24/52: Father's Day Weekend

Our family is always up for an adventure Father's Day Weekend and this year Pop's choice was a visit to the Oregon Vortex just outside of Gold Hill.

This roadside attraction has been open to the public since 1930 and takes you on a strange glimpse into the strange world of gravity hill/optical illusions.  Local legend according to Native Americans refer to the site as "forbidden" land and travelers would often times have trouble with horses passing through the area.  Most in our party, believe that the effect is due to a distorted background that induces a forced perspective and not anything paranormal.  At any rate, it was a fun adventure and we all enjoyed the visit.

We then drove just down the road to Del Rio Vineyards, which was established in 1997 and was once home to the Rock Point Hotel built in 1864.

We had a 5 wine flight, which included a Pinot Gris, Viogner, Grenache Rose, Claret and a Cabernet Savignon.  Absolutely beautiful tasting room and grounds.  It would be a great place to pack a picnic lunch, play a round of cornhole and drink a bottle of wine in the sunshine!

Finally, we headed down old highway 99 past Rogue River and ate lunch at River's Edge outside in the beautiful sunshine along the river.  My shrimp scampi with spaghetti squash was amazing and I know Brian, Sandra and Steve enjoyed their Halibut Fish and Chips.

Our Father's Day adventures are always a fun time for our family.  Now on to planning next year!

Enjoy!
Stacy

47/52: A Long Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving is a time for family and our family sure does know how to have a good time!

Wednesday night is kinda like Christmas Eve to me.  Family gathers together to cook, celebrate, listen to music and give thanks.  Brian prepared a wonderful Italian dinner and we all had a wonderful evening together.

Our Thanksgiving Day is typically laid back with the parade and football on TV, everyone devouring the Black Friday ads in the newspaper and preparing to feast.  We were treated to an Oregon Ducks Men's basketball game in the evening which was a perfect way to wrap up a great day. 

Friday was spent out in Oregon Wine Country and a visit to 4 wonderful wineries for some unique tastings.  This year the weather was amazing and we all enjoyed a wonderful drive through Yamhill County under white puffy clouds and sunshine.

I can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone.  The weekend flew by.  The parents are gone.  Brian went home Saturday and Uncle Steve leaves Thursday.  Our house is full of Christmas now...lights and trees and a different kind of holiday feeling.

Enjoy!
Stacy

24/52: Father's Day Weekend in Eugene/Springfield

Father's Day Weekend is becoming quite an event.  The last few years, it's been centered around some sort of road trip and this year we started off with a beautiful drive on Friday to King Estate Winery for a wonderful lunch.  It's a beautiful area and our lunch was spectacular.  We stopped off to pay a quick visit to my Aunt and Uncle (Mom's side) and it was nice to spend a bit more time with them having just seen them again for the family reunion at the beginning of May.

Friday night we hit PK Park in Eugene to see the Emeralds take on the Vancouver Canadians in minor league baseball action.  The park is great (just a few years old), very imitate and a nice place to see baseball (it's still not Civic Stadium).

Saturday we headed up the McKenzie River Highway on our way to Sister's, OR.  It was a spectacular drive with stops for waterfalls and panoramic views of Cascade peaks.  For me, it wasn't about the destination, although Sisters has a lot going for it...it was about the journey and spending quality time with my Pop over Father's Day Weekend.

The weekend went by all too soon and before we turned the rental "beast" van back into the rental car company, we were already planning next year's adventure.

Enjoy!
Stacy 

48/52: Thanksgiving Eve/Day and Wine Tasting Friday!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend!

Amazing family time with great food and drink.  Thanksgiving Eve was spent pre-cooking, drinking wine and listening to a great mix of music that made us all get up and dance!

Our Thanksgiving meal on Thursday was wonderful and we were all grateful to be together and have such a great day of food and rest (despite 2 inches of rain).

Friday we went to 4 amazing wineries in the Washington County/Yamhill area....and they were all places that we've never been to before.  Each place was unique with wonderful food pairings and wine tastings.

How was your Thanksgiving?

Enjoy!
Stacy

25/52: Father's Day Weekend

Brian, Chick and I all spent time in Eugene with Pop and Rosemary (plus Steve) over Father's Day Weekend. Chick and I drove to Eugene on Thursday night and Brian flew in from Seattle on Friday night.

Thursday was a family road trip to Pop's pick, Wildlife Safari in Wintson, OR. The dream and vision of one man, Frank Hart - Wildlife Safari was created in 1972 as a facility to save rare and endangered species from around the world. Visitors can view over 76 species from their cars including tigers, giraffes, zebras, lions, elephants, bison, elk and bears.

Annual attendance reaches approximately 150,000 making Wildlife Safari one of Oregon's top visitor destinations.

It was amazing!  We drove through the park with our windows rolled down just like we were on an African Safari.  We saw all sorts of animals and took tons of great pictures and lots of video (YouTube video to post).

Saturday was a Chamber of Commerce day in Florence, OR.  A tour of the Heceta Lighthouse, a walk on Heceta Beach, lunch in Old Town Florence and an hour of gambling at Three Rivers Casino.

What an incredible weekend!

I hope Pop had fun.  I know I did!

Enjoy!
Stacy

Old Photo Friday: Happy Trails, Uncle Roonie

WHO: Steven Ray Suter (Roonie)
WHAT: Beach time
WHERE: Oregon Coast
WHEN: He looks to be about 4 years old so I'll say summer 1965

Uncle Steve came to visit this past week.  It's always fun hanging out with him and I hope he enjoyed his time in Portland.

Enjoy!
Stacy

12/52: Madness is my specialty!

Aside from Christmas, the first week of March Madness is the best time of the year!

For the past 18 years, my Pop has been coming for a visit for 7 days to watch basketball, eat good food and drink good wine.  We had a blast this past week!

Brian went back to Seattle on Friday morning and the next round of March Madness groupies, my uncle Steve arrived on Friday night.  Then on Saturday morning, Chick's bestie, Terri arrived and we had one heck of a day!

Sunday we set up the Bloody Mary bar and ordered a couple of pizzas and watched the last of the first weekends games.

SWEET 16!!

Enjoy!
Stacy