Drivers, Start your Engines!

I am proud to say that I have officially had my first NASCAR experience. I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical at first as to what the event would entail, and I really had concerns that I would be bored watching a bunch of cars drive in a circle for 4 hours. I was definitely wrong.

First, the events surrounding NASCAR are similar to a carnival. They have booths and games and freebies and give-aways and beer tents and TONS of souvenirs for sale. It was pretty mind-blowing, as were some of the outfits those in attendance were wearing, but we will save that for later.

We drove down to Richmond after work on Friday where we met Katie and Sonny. They had flown in the previous day and met us at the track. The Friday night race was the Nationwide series race, so not all the big names drove.

Then on Saturday things really ramped up. A ton more people and much more fanfare. Saturday night was the Sprint Cup Series. Personally, I was rooting for Dale Jr. because my brother is a big fan. If Dale placed in the top 15 or 20 he would qualify to keep racing and go for the Sprint Cup.

The big headphones are ear protection as well as a radio where you can tune in to the driver of your choice and hear what they are saying on their radios with their pit crew. It's pretty cool and well worth it since otherwise you would just be sitting there watching and not really knowing what is going on. Plus, some of the driver's get pretty animated and when someone gets into a wreck you can hear what they have to say. Highly entertaining.

We also had pit passes for Saturday so we got to go on the track and see the cars and the crews setting up and preparing for the race.

Yay for NASCAR. I am starting to understand why it's the largest spectator sport. My favorite parts were the crashes and since we were in Richmond which has a shorter track, there were a ton, enough to tie the record.

Another great trip with Katie and Sonny. It was great to get out of the city and experience a fun activity that I probably wouldn't have ventured out for on my own.

The Gorge.

In addition to the beautiful beaches in Oregon are the beautiful rivers and falls that dot the countryside. Not far away from Portland is probably one of the most famous falls, Multnomah Falls. Growing up, we frequented this site quite often...there are great hiking trails that take you to the top of the Falls and a wonderful little restaurant that you can grab tea.

There is a bridge that goes across the Falls halfway up. It is just so breathtaking. I always love going there.

After taking in the Falls we headed down the Columbia River and stopped at the Gorge. You can see the view behind me and my Grandma. This trip definitely brought back memories of my Grandma and Papa taking my brother and I on day-trips across Oregon. We took multiple trips down to the Gorge to ride the Stern-wheeler along the river. It was always a good time.

We didn't stop there...we kept heading towards Mt. Hood and stopped at Hood River to eat lunch and watch the wind surfers. You can see some of the wind surfers and kite surfers in the background. My Uncle Greg and I decided that it didn't look too terribly difficult so we are going to give it a go sometime.

After the Gorge we took a pit stop to visit my cousin, Jonathan, at the Cherry farm he was working at over the summer...pun intended. I crack myself up. Mt. Hood was our next stop. This is a sight that I will never get tired of. The mountain or "Our Mountain" as Portlandians like to call it is absolutely breathtaking.

Sigh, so pretty.

This pic reminds me of the song, "Toes in the water, ass in the sand," but instead my toes were in the snow while DC was going through a record heatwave. :)

Needless to say, I had an amazing trip. I miss my extended family, it was definitely hard to move away as a kid, but I love going back and visiting.

The Rock.

I have pictures in my room of the Oregon Coast. I think they are peaceful. Having seen both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico, the Ocean is far more beautiful. The only downside to the Oregon coast is the cool temps. It is windy and chilly and needless to say there isn't much swimming in the ocean, but it is so gorgeous, I have never minded.

Although Keith has never been to Oregon, he has seen my pictures and he lovingly refers to Haystack Rock as "The Rock." When he found out that I was going to Oregon to visit, he asked if I was going to his favorite landmark. You may recognize Haystack Rock from it's cinematic debut in The Goonies.

So Aunt Vic and I grabbed some coffee and headed to Cannon Beach, home of Haystack Rock.

Haystack Rock is a bird sanctuary, and the summer is the time of year that the birds are most active. If you look closely at the pictures you can see all the little black dots.

We also did some shopping and people watching. It was a fun day, I love my Aunt Vic!

Going to the Zoo, How about you?

One of my favorite things in life are summers in Oregon. I haven't been back to visit my family in a few years and was fortunate enough to get to go this July. I stayed for a week and my Aunt Vicki was kind enough to tote me around - much like she did when I was younger. Unfortunately for the blogosphere my camera was a tiny bit on the dead side...but I did manage to take some pictures on other cameras and compile a majority of them.

If you haven't been to Oregon, I highly recommend it. In my humble opinion it is one of the most beautiful places on earth...and not just because I am from there. :) The days are a warm, but not oppressive, 80 degrees, and the nights go into the upper 60s. It is absolutely beautiful. I took quite a few pictures, so I think I will break them up into a couple of different posts.

So, without further ado, I present you with the Oregon Zoo!

To this day one of my favorite exhibits is the Polar Bear exhibit. As a kid, the image above freaked me out...it is in the ceiling as you are coming down the ramp to enter the underground part of the Polar Bear den. Despite my mother assuring me that the bear would not come through the roof, I was not convinced and safely skirted around the ominous bear paw.

The Polar Bear exhibit...this guy is tuckered out. We went in earlier in the day and he was swimming laps right by the window. Then he decided to take a happy nappy. So cute, and I loved that he laid right by the window so that visitors could get a peak.

This sign cracked me up, simply because they moved the penguins to the exhibit right next to the Polar Bears while the Penguin house was being renovated. Nice.

Just a few of the elephants at the zoo, the most famous being Packy. So apparently Packy is 40, but for some reason I had in my head that Packy was a baby when I was a kid. Either way, he was one of the zoo's feature exhibits and they even made Packy pops...elephant shaped suckers. When I went back on this trip I asked for Packy pops and they looked at me like I had three heads...sigh...it's hell getting old.

My Aunt Vic's favorite part of the zoo, the Lorikeet exhibit. This wasn't there "back in my day," but you go in and you can pay a dollar for a cup of nectar and you can feed the Lorikeets...there are over 50 in there. It's a tiny bit creepy because they land on you, which if you grew up with my mother is a fate worse than death. Despite this, the whole thing was super cool...except that they fire at will when they have to pee...eww.

Another fabulous feature of the Oregon Zoo is their trains. They have about 4 different trains that travel around the zoo complex and up to the Rose Garden and the Japanese Gardens. So we took the train and stopped at the Rose Garden which is a feature exhibit of Portland, city of Roses.

I love roses. :) Now for more animals...

I could go to the Zoo everyday. I love seeing animals that you wouldn't otherwise get to see interacting. So much fun.

Katie's Beach Wedding!

After two Jamaica posts I finally am getting to the purpose of our fabulous trip to Jamaica...Katie and Sonny's wedding! It was a gorgeous ceremony on a pier overlooking the ocean. From where I was sitting I could see little fishies swimming in the ocean. After the ceremony we had champagne and cake on the beach and then dinner with the fabulous sunset.

Some pictures of the evening...

Me! Yes, my hair was wet...got ready a little late.

My view of the fishies!

We gather here today...

With these rings...

I thee wed...

I know pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Sonny and Katie Henry!

The cutest wedding favors - I love swag with my name on it!

Congrats Katie and Sonny! It is so wonderful to see two people so in love.

So I am a little late...

Obviously I have been a tad delinquent in my blog posts...and I am certain the whole world has been waiting with bated breath. Life has certainly been keeping me busy and very tired.

So onward and upward. I am going to try and do better in October.

Jamaica...picking up where I left off...Part 2:

Jamaica was my first experience with an all-inclusive resort, and I must say, I love it. You didn't have to worry about carrying money or a purse, you were just there and so was everything you could ever need. Upon our arrival to the Sandals resort we met our friendly activities director/bartender (he later hosted bingo during a rainstorm) and he gave us our first taste of Jamaica...Red Stripe beer and Jamaican Smiles. This was him giving his "Jamaican smile" before actually making the drink which consisted of banana and rum.

After the bar we toured the hotel and all of the Sandals hotels let locals come in and sell their wares. It was a vision of bright colored dresses, jewelry, t-shirts and just about any Jamaican souvenir you can imagine.

This was the friendly little kitty that kept appearing - there were multiple just roaming the resort.

Life-sized chess set for guests to play.

Some of the locals...this is the male of the pair of peacocks and one of the hotels.

At one of the high points in Jamaica there was an old plantation - this is one of the structures.

Bananas

Cocoa

Yay for Jamaica! Next up...Katie's wedding on the beach.