Spring Break 2009, or Camping in a Tsunami Zone

This year for spring break we went camping at Nehalem Bay State Park. We hadn't really planned this all out weeks or months ahead of time - we were flying by the seat of our pants.

A few weeks before, we checked the State Parks reservation website, Reserve America. There were no yurt sites anywhere in the system. We decided to break out the pop-up trailer early this year. A little more work than a yurt, but then again - we have most of what we needed already packed. We didn't see too many open sites and we got distracted and just never managed to make a reservation.

With less than a week left, I set about searching to see what was available. I also had to determine which actual site to reserve. Some sites are better than others due to length of the paved pad, amount of trees, grass or sand areas, location of the fire pit, closeness of neighbor sites....on and on. We've camped in quite a few Oregon State Parks - but really haven't kept track of which sites we've like. I should make a note to do that...

So - after a few searches and looking at the park maps - I did my 'final search' - as in "This time I will reserve a site!" And this time - two yurts were available at Nehalem Bay. I had been looking mostly at Beverly Beach, due to the location near Newport. When given a chance for the yurt - we grabbed it. It was only $11 more than a tent/camper site ($27 instead of $16 - winter rates at Nehalem) - so it was definitely worth the extra cost.

The yurts come with sleeping for 5 or 6, an electric heater, a light, a deck, picnic table (sometimes two), fire pit, and basically no insulation. One night we had nice 60° temps in the yurt, the second night when it was clear and not raining - the yurt got down to 56°. The outside temps got down to 35° - which is quite cold for the Oregon coast.

We always bring a cube frig (still working 20 years after college!) and other fun stuff like Christmas lights to hang outside the yurt. I always manage to forget something - like extra extention cords and outlet splitters... They never put outlets in convienient places - or the same place in every yurt.

Our Yurt for two days at Nehalem Bay

We had a great two days and nights at Nehalem. We ate in a restaurant in nearby Manzanita one day - and at the Tillamook Cheese Factory another day. That blog post about our visit there is coming soon...watch for it. Or send me an email saying "I really, really, really want to know how they make the cheese in Oregon!"

There is another interesting item to know about camping on the Oregon Coast. Most of the campgrounds are located in a Tsunami Hazard Zone, in fact - most of the cities on the coast are as well. Kinda scary, eh? The South Beach park in Newport even has an evacuation route to a high ground location right in the park behind a few yurts. So when you hear the loud warning in the middle of the night (I hope it is loud - I've never heard it!) - you can climb up the path and watch the ocean rise, come in, and flood the campground.

Tsunami Sign at Tolovana Beach Park in Cannon Beach

Sign outside Nehalem Bay campground pointing to safety

We survived the dangerous conditions (no earthquakes on this visit - though the Juan de Fuca plate is counting down -tech words here, Pacific NW Earthquake info here) - the rain Tuesday night was the worst. Looking at the tent campers next to us after that downpour made us very glad we had the yurt.

Yard Work 2009 #3

A day of no rain - March 30th - cut number three. It was plenty long and was ready to be cut last week. Now - I have to watch out for these dry days. The grass is growing at a rate of one cut a week. Can allergy season be far away?

I know, I know. Not much of substance here. Keep watching - a post about spring break is coming soon!

Yard Work 2009 #2

March 18th - lawn mowing number two.

The rain broke for a day - and with more running coming the next few days, I had to get a jump on the growing grass. At this rate - cut number three should come in two to three weeks. Maybe closer to two weeks as it is getting warmer now.

After a few more cuts - maybe I'll try and setup a Google Charts example showing how 2009 compares to 2008.

Sure...when I get the time. Don't be holding your breath...

Soccer 2008 Action Shots - Connor

Connor also had a great 2008 soccer season. Here are a few of his action shots. If you want to see more, stop by and check out our Picasa...we take quite a few shots. In the pile of photos - there are a few that just work out right!

Connor was a great defender

Chasing down the ball

Heading towards the goal

Connor gives a power kick

Soccer 2008 Action Shots - Tegan

Here are a few action shots from Tegan's soccer games from last fall. She is quite the soccer stars. Don't you dare blink and miss the action. Keep and eye on her!

It's Mine!

Looking for fear? Look elsewhere. No fear here!

Tegan - princess of the air

Changing the direction of the game - again, in the air

Soccer 2009 Started

This Monday night, right about the time it was snowing...soccer start up for Tegan and Connor. They are taking a soccer skills class taught by a bunch of soccer players from the UK. They had a great time - even with the snow and 36° temperatures.

Tegan and Connor

Yikes...time flies by

Here is it already March.

Wow. Our adventures have been happening, but my posting of the adventures has not. What have we been up to recently?

1) Last Saturday (February 28th) marked the beginning of Yard Work 2009.

Mick started on the weeding in the flower beds along our front fence. I gave the grass the first cut of the year. So - again this year I missed out on mowing in January, but February was covered on the last day.

Before starting the mowing, I figured that I should change the oil in the mower since I didn't do it last fall like I had intended. It was a little scary because only 4 ounces of oil came out when I took out the oil plug. I about 20 or so ounces of oil back in. It was quite hard to determine the exact amount that was needed since the oil dipstick always looks like there is a certain amount of oil in the engine. This must be due to the crazy tube the stick is in - the oil must stick to the sides and it gets on the stick when pulling it out. So - I guess I was mowing last season with only a little bit of oil in the engine. I'll just have to see if any long term damage was done...doesn't sound like it as the engine is still purring along - 13 years after we first bought it.

I tried sharpening the mower blade - but my Dremel tool is still not working after many hours of taking it apart and putting it back together. Not sure why - and they are too expensive to just go buy another one. I did put the Dremel sharpening bit in my drill - and that seemed to work, even though the drill RPMs are much less than the Dremel.

The lawn needed a lot of moss killer this spring - the green I was seeing was not due only the the grass, which does stay green year round. It is just starting to be growing more now...but winter is not completely out of the picture. Apparently there is a chance for snow in Portland this coming weekend.

2) Family dinner at Macaroni Grill.

Last Friday, we went to the local Macaroni grill with all of Mick's family. We had a table full of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Sister-in-law Maritza's mother was soon going back to Guatemala - and she was there too.

Connor really loves this place because he can get pizza - and draw on the table. They have the paper on the tables, and we all love drawing on it. Connor even packed extra crayons so we wouldn't be stuck with the roasted Red Pepper, Bleu Cheese, Florentine, and Eggplant colors they provide.

I love the pizza as well - but I really like the bread they bring the table when you sit down. It is always warm and fresh out of the oven - and it has a delicious coating on it - almost sweet. Dipping this in the olive oil with ground pepper....hmmm. Yummy!

3) Waffle Extravaganza at Temple.

Just over a week ago - the Women's Ministries group at church had a waffle feed after the Sunday Morning service. I was there to make my 'famous' chocolate chip waffles. They are famous at least to those who have had the pleasure of enjoying them. I made regular square waffles and also Mickey Mouse waffles....because those people are hungry and waffles do take 4-5 minutes to be cooked. I stayed mostly ahead of the rush - but I did have a line for a time. There were other stations with other types of waffles being prepared as well.

4) Speaking of church....I've been workin on our church's website. http://www.temple-baptist.com - just in case you are interested in checking it out.

I am not the person creating the content - I just get it formatting, looking good, and get it posted. I've learned a lot of XHTML, CSS, and lots more web programming tricks. I've checked out more web books from the library that I thought possible, checked out 'how-to' CSS websites, and more. There is still not a lot of content on the website - but I am still working on it. Bit by bit it will look more and more like the place you have to be on Sunday mornings in Portland, Oregon. If you are out there reading this - make plans for this Sunday. The morning service starts at 11am, and Sunday School starts at around 9:45am. We'll see you there!

5) More, more, more!

Bingo night at Tegan & Connor's school.
Getting ready for spring soccer (starts March 9th!).
Diabetes Expo - Tegan & I were there in our Red Rider shirts!
Getting bikes ready for the coming Tour de Cure!
Small group bible study every week - hi small groupees!
Birthday parties, dance classes, Wednesday night bible clubs, homework
Reading! You should see all four of us sitting around some evenings - each lost in our own book.


So - dear blog reader - what is going on with you these days? You never write, and I'm never quite sure if you get my updates.

Drop us a line! Comment right down here! You know you want to....and I'll try and write more often. They will probably be "Brian's Crazy Thoughts" postings - I've got a lot of those swirling around lately.