Fireworks and Bands
This weekend was a great time to get away, some time to relax, see a new city and good ol' fireworks. Friday work ended at noon and then the adventure began.

The first destination was Florence. This coastal city is west of Eugene and has beautiful dunes, water is too cold for swimming but awesome sand. It was a slow drive because of the holiday traffic but worth it for the ocean view. Turning and heading north provided even more views and some cool stops. The Sea Lion Caves were great and learned some interesting things about those large fin footed animals. The next stop was a small sea side restaurant for great fresh sea food. After more time following the ocean the road turned toward Portland.

The winding Highway 101 which hugged the coast was a fun drive.

Florence had sweet sand dunes and cold water.

The buildings were beautiful and lots of cliff side lighthouses.

The views of the ocean stretched for miles and miles.

Portland was fun. It's the biggest city in Oregon, but still not much larger then Grand Rapids. The first night was a trip to WallBangers a dueling piano bar. The music was great and a lively crowd of birthday and bachelorette parties kept the place entertained. The next stop was a club called Lotus... old school to say the least and not the scene I prefer. A stop around some properties and a 7-11 for some late night snacks and the night was over.

Saturday was prefect weather again and it was a great day to walk all over the city and see what was going on. Lunch was at a place called Rock Bottom, which like all Oregon bar and grills had their own beer. There was a Jazz festival going on near the water and in Oregon style a saturday outdoor market. This market was not nearly as hippie as the Eugene one and had some fun booths and so many food vendors. Some more shopping and getting deals (anyone who knows me knows I love sale shopping) it was off to dinner at this great spanish placed called OBA. It had tappas, an ample selection of wine and a soft atmosphere.

The city was very clean and easy to get around on foot.

Rock Bottom makes a great IPA and good chicken salad.

The Jazz festival included dance lessons and of course food.

The Portland Saturday market was huge!

It looks live bands are a staple product in Oregon during the summer.

OBA is well known Spanish stop in the Posh Portland District.

Sunday tried to stop in Salem (Oregon's capital) to see the capital building and get some lunch. Lunch was hard to find, once I remembered it was a holiday the only place open in Salem was the stop. A herbal tea, veggie sandwich, and political paper type place. You know, my favorite type place. One of the magazines advertised "holistic" dental care? What is that? It said... "We treat the entire individual, not just the teeth." On top of legalize marijuana adds, petitions against Walmart, and one add with a picture of MLK saying "Got Milk?"... which was for a peace organization. What does Milk have to do with Peace?

Lots of rose gardens and not so famous houses.

Capital Manor... not what we were looking for.

After the fun herbal experience trying to find the capital was just as hard. One sign pointing to "Capital Manor" turned out to be a retirement village... and the Historic Salem tour signs took me to nothing Rose Gardens and famous homes which I did not consider so famous. So back to Eugene it was.

Sunday night in Eugene was Art and the Vineyard and of course fireworks. The city of Eugene puts on a great show for the fireworks. They had art displays, bands, and lots of food booths (including one from Peru which was awesome!). I am not usually a fireworks fan, but with some fried plantains and fresh lemonade it turned out pretty well.

What else but live bands... and old people dancing.

Compost, Garbage and Recycling... some one stood by and watched to be sure you put it in the right place.

These kids had balloon swords and holsters, they get creative these days on what they make out of balloons. What happened to balloon dogs?

It was great watching the father and son teams lighting and watching their fireworks.

Once if got fully dark.. the show started.

The finale was great, everyone cheered.

Monday went shopping with Shelley and her daughter that is in town visiting. Jennifer (Shelley's daughter) brought with her Shelley's newest purchase... two little dogs. A mini Dashound and mini Fox Terrier. These little dogs are a riot and will be fun around the house. We will see what adventures they get into as the start to interact with the old cats.

I am looking for more adventures with friends out here. It was fun tooling around Portland, and for anyone who wants to make a weekend trip to the Northwest let me know. Shelley and Herb are great hosts (right Heather?) and there is a lot to do. I got Brothers in Seattle that I want to visit and maybe even a trip into Canada to see Vancouver.