Summer Fun

I can't believe we are nearing the end of summer - it's gone by so fast! It's been a very busy summer - usually I feel like work is a bit slow in the summer with a lot of people off on vacation, but I happened to be in the middle of a big project all summer long that has been incredibly stressful. Luckily we (sort of) wrapped that up last Wednesday so I've been trying to decompress a little and enjoy the last few weeks of the summer weather.

Last weekend a group of us headed out to Central Oregon for a 2-day rafting trip on the Deschutes River. I'd been itching to go rafting again ever since we went for Jonathan's birthday on the Clackamas! We drove over to Bend on Friday afternoon, checked into our hotel, made a quick stop at REI, and then headed to the Bend Brewfest. The weather was gorgeous (it was all weekend) and it was free to get into the brewfest which was nice for our friends who don't drink. We spent the evening there, hanging out on the lawn, eating some food, and sampling lots of beers. It was still almost a two hour drive from Bend to get to the river so we were up by 6:30 scrambling to get our things together and grab some breakfast before heading out.

We went with a company called Ouzel - they were fantastic. They provide all of your camping gear (tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads) and make all of your food for you - they were great with special dietary requests, with me being vegetarian  and not eating eggs and another girl being gluten and dairy intolerant I thought we might have a tough time, but everything worked out perfectly! Plus, as wonderful as those dehydrated meals are (slight sarcasm only - some of them are pretty reasonable) it was nice to have real, cooked, whole food while out camping!


The rapids on the Deschutes weren't as exciting as the Clackamas was, but the scenery definitely helped to make up for it - it's such a different environment on that side of the mountains and it was so pretty. A lot of time was spent just floating along and enjoying the views. There were also two inflatable kayaks that just about everyone got a chance to try out! I thought the kayak was pretty fun, but I kind of prefer to be in the paddle boat and have the experience with everyone else instead of just being off alone.

This past Friday my friend Stephanie was in Oregon so I took the afternoon off and drove out to Tillamook to meet up with her. The drive was wonderful - the highway to get out that way is a winding two lane highway through the Siuslaw National Forest, there is even a creek alongside it for a good portion. I love creeks, like a lot.





We met up at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and had lunch, watched the factory workers package cheese for a bit, had some samples, and then headed out to see what else was in Tillamook. Turns out, not much. We wandered around the town for a little bit without much luck and then drove ~10 miles out to the ocean to see the Cape Meares Lighthouse. It was pretty foggy out at the coast, but the cool weather was a nice change from the heat we've been having in the valley lately (when I say "heat" I mean it's been about 90 - which to me is crazy hot, but I realize that may not be so bad for some people, really it's just how hot the house gets that bothers me).

Now for the best part - the state fair! I pretty much love the fair no matter what, but let me tell you why I really love the Oregon State Fair. Vegan BBQ. I know, right!? The most unlikely place to find vegan food, and yet there it is - vegan bbq, vegan cheesesteak, vegan softserve ice cream!?! Seriously, I love Oregon. Also - there were more compost and recycling bins then there were trash cans. What fair has compost bins!? Not one I'd ever been to before Oregon's at least.

We met up with our friend Anton to watching the Stihl Lumberjack Championships - pretty crazy sport. I'm not sure how one gets into it, but it was definitely entertaining to watch! We saw some super cute animals - ducks, piglets, cows, deer (!?)... why there are deer at the fair I still have no idea. And then for the best part - rides!! Jonathan hates the rides, so I was super excited that Anton would go on some with me. We didn't do many - only three total because as it turns out, the fair is expensive! But we had a blast. We actually did convince Jonathan to go on the Tilt-a-Whirl, which was super fun. I can't believe he actually went on any ride - he usually only offers up the Ferris wheel (I think because he knows I won't go on it - who wants to pay money for that boring ride!?). I had a great time though and I can't wait for the fair again next year! Vegan bbq, here I come!  <3

-C