Thursday, August 24, 2006

Oregon Pictures


Here are some pictures of Oregon.





Woogy outside by parents backyard. This was his first look at the Pacfic Ocean in over a year. Water is 60 degrees, yet Woogy didn't seem to mind



















Wah-Wah outside the sand dunes in Florence. For $45 bucks you can ride an ATV for an hour. Wah-Wah rode extra cautious












Coos Bay
We spent the night near this lighthouse. The High Tide Cafe has got some great clam chowder

















AchtungBB on the sand dunes. I love riding ATVs. It's so much freedom till you get stuck in two feet of sand










Oregon's aquarium inside the mammoth shark. We always get our picture taken here when we visit. This is this year's picture





















Wah-Wah at Beaver Creek. Relaxing ride up the creek into the middle of the moutains. Lots of wild life















Drift Creek falls. We do this hike every year. It's three miles down to the falls and another three miles up a steep mountain to get back

Friday, August 18, 2006

Oregon vacation part 4

Things haven't worked out the way I wanted them too. First of all Nibbles is very sick. Last night, we took her to the hospital for the second time. This time, she has been running a fever for 6 days and her mouth was breaking out with little bumps. Turns out she contracted herpes Simplex 1. The doctor explained that this is not the STD (thank God). In fact 99% of the population has been exposed to it. If you have ever gotten a cold swore, that's what herpes Simplex 1 is. The doctor said that occasionally young children get exposed to it and they can become very sick.
Where Nibbles got it from is anyone's guess. She's lost 4lbs already because she can't eat solid foods. In fact her mouth has become very swollen. She's been on a steady dose of tylenhol with codeine. It's hard for a parent to sit while their child suffers from a fever for over a week. Anyway, the doctor said that she should be better by this Tuesday or Weds. That put a damper on my job hunting plans. I had decided to do the interview in Astoria, but that isn't going to happen now. First we need to get Nibbles back home, second I found out that it will cost $600 to change my airline ticket, and frankly, that is just not worth it. So I will be heading home on Sunday as originally planned.
Reflecting on my Oregon vacation, it was a memorable one. Coos Bay was nice, but Nibbles has been so sick, nobody has really been able to relax. I guess things work for a reason

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Oregon Vacation PT 3

Wow three blogs in three days! Usually I'm lucky to do one a week. I seem to have a lot of time on my hands in the evening. Tonight I'm writing my blog from the Best Western in Coos Bay. I thought we were going to Pelican Bay, but it is actually Coos bay. I'm somewhere in southern Oregon in what appears to be a small little lumber town.
Today we left Newport and drove two hours south to a town called Florence which has lots of sand dunes. Wah-Wah and I rented a couple of ATVs and went out on the dunes. I'll post pictures when I get home. Anyway, these are really big dunes and I got stuck a few times, but it was a blast. One of the best times we've had as a couple.
The other news is that I actually got a call from one of the resumes I sent out. Colombia Community Mental Health wants to interview me next Tuesday. I'm not sure I know what I want to do. The position is in either Astoria or St. Helens. Astoria is a small town on the coast in on the boarder of Oregon and Washington. They filmed the "Goonies" there. St. Helens is a town about a half hour outside Portland. I'm not feeling too confident about the position because I'm not sure if I'm qualified. Both of the positions I'm interviewing for are in management, and we all remember what happened the last time I was in management. I also thought I wanted to be closer to Portland. I'm not sure I want to leave a big city for a small one. Plus there is the fact I didn't bring any clothes to interview in, which means I'll have to go shopping.
I haven't decided yet if I'll pursue this interview or not. Wah-Wah and the kids will leave this Sunday and I'll end up staying till at least Weds. What to do?

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Oregon vacation part 2

Today our vacation turned a little. Nibbles got a high fever of 104.5 this morning. After spending an hour messing with our insurance, we drove her to the local hospital's ER. We waited about 3 hrs and when the doctor (the only doctor on staff) saw her, he ruled out basic things like an ear infection and determined it must be a virus.
This is a little unsettling since the rest of us could catch this virus anytime. It seems odd, but every time we leave home recently someone gets sick ( our trip to St. Louis comes to mind). Nibbles has been acting alright despite her fever. After getting out of the hospital we went to the Oregon aquarium. This was my third visit there and I still enjoy it. There aren't a lot of sharks and jellyfish in KC.
After the aquarium, we walked down to the harbor were all the fishermen and seal lions are. There are lots of small little unique shops down by the harbor. Tomorrow we are heading down to Pelican Bay and plan to stay the night. I have no idea what's down there but it is suppose to be nice.
As I suspected, my phone hasn't been ringing off the hook reponding to those resumes I sent out (of course I only sent them out yesterday) but I'm not going to worry about it. I'm going to try to enjoy the rest of my vacation and hopefully not get sick.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Oregon vacation

We've been in Oregon now for a few days and I think I'm finally adjusting to the time change. The trip over to Newport was pretty tough. We left KCI at around 8am on Saturday. We of course needed to get there 2 hours early, but surprisingly KCI wasn't a whole lot different than normal. We were suppose to fly out on America West. Little did I know, that America West was bought out by US Air, so I ended up in the wrong terminal. It would have been nice if KCI posted that info. A few hours after leaving KCI we arrived in Phoenix were we waited a hour before flying into Portland. Woogy did much better on the plane than last year, but Nibbles was all over the place, and made the trip unpleasant
Once we landed in Portland, we realized we forgot Nibbles car seat and the car rentals would not rent us one. My dad picked us up and drove us another 2 hours to Newport. We figured it was 9 hours of traveling by the time we finally got to my parents's house. Everyone was pretty tired.
Yesterday, we walked down the hill to the beach. Woogy and I discovered a cave in the cliffs that he liked exploring. The ocean air here is so invigorating compared to the oppressive heat in KC. For the afternoon, Wah-Wah, my dad, and I hiked down the Drift Creek Falls trail. It's a pretty steep trail coming back, and I carried Nibbles on my back the whole time.
Last evening I spent looking for jobs out in Portland. Wah-Wah and I are warming up to the idea of moving out here. I've been praying about it a lot. Portland is a pretty progressive city with lots of culture and arts. It's a beautiful area with mountains and the ocean. I'm not too hopeful about finding a job out here however, but you never know. I'm just keeping my options open.
This morning, Wah-Wah, my dad and me went kiyaking down Beaver Creek. It's a pretty calm river so it was pretty easy . Our guide took us about 3 miles into the woods were we saw some eagles and beavers. It was really peaceful. We spent the afternoon playing on some sand dunes down on Agate Beach. Woogy had a blast playing in the sand and rolling down the dunes.