Summer Trips

WOW!!  This summer has gone by incredibly fast.  The one thing for sure is that for awhile we were taking a trip every two weeks.  Starting in June it was a trip to Silver Falls State Park (a must if you haven't been), then a trip to Ashland (where it snowed every morning), next a trip to the Bend area/Crater Lake, and lastly a quick fast trip to Idaho.  Every part of the summer and there trips were amazing andso much fun. 

SILVER FALLS

There are I think 10 waterfalls in the state park.  Some you get to walk behind so you just walk by either way you see them they are fabulous and breathtaking.  If you haven't gone you absolutely must go.  Be prepared to walk though.  There are many many trails and the hike to see them all is about 8 miles.  Bill and I got to see 4 falls out of the 10.  We can't wait to go back and see them all.

ASHLAND

 

We went there for Bill and Greg to race in a Hillclimb.  It was beautiful there but who knew in the middle of June that there would still be snow.  I would have had more pictures but my camera died and I didn't have my other battery.  It was absolutely cold.  It snowed every morning and we had a fire going literally all day long.

BEND

The top picture is going to be where my next house is.  It is absolutely beautiful.  We went to Bend with some friends of ours and had a fun time.  We hung out around Bend and then Bill and I went to Crater Lake for the morning.  Bill got to go fishing almost every day which he loves to do it now and boy I do love my fish!!!

IDAHO

Idaho.  We left at 5:15pm on Friday and got back into town on Sunday at 7pm.  We got to Idaho on Saturday morning around 2:00am.  We spent the day at the river while it was in the high 90s and then spent the night watching a movie and playing games.  The reason we went was to see one of Melissa's friends.  It was a mini girls trip!!  So much fun!!  However working for 8 hours and then driving for 8 hours is definitely not my ideal of a start of a trip. However it was definitely worth the time.

Our next trip is in October.  We are going to California.  However Bills next trip is next weekend, going to Beaver and then the next one for him is Labor Day Weekend he is going to Idaho.  I slightly wish that I was going with him but he is going to be racing all weekend and it won't be exactly fun for me.  I hope everyone is having an awesome summer!!!

Summer Projects

Finally after years of having the materials I'm finally, finally getting to my projects.  Every time I wanted to do it I either didn't feel like it or it was raining or if it was a nice weekend we were busy doing something else.  But today was the day that I finally started and finished one of my projects and got closer to finishing the other project.  It made me feel good to do the projects that have literally been hanging around the house for years.

So we have had things curtain holders for at least a year.  I finally got them up and I did it almost all by myself.  Don't mind the fake curtains that is my next step is to either buy curtains or make them.  I haven't decided on the color yet though.  But I at least got them done!!!!!

This project has been going on for at least 2 years now.  My kitchen cabinets!!  I just stained 7 of the doors and have I think 4 or 5 more to go.  Once all my staining is done then comes the hardware.  I have had the hardware even longer then I have been trying to stain my cabinets.  Isn't it sad.  Ok not really just slightly lazy and incredibly busy.  Once I get the hardware on I can then go to the final last step, putting them back on their hinges!!!  Yay.  I'm excited about getting things done.

Blue or Blue

So we went to Home Depot because this summer we are going to pant the house.  For months we have not been able to agree on the paint colors. While at Home Depot we kept picking up a paint color and which ever one it was it was instantly veto'd by the other one.  If I picked a blue Bill said no.  If he picked a green I said no.  It went on and on so we finally decided to get samples.  Bill picked a blue and a green and tan and white.  I picked 2 blues and a cream.  The Sapphire Blue and the Shrek Green were instantly veto'd.  So we are now down to 2!!

Bill's Blue...Wickford Bay.  We are going to name the house after it if chosen.



My Blue...Blueberry. 

Which One Do You Like?

Ferris Wheel and the Osaka Aquirium

Mama Griffith - This one is for you and your kids.  Be sure to show them the sea creatures!! :)

The largest ferris wheel in Osaka.  It was awesome!!!!  It was slow moving and never stopped.  So you climbed onto it when it was moving and exited it when it was moving.  It was cool.

Sting Ray

We were there at the perfect time.  FEEDING TIME!!!

Turtle

Whale Shark

The aquirium was singularly best thing that I saw while in Japan!!  It was so amazing.  You went up a 4 flight escalator and then you walked down going in a spiral seeing all the animals in different cases.  They have the largest tank in world it seems with a whale shark and sea turtles and sting rays.  It was amazing to see and view.  They had all the sea creatures from the ring of fire.  If you ever go to Japan the Aquirium is a MUST!!!

Umeda Sky Building

That's looking up in the middle between the 2 buildings.  It looks like the Arc De Truimphe but a whole lot bigger.  You take a glass elevator up to the 34th floor and then get on the longest escalator in the world (picture below) up the last 3 floors to the top of the 37th floor.  You can walk around the building and see the entire city.  Then you walk up the last flight of stairs to outside and you get the view captured below in the pictures.  It was beautiful!!

Osaka Castle

The moot and the castle wall!!  Huge is all I can say.

Osaka Castle.  It is 8 flights of stairs up to the top of the castle.  The ideal way to tour the castle is to take the elevator up to the top of the castle and look out over the edge and view the city.  Then walk down each flight of stairs to the floor below and tour that floor and then walk down to the next floor above and so on.  It was nice seeing the history.  One floor had historic samarai helmets that you could try on for a little yen.  No I did not try on any hats.

The biggest coy in the world.  It was massive.  We were about 200 feet or so above it and you could tell exactly what it was without the zoom feature like above.

At the top of the castle!!!  The view.  You could get a 360 degree view of the entire city.

This rock is called the Octopus Rock.  Why I have no idea but it is one of the biggest rocks in the whole castle and castle wall.  They pulled all these rocks big and small from many many many miles away.  They had a map in the castle that showed where all the rocks were coming from and it was crazy how far they went to get the rocks

Fushimi Shrine

Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote.  This is the Fushimi Shrine.  It has 1001 tori gates.  There were so many different sizes of tori gates.  One picture up and it gives you the prices of the size of tori gates.  From small to extra large.  You would purchase one and then you would write on one side what your prayers or dreams were.  We found one that actually had both English and Japanese on it.  As you walk through the gates you literally climb a mountain.  The hike was wonderful but we got about a quarter of the way up the trail split and we went one way but I think that it didn't really go anywhere so we turned around and went the other way. We didn't make it all the way up and around the mountain because I was afraid that we would miss our train back to the station. It was still a wonderful walk.  The one thing that we saw at the split was a sign that said -

WARNING - WILD MONKEYS. 

 If you see one don't make eye contact

Do not feed them.

And if one approaches you pick up a big rock and pretend to throw it at them.

It slightly made it a little scary to walk through the forest and wonder if I was going to be attacked by a monkey though.  I'm glad I wasn't.

I would love to go back there and make the hike all the way up the mountain.