2 bikes, 1 trailer, 2 parents, 4 kids, 1 year.

Saturday I went for a bike ride. The MAX green line to Clackamas opened and I wanted to see if the bike trail was open all the way to the mall. On my way southbound a northbound family asked me how to get into Portland. The family had six people on two bikes and one trailer. From France via Quebec, Montreal, Calgary, Yellowstone, Spokane, The Dalles and Troutdale on their way to Lake Oswego. I rode with them to Burnside and pointed them west. As they rode away I thought, the bike trail will be here forever but they are riding over the hill...and I didn't want them to have to ride on Burnside all the way into the city. I rode with Arnaud and Estelle through Southeast Portland leaving them at the Hawthorne Bridge on their way to Lake O. We made a quick detour to Staccato Gelato for a treat since it was unseasonably warm. The family is traveling for a year, and is about a quarter of the way through their trip. Sounds like a great adventure, and I look forward to following them on their blog 6tzen.org.

Pickling

We received a lot of herbs and 2 fat cucumbers in our CSA box this month, along with tomatoes and green beans from our garden. I've been wanting to try pickling, especially the methods that don't require canning or a long wait! I tried this recipe last night: 4 Recipes for Quick Pickles: Rosemary & Sage Quick Pickles, and it was very easy! I'm not sure if they taste good (still curing in the frige), but the results were very beautiful at least!

I made pickled garlic/dill green beans, cucumbers with chives and sage, heirloom tomatoes with garlic and chives, and cucumber chips with garlic and dill.

Crater Lake and central OR

We had a lovely long weekend in central Oregon a few weeks ago. We headed out after work on a Thursday to stay at the St Francis School (a McMenamin's locale) in Bend for the first night. That was really fun - beautiful and fun McMenamin's decor, pub, soaking pool, patios, etc.
The next day, we headed to Sunriver for nice bike ride to LaPine SP. My parents and Nana arrived in the afternoon, and we all enjoyed the fun weekend in Sunriver - lots of bike rides, putt-putt, shopping, and relaxing. On Sunday, when my fam left for home, Dave and I headed to Crater lake for the afternoon. It is so breathtaking!! We stayed one more evening in Sunriver for swimming/hottubbing, birdwatching and reading. We ended the trip with a visit to the High Desert Museum in Bend where we got to see nice birds and nature displays. Very fun!
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Cycle Oregon University Weekend

Some pictures from the Cycle Oregon University Weekend, out of Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR.

First strawberry crop of the year. This was also the first weekend of the year that the farmers markets had strawberries. Summer's almost here.

Happy Hour

Carley and I hiked Angel's Rest on Friday--here are some pics:

Fun at the dog park

It was a great evening of entertainment at the deluxe Banfield dog park. With 20+ dogs there, Wags probably had as much fun as he could handle. He loves the wading pool, greeting all of the dogs, and chasing tennis balls thrown into the pool. People are always surprised to hear that he's a 6 year old dog, since he acts like he's 2 or 3 and never stops running and playing. Good ol Wags!

Poker Faces

Had a few people over for a belated birthday party...here is the wreckage.

Poker Faces