7/9/11 Roger's Birthday!

Saturday was Roger's birthday and we took a road trip from Seaside to Tillamook, OR. We went to the Air Museum there and also to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for birthday ice cream! The hanger that the museum is housed in is huge. It was built during World War II and housed 11 blimps. Another hanger was built at the same place at the same time; it burned down in 1984. Steel and iron were needed for the war effort so these hangers were built primarily of wood and concrete. There is a wonderful film at the museum of the building and history of these hangers. I had no idea that blimps were used on both coasts during the war; they provided ship escort, rescue efforts, and security on both coasts. Roger checked out all the planes and the 'original' Jeeps on display. No trip to Tillamook is complete without a trip to the Tillamook Cheese factory. Like all the other tourists, we stood in a line to pick our flavors and pay and then in another line to pick up our choices. Yummy treat for the birthday boy. The weather was perfect for the drive along the coast. Today Sunday, we watched the Womens World Soccer game between USA and Brazil and celebrated the hard won USA win. We are continuing our birthday bash by going to see Cars 2 this afternoon. We hope you are having a great summer... Happy trails...

4th of July 2011

We are in Seaside Oregon this 4th of July. We haven't attended 4th of July formal festivities in several years, usually foregoing the crowds. However, this year we decided to go for it! There was a wonderful parade through town and I took a lot of fun photos. The photo of the beach was early in the day. You can see how long the beach is and believe me, that night it was covered with people! After the parade, there was a community festival with food, live music, games for the kids, and a silent auction. We went to the beach in the evening for the fireworks. There were thousands of folks on the beach with tents, firepits, fireworks and music. Many people had their own fireworks displays and many were spectacular! At 10 p.m. the city put on its own display and it was so beautiful and amazing! We had a great time, though we were bundled up in sweatshirts and caps. The crowds were friendly and well behaved. Walking back to our car we saw lots of families with sleepy babies and excited kids. The crowd was just huge... I couldn't get over it... what a great celebration! Hope you all had a great 4th. We leave Seaside on 7/13 and will be in Enumclaw shortly thereafter. Happy trails...