Columbia Gorge Excursion

We left the house at 9:15 am to head up to the Columbia Gorge.  Nathan had checked out some waterfalls to go to, then Hood River for lunch, and then to Cathedral Ridge for wine tasting.  We had a 3 pm reservation for that.

It was a gorgeous day.

Mt St. Helens

The first stop was to be the Vista House at Crown Point.  We found out that it was closed for some construction.  So our first stop was a gas station for the restrooms.  We still drove up there.  it was extremely windy.  I mean EXTREMELY!! We found out later that we were there during the peak gust speed of 70 mph!!! My pictures were all blurry because I could not hold still.

The next stop was Latourell Falls.  That was very nice. At least it was no longer as windy.

The Shepherd's Dell.  This waterfall trail has usually been closed the other times I have been by.

The next stop was Multnomah Falls.  Well, it was supposed to be.  First, Highway 30 was closed, so we had to turn back to Corbett and continue on 84.  The next Multnomah Falls parking lot was full so we could not get off.  Bummer.  So we had to change our plan somewhat.  We went straight to Hood River for lunch.  We had picked The Riverside.  I also called Cathedral Ridge to bump up our time to 2 pm instead of 3 pm.  That actually worked better.  

So much snow.  I had not expected this.

We crossed the Bridge of the Gods into Washington

Washington

Bridge of the Gods to the right

Another $2 to get back into Oregon.

It was not surprising that the outdoor seating area of the Riverside Restaurant was closed.

View from the restaurant.

See the ducks

We had a nice meal.  We had another road closure on our way to Cathedral Ridge.  Luckily, the alternate route was not much longer.

We could each pick which wines we wanted to taste and then they kept offering us more.  They were all so good.  We each bought some wine. 

Mt Adams

One the way back Multnomah Falls parking lot was open so we stopped.  

Note the moon and the jet stream

Multnomah Falls Lodge

Multnomah Falls

Droplets of water looked like jewels

    

moon over the falls

Nearly home.

We just had leftovers for dinner.  We had so many choices.

I think Cider missed us.

Game time for Nathan

Saturday, Japanese Garden

So many ways to play with Cider

Working hard

We made a 10:30 am reservation for the Japanese Gardens.  That was on Ice's list of things to do.  We left early because we thought that parking would be a problem.  But we were lucky.  The weather cooperated.  It was chilly but not rainy.  

Then we drove to Top Burmese in the NOB hill area of Portland.  We sat in their heated outdoor seating area.  Delicious meal.

Nathan's noodle soup

Then we went to the bakery for dessert.

I shared the blueberry croissant with Nathan.

We headed home. We left Robbie and Ice downtown. They wanted to explore a little.  

Blanca and Cider are safe as long as there is glass in-between.

Worn out.

Ice wanted to cook.  She headed off to Uwajimaya to buy groceries.  Going there was also on her bucket list.  

She cooked up a feast.

Salad, Miso soup, Yaki Soba, with lots of side dishes to add.  Wow.  

Rebecca is missing the new kitty and Robbie and Ice's visit.  It has been almost 2 months.

Robbie and Ice Visit

 On Thursday, Jan 6th, Robbie (nephew) Singer and his partner Ice came for a visit.  They arrived at noon.  We stopped at the Goose Hollow Inn for lunch.  Nathan Joined us for lunch.  We headed home.  No big plans for the afternoon.  Nathan came over for dinner.  He will stay with us as well.  We had spagetti. 

Friday, Robbie and Ice went off to the Woodburn Outlet Mall (no sales tax).!  Nathan worked from here.  We got everything ready for making Boudzas.  We were going with a vegetarian version this year.  Butternut squash, spinach and mushroom combination.  I think that the vote was that we are on the right track.  We preferred it to the fake meat variety.  Once Ice and Robbie got home we got busy.  The soup was already.

  

Ice

Ice, Nathan, and Robbie.

It was fun.  

An Addition to our Home - Meet Cider

After Gemini died, I knew I wanted another cat.  I found that this was not an easy process.  I tried a lot of phone calls.  Then I started following the Oregon Humane Society and other shelters.  They would have kitties available but by the time I requested adoption, they had already been adopted.  I was not having any luck.  So, I decided to check Craiglist.  I found that the kitties advertised we pure breeds and so more expensive or they were too young (6 weeks).  I did not want to pay $1000 for a kitty.  I gave up on Craigslist and had gone back to the sheltrs.  Out of the blue I got a response from one of the Craigslist listings.  10 week old orange kitty!! Exactly what I wanted. We responded right away.  Yipee! She had 3 of them and they were still available. So we picked up Nathan on our way to Vancouver to choose a kitty.  

White paws.                                       Darker coat/less white

Whiter face and chest

 

We sat and played with the 3 kitties.  We were getting so confused.  Finally the owner pointed out that one had a whiter face, one had white front paws and one had very little white.  That helped.  We ended out picking the one with the whiter face and chest.

On the drive home we settled on Cider because of his color.

We started keeping him in our bedroom unless we were watching him.  We were keeping him away from Blance.  Blanca is not amused.  It did not take long for him to take over the whole house.  He is a wild child.  But then he crashes and sleeps.  He sleeps through the night. We are taking pictures of him all the time.