Catching Up

You wouldn't know it watching the blog for the last week - but Julie and I traveled to the Oregon coast to hang out with Joel, Carissa and Tater last weekend. We decided to meet the kids in Salem (where they live) and then travel out to the coast (Newport) for a day or so. [that was a bit of an OOPs.. because Newport is more than an hour away and we didn't factor in Carissa having some remaining nausea associated with her pregnancy. she was sweet about it.. but we should have found a closer spot!].

We stayed the night at the Elizabeth Street Inn right on the coast. The rooms featured private balconies - which Joel used to do some modeling for us.. and cozy fireplaces. It was very comfortable.



















































Just beyond the balcony's was the beautiful Oregon coastline featuring sandy beaches and gorgeous views. Here's the view to the north from our balcony. One of the many lighthouses that dot the coast is visible in the far field.















Saturday morning was sunny and clear. Julie and I had the chance to take a walk in the cool (okay.. COLD to wimpy Californian's) morning. It was invigorating.

































Here's some cool birds that would wait for a wave to come in and then would scramble all over the beach looking for goodies that were either revealed by the water or deposited by it. They were interesting to watch - scampering across the beach.















Here's two guys we saw on our walk. I don't mean this mean - but we named them dumb and dumber... because that water was SOOOO cold. We weren't exactly sure just what they were doing out there.

































While we were there Carissa thought it would be fun to visit Mo's. Mo's is a local seafood restaurant in the Newport's Historic district. We had a glorious time finding the restaurant ;) Once we arrived the food was good and the company very great.















While we were at Mo's we had a change to meet one of the friendly policeman that serve Newport. Apparently, they didn't like the way I had parked and were going to issue me a ticket. But, they decided to check in at the restaurant to see if they could find the owner. After explaining what I had done wrong he was more than welcome to let me re-park the car and return to our dinner. That wouldn't happen in California right now ;)

Saturday night we returned to Salem and enjoyed a wonderful home cooked meal Carissa fixed for us. We are blessed to be provided for by excellent cooks. Then, Joel SMOTE me on the Wii. In fact, it was so bad I am not going to say anything more about it :)

Sunday morning we had the pleasure of joining Joel and Carissa for church. During the service we had the chance to enjoy Joel participating in performing the service. Afterward we had lunch together and then it was time for the drive back to California.















Thanks Joel and Carissa for allowing us to come share time with you and the little Tater! We can't wait to visit again!