I never ended up updating here from Oregon, but I did update my savings blog, so I'll add another state I've blogged in:
New York
Washington
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
New Hampshire
Maine
California
Georgia
Texas
Oregon
I think that's all of them.
We didn't end up getting bumped on the flight after all; they ended up only needing one bumpee. So we got to Portland around 3 in the afternoon and checked in to our hotel. We had dinner that evening in Vancouver, WA with my brother, his fiancee, and some of her college friends. After that we met the couple of honor's dog. Holy moly. What a little ball of terror (hyperactive Pug). As if I needed more encouragement to be a cat person.
Saturday I went to a bridal luncheon for the important (family, close friends) ladies. In the evening was the rehearsal dinner. I had the delight of overhearing my family complain about Obama. Yay.
Sunday was the wedding itself. My brother choked up during his vows...he complained it on Kristina (fiancee) crying. Here they are:
The reception food was yummy, with the best bacon I've ever had (it was a brunch reception). Overall it was a very traditional, romantic, emotional affair. So you know, not really my style, but to each his own!
On Monday we did two short but steep hikes and toured a hydroelectric dam in between.
Multnomah Falls from the bottom:
From the bottom a little closer:
From the top, whew!
The dam:
Fish hatchery by the dam:
And the view from the second hike:
I miss having abundant hiking trails and spectacular vistas. NJ is pretty flat. It did rain a lot while we were in Oregon; I don't miss that.
Isn't it just the cutest shed EVER?! We painted it to match the house, and the shingles are the same as the house, too. It's 8 feet square, so bigger than it looks in the picture...plenty of room for all of our yard and garden stuff. We built it this weekend using a kit from Lowe's. That was nice because everything was pre-measured and cut, so we just had to paint and nail it together. We may not live in this house for more than a few more years, but it should add resale value. I am going to put a little extra soil around the cinder blocks at the base and plant some grass, then put a trellis with a climbing honeysuckle on the right wall. Then it will be more integrated into the landscape.
