it wasn't us). The 21 of us remaining decided to head to breakfast to see if the storm would break.








Lucky for us, it broke! It was a balmy 70 degrees as these crazy people decided to head out and take their chances. Yes, I'm one of those crazy people. And I'm so glad. It ended up being beautiful. 75 degrees, sunshine, good friends, beautiful scenery, and we all made it back in one piece:)

We met back at the rental raft place. Our fees included a "shuttle" to the drop off point 13 miles upriver.

The van looked like something you'd see parked at the side of the road with a sticker warning that it will be towed if it's not moved by xxxxxx date. Two 12 passenger vans sat at the place and we were deciding where folks would sit when the guy informed us we'd only be taking one "shuttle."

21 of us. That's Nate's red arm in the front,
he's sitting on my lap

Yes, all 21 of use piled in a 12 passenger van. I sat next to the sliding side door. It had no door opener from the inside and when he "closed" it he told me not to lean against it because I should think of it more as "curtain" than a door. WTH?? There was a good 4-6 inch gap between the van and the door. Yikes! On the bright side, we were suddenly glad it was 100 degrees!


We arrived safe and sound. Three rafts, 21 people, coolers, life vests, and ready for a good time!










I don't have many photos as I left both my camera and my phone in the car (didn't want to risk ruining either. Here's a few I have (thanks for friends who dared bring theirs along).

All of us getting ready to head out

After the trip! 

Yay! I'd do it again (although maybe with a different rental place)!