Welcome To Oregon!

This was the first week of our vacation. Instead of going somewhere out of state, we had out-of-staters come to us! My Tante Dorle (from Dover, Delaware) and my cousin, Tom (DC area) and his family (wife, Marci, daughters, Kimberly, Emily, Katie and baby Noelle) have been planning a trip to come visit us for awhile now. They arrived Monday night and we've been going ever since! But, the best part was that they surprised me with my cousin, Monica coming along! I'm glad that they didn't detain me at the airport, because when I finally saw her (I was too busy hugging and kissing the other seven of them!) I screamed really loud. Something you probably shouldn't do at the airport.

TUESDAY...We all met at mom's for a bbq. My brother, Raymond came. He hadn't seen Tom since they were 9 or 10! My sister, Lori and her daughter, Stacey came. They were all surprised when they saw Monica! It was a nice time together.















WEDNESDAY...We drove up Hwy. 30 to the coast. Started at Cannon Beach and backtracked to Seaside. It was a cloudy day, but not very windy and NOT rainy, so we didn't complain! We ate at Mo's. Always a fun place to eat.


















THURSDAY...Columbia Gorge, here we come! But first, the older girls went to the Lloyd Center in Portland to shop. We met up with them at Lori's shop where she showed everyone around. Grabbed some Subway for the picnic we would have once we got there.











The Gorge Vista House was our first stop at the Columbia Gorge. And the wind was perfect! Just enough to cool things off, but not too much that it would blow us over as it so often has done!








Waterfalls On The Gorge! The weather was so perfect for this! The sun came out, but with all the trees, we were very comfortable. The light hikes were just right having only so much time and so much to see! The grand finale' being Multnomah Falls was great. It was fun to see Tom and his family's response to everything they were seeing. Made us proud to be part of Oregon!

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After seeing the gorge, we all went on over to Lori's home where we had dinner and more visiting.












My sister, Mona and her daughter, Rena flew in from Spokane and met us there at Lori's.












FRIDAY....HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! The morning started out going to my brother Ray's floating home that he's been working on. It was fun to see how much he has done!






Tom and family then went on to Lori's for an afternoon on the boat. We then all got together at our house for a bbq. This was Andy's first time to see everyone, so that was special too. Last time he saw Tante Dorle, he was 15.








Then, of course, we went to St. Helens on the river to watch the fireworks. Unfortunately, they could have been a lot better. I don't know what happened out there, but it wasn't the usual wonderful show. Oh well, we still had a good time together!





















Then, before we knew it, it was time to say good-bye. Always a hard thing to do, but Lord willing, we'll see them all again soon! Next time, we'll come their way!
Thanks, Tante Dorle, Monica, Tom, Marci, Kimmy, Katie, Emily and Noelle for such a wonderful time together!! You were a real blessing! Love you all!