Visitors From the South

We had a full week planned for Uncle John and Aunt Sherry. Too full. We quickly learned that our plan would need to be modified and slowed down. John doesn't get around very fast and doesn't go for very long. We saw him sleeping sitting up as much as we saw him awake. Sherry is as sharp as she can be though and takes such good care of him. 

Day One (May 14): The Coast

 John was fascinated with the fact that we lived near so many volcanoes and couldn't get enough of seeing Mount St. Helen's. This was a scenic stop on our way to the coast with Mt. St. Helens in the background.

 We stopped at Cannon Beach to see the Haystack rock formations. Definitely one of my favorite beaches! While there we took advantage of lunch time to eat some of Mo's famous chowder.

From Cannon Beach, we headed South down highway 101 to Tillamook Cheese Factory. There we tried a few cheese samples and got some famous Tillamook ice-cream. They are opening a brand new visitors center there later this summer so they had a temporary one set up in a barn for us to browse through.

Day Two (May 15): Gorge and Bonneville Dam

 We stopped at a couple of beautiful view points along the gorge on our way to the Bonneville Dam. We drove along the Washington side of the Columbia River on our way to the Dam and then along the Oregon side on our way back from our sites.

 Uncle John was really excited to see the Salmon Ladder. He knows a lot of salmon and fishing in general. Uncle John just seems to know a lot about everything though! Unfortunately we were there at a slow time and saw only one salmon come by. But he thought just seeing the ladder alone was worth the trip.

 After seeing the Dam and the Ladder we stopped by the Fish Hatchery. We saw plenty of Salmon there and even got to feed them.

 We took the Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia to the Oregon side on our way to visit Multnomah Falls.

 By the time we arrived at Multnomah Falls, Uncle John had said he couldn't walk another 40 feet so we didn't even park. We stopped the car right there in the parking lot and let them look at the falls through the car window. I snapped this picture from the car and then we were on our way home.

 After a long nap, John and Sherry made out to the putting green to hit a few balls and play with Harley for a bit. 

Day Three (May 16): Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

May is probably my favorite time of the year to visit this beautiful Rhododendron Garden! 

Day Four (May 17): Seattle

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to make the quick trip to Seattle and introduce John and Sherry to sights, smells and tastes of Pikes Market. 

Day Five (May 18): Fishing Trip

Our friend, Doug Haskell, was kind enough to take Scott and John out on a fishing trip. They didn't catch anything and due to boat trouble the trip ended a little early, but they had a great time.

Meanwhile, the ladies back home were getting pedicures!

Day Six (May 19): Mount St. Helens

This was suppose to be the outings of all outings for John. He was more excited about seeing Mt. St. Helens than anything else. He was totally obsessed with the fact that we had a volcano in our backyard (we can see Mt. St. Helens from our backyard). Every day he would tell us how crazy it was that we lived in the middle of the Ring of Fire. Our goal was to find a clear day to go visit the Johnston's observatory where you can look right into the crater of St. Helens, but the weather did not cooperate. Both days they were here after the observatory opened for the season were overcast. John was a good sport and still thought being up there was a dream of a lifetime. 

Then to make matters worse, not even halfway into our visit, the visitor's center lost power and they made even one leave! They wouldn't even let people use the restrooms cause they said once they lose power they lose water soon after. But Scott was able to sweet talk his way into getting them to allow John to use them before leaving. 

We will miss seeing John sleeping anywhere and everywhere around the house and Harley will miss them too. It was such a great time having them in our home and we are so glad we were finally able to make it happen!