Hood to Coast 2012

For the second year in a row, we ran the Hood to Coast Relay race; a 12 person, 200 mile, non-stop running race over the course of a day and a half.  As the race is very hard to get into (they have a lottery system due to the high demand), we were fortunate to be invited to join a team formed by the family of one of Emily's MBA classmates.

Team "Crawling Tiger Sprinting Dragon"

taking the baton for my first leg of the race

we made lots of new friends with our team  :)

Emily starting strong after taking the baton from Trami

the team comaraderie was amazing, as displayed by one of our injured runners, Thomas, running alongside Nam to hand him some water and cheer him on

it was a nice sunny day as the race passed through downtown Portland

Here are a few of my favorite team vans (who seemed to be enjoying the race a little too much):

a futon welded to the top of the team van is nice for both lounging at the transitions and sleeping at night 

these guys were near us during most of the race...we definitely enjoyed their heavy dose of 80's rock!

the night run is always my favorite part of the race

at the finish with our medals, I wince a smile through the pain, while this is a mere training run for Emily  :)

van #2 group waiting on our shuttle from the finish

We want to give a special thanks to Hiep Dang for inviting us to join his family in this race.  We also are grateful to his sister, Julie, for coordinating the team.  After the race, we joined them at their rented beach house for an amazing BBQ.  We had such a great time, and their hospitality really made us feel part of the family. 

Mom's visit to Portland

 

OK, I will admit, I was struggling for a last minute gift for my Mom for her birthday.  So I did what any great son would do:  I called my sister (Kristy).  Well, she was in the same position as I, so we decided to fly her out to Portland and overlap with Kristy's visit so we could all spend some time together.  For all that my Mom has been through lately with her selfless devotion to help my Dad during his recovery from brain surgery, she really deserved a break and some time away.  For the first part of her trip, she went to Seattle with Kristy, Pat, and Elliot.  After Kristy and Pat left, my Mom and I did a roadtrip down to California.  My Mom had mentioned before that she wanted to see the Redwoods in California.  I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity for her to do so and for us to spend some quality time together.  We had a lot of fun and saw many things along the way.

a quick hike to see a wild patch of Darlingtonia (aka the pitcher plant), a rare carnivorous plant  that only grows in Oregon and Northern California

rivers so clear, you can see the 40 ft bottom from atop an overpass

The redwoods never disappoint.  This is my second trip to see these beautiful freaks of nature.  It is truly amazing how massive they are.  Even more impressive is their resilience to live through fire, insect attacks, floods, etc through thousands of years.  I could do this trip every month and not get bored of it.

On the way back up from California, we drove along the coast, stopping at beaches and enjoying fresh seafood in the little coastal towns.  Now THIS is living!

pristine ridges in the sand

We spent the night in Florence, Oregon.  The next morning, we started the day with a nice coffee and a walk along the piers.  There were crab fishermen setting pots and several boats arriving full of fresh tuna from recent expeditions.  Seals trolled the docks, hoping for a fisherman to toss them some scrap bait.

We continued our drive up the Oregon coast, finally arriving at the Sea Lion Caves... 

...however the caves (above) were devoid of Sea Lions, as they were all out sunning themselves on the rocky shore nearby:

We gradually made our way back home to Portland, trying to take the scenic route whenever possible.  Mom especially liked seeing the endless rows of trees as we drove through the Christmas Tree Farms.  Once back in Portland, we spent a few more days checking out local treasures:

South Falls, Silver Falls

North Falls, Silver Falls

Portland Rose Garden

Portland Chinese Garden

view of downtown Portland from the Pittock Mansion

I really appreciated getting to spend so much 1:1 time with my Mom, since usually our visits are short and we are trying to see a lot of family all at once.  The long car ride was a great time to get caught up and discuss many topics and really connect.  I think she will agree that it was some of the most special and meaningful times we have ever spent together.  Happy birthday Mom, I love you. 

Pat, Kristy, Elliot Visit Portland

 Back in August (yes, I am very behind on blogging), we were lucky to have my sister's family visiting from Chicago for a few weeks.  Kristy and Pat are both teachers, thus they had plenty of time off this summer for visiting, so we convinced them to come out for an extended stay with us.  It was also nice to spend some quality time with our nephew Elliot, as he is growing up very fast.

 One of Elliot's "jobs" while he was visiting was to help us walk the dog.  It was hilarious because the first time, when he got tired, he just set the leash down on the ground.  We reminded him that he needs to hand the leash to one of us when he is done.  :) 

We were fortunate that their visit coincided with the summer concert in the park next door to our place.  It was a free concert and the music was pretty good.  Elliot had fun dancing, but, as the music went until dark, it was getting a little past his bedtime. 

 Kristy dancing with Elliot (while carrying his soon to be little sister)

 Pat and Elliot playing in the park

To make the trip even better, my Mom's visit overlapped with Kristy's.  It was nice for all of us to spend some time together.  They took a weekend roadtrip to Seattle (we stayed in Portland since Emily's roommate from college and maid of honor, Pauline, was visiting with her boyfriend from Chicago). 

 Mom enjoying seeing all the fresh produce at the farmer's market downtown

 

 Elliot is always a fan of live music - here he is checking out a bluegrass band at the farmer's market

We did a day trip to Mt. Hood to take Elliot to the Adventure park.  It was a lot of fun to see him enjoying the rides, etc.  Pat and I even got to squeeze in some downhill mountain biking.

Elliot learning to drive:  a few mishaps, but he did very well

Dad coaching son on driving

Elliot's focus was priceless....he was very determined to make that turn!

Pat, Elliot, Kristy at Mt. Hood

Elliot enjoying a ride in the little boats

We had a lot of fun and fit in a lot of activities while they were in town.  It was great seeing them for an extended period of time (instead of our usual whirlwind weekends in Chicago, where we are trying to visit too many people in a short amount of time).  Hopefully this trip becomes an annual tradition for them?