Cameron's Adventures

It is the end of our summer vacation and I have to say that it was a great one. Not so much because we did the most adventurous things, but because it was our first real vacation with Emma (warning: this is a lengthy post… but there are plenty of pictures to hopefully keep you entertained as you read along about our vacation adventure).

At four months, we had a great two weeks traveling with her. She’s an amazing little girl and even at times when we were 8 hours in the car she did wonderful. And she slept through the night every night making for happy, well rested mommy and daddy!!!

We began our car adventure on Thursday, July 15th after Rory got off work. Our goal was to reach our first hotel destination in 6 hours getting there around 10:00pm. Unfortunately, due to construction and a big truck that was on fire on I-5 it took us 8 hours to get there. Emma slept most of the way there and when we got to the hotel, she continued to sleep until 5:00am. Easy, breezy first night!

The next morning while I was taking a shower, Rory decided to entertain and play with Emma. While he was holding her above him on the bed, Emma decided to give him a present. A very big present!!! She puked all over him. I mean, the biggest puke you’ve ever seen. His t-shirt was drenched. Rather than trying to clean it up, we just left it in the garbage can. Yuck!

With that, we started another long day of driving. By Friday evening we arrived at our next hotel in Pleasanton California. Our room was comfortably big.

   

We spent Saturday with Rory’s parents Ron and Carol. We drove to Monterey and enjoyed some beautiful scenery and some well needed relaxation.

 

 

   

 

We saw a lot of scuba divers and Rory and I both wished to be in the water too. Maybe next time we visit when Emma is older, we will.

The day was perfect. And Emma enjoyed being chauffeured by all of us, especially Ron and Carol.

We saw a lot of sea lions. I mean a lot!!!

And Ron and I couldn’t stop taking pictures…

   

 
While we were with Rory’s parents, we also enjoyed an hour away in the pool at the hotel while they babysat Emma. It was our first excursion without Emma. It was great because we knew she was in great hands and enjoying the love of her grandparents.

We were in Pleasanton celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of friends of Rory’s. Here are a few pictures from the event. Needless to say, the weather was fantastically warm.

 

   

   

   

   

After a few days in Pleasanton and some great times with Rory’s parents, we parted ways and headed for a few days of camping. Our drive took us through the wineries along highways 101 and 1. Both roads were quite curvy and scenic.

   

   

The first two nights were spent at a camp site in California right next to the ocean.

 

Although we were in California, the weather was actually quite cold and so we had to be bundled up.

   

 

   

Our signature shot is to hold the camera in front of us and take a picture. Of course we had to take a picture with Emma too.

and a few more…

   

and yet a few more…

   

The weather was hit and miss. It was never unbearably cold, but it was windy and chilly enough for a sweater. Still, it was great to explore the beaches.

   

While exploring the beaches, Emma was held in the Baby Bijorn which we received from a friend. It has been a great thing to have to carry Emma in places that would be hard to go with a stroller.

   

   

And it had the added benefit of allowing Emma to fall asleep in the comforts of our arms.

Back at the camp we made fire and cooked our meal over it. Though not pictured here, we roasted marshmallows for smores and they were delicious!

All while Emma happily and sometimes not so happily played with her blocks.

   

As we left California, we made a detour to drive through a tree. Apparently this is a well known thing but I never heard of it. Still, it was fun to see if the Rav4 would fit…which it did.

When we arrived at the second camp site, we discovered that the Oregon campsites are much better than those in California. At least they were more luxurious and cheaper. Instead of having to boil the water, we could use it right off the faucet. There were free hot showers instead of ones we had to pay for, there was a kid’s playground (good to remember in the future when Emma is older…) and the campsite cost less per night than in California.

Emma loved it too as she enjoyed some nicely welcomed sunshine and warmth.

   

Just a short little walk from the camp was Harris Beach.

   

 

This a great spot for camping with a great beach and wonderful weather.

   

   

 

And at the end of the day, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

   

   

Early next morning, before our departure from the campsite, we took a stroll on the beach. Only the fog was really thick and hard to actually see the beach. Still, I love the colors in the photos below.

      

And of course we had to have breakfast! All cooked up by Rory…yum.

In the car and when she was not sleeping, Emma kept herself entertained with a little monkey and friend.

Our last stop in Oregon was in Manzanita where we enjoyed a great big room overlooking the ocean. Here we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Though you cannot see the ocean in the picture below, just imagine a beautiful ocean front view right from those big windows.

After a long drive here, Emma enjoyed some well deserved belly time on the bed.

 

   

I’ve got to say that sleeping in hotels with a four month old is awesome. Not only are the rooms big and can fit the play n’pack, but also the beds are kind size. What a different it makes. And being on vacation is also an excuse to not worry about the strict sleeping schedules that so many new parents suddenly discover. Everyone says it’s really important for babies to take proper naps, etc. And while I don’t disagree with that, it is tiring and a great excuse to ignore it for a few days.

The second week of our vacation was spent in Cle Elum. It’s always very enjoyable to go there as it is nice, peaceful and quite. This trip was no exception.

The first day there we enjoyed spending some time on the deck. Emma’s outfit was given to her by Rory’s parents cousin Conrad.

    

 

       

One of the things I haven’t seen since my childhood days are currents. At least not fresh ones that you can eat. These used to grow in my grandparents garden.

And of course the next day yet again we wore the Baby Bjorn. We just love that thing! And Teika loved being in Cle Elum too.

   

Again we enjoyed some relaxation time on the deck. Father and daughter… happy times.

   

At one point, Teika thought she saw something in the garden. She was all ears and alert.

Emma and I also had some fun giggly times.

In the evening we enjoyed some beautiful sunsets and thunderstorms. Though I could never quite capture the lightening really well…

 

This was a great first vacation with our little girl Emma. She is growing up so quickly I can’t even breath that fast!

Until next vacation… Adieu!

Last week Rory, Teika and I went on an adventure down Oregon coast on Highway 101. Though the weather was less than cooperative (we had a lot of wind and rain) we had a great time. We walked on many beaches and enjoyed the outdoors. Teika was quite a trooper and her senses were on overload as she sniffed and sniffed new and interesting scents.

We started our adventure on Tuesday and ended up in Manzanita for a night. Our motel was right on the ocean so in the morning it was great to walk along the waves.

 

 

We continued our adventure by having to drive across a flooded road. Luckily we were in Rory’s car which has high clearance!

For the next three nights we stayed in Bandon in a comfortable motel right on the cliff. The view from the hotel was spectacular:

And down at the beach, the scene was equally amazing. But first we had to get down which required a lot of steps and at the end, Teika had to be carried down as the stairs were metal and you could see through them. She wasn’t keen on stepping on them…

But once we reached down, Teika was an excited little pooch and followed Rory everywhere.

     

    

    

At sunset, we strolled some more on the beach and enjoyed a beautiful view.

 

   

 

Another drive south on the coast yielded a beautiful valley.

 

And then another beach where Rory and Teika tried to get into trouble…

   

We also visited the Historical Gardens where we saw dinosaurs made of metal and concrete. They were life size in scale.

     

     

We also went to the Tillamook Air Museum and saw quite a few old airplanes.

    

    

We also drove in snow and in a national rain forest where the trees were filled with moss.

One one of the windy days we visited the Sea Lion’s Cave. Unfortunately the sea lions were not in the cave. They were outside enjoying the heavy waves.

 

 

   

The image below is one of my favorite photos taken during this trip. It is very mysterious and magical.

    

We stayed a night in downtown Portland at a hotel called Vintage Plaza. It was a very nice hotel and dog friendly. Teika enjoyed her stay in the motels and hotels.

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast with our friends Andy and Wendy and their 5 1/2 months old daughter Vienna.

Though we only traveled for a week, we had a great adventure.

I ran across my friend Marcus Barry’s blog this evening called Genuine Seer and remembered the photo he took of me a few years ago in Las Vegas. It’s a fun picture and as I’m wearing all black, I seem very much like a ninja. It helps that I love movies with ninjas and I think that sometime in my future lives, I will be one.

Usually what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas. This is an exception!

On March 18th, Rory and I boarded the Hawaiian airplane on our way to Maui. After a winter vacation staying home and enjoying 2 weeks of great snow in Seattle, we felt it was time to actually take a real vacation away from home. And what other place to go than Hawaii. To me, a vacation means nice weather and water. So the Hawaiian islands are always a place to visit for a break from the every day life of Seattle.

Below are some photos from our trip. For all of the photos, you can check out Maui (2009).

^ It’s tough when you have to get to the airport two hours ahead of time, but at least we were going on vacation so waiting was actually not too bad!

 
^ In the first hotel we stayed, every night we had a show that we could watch from our balcony with traditional Hawaiian dancing.

^This boat is sunk and visible from the Lahaina shores in Maui.

^During sunset, this is one of many spectacular views that one can see from Lahaina shores.

^A popular snorkeling area, many boats come here with visitors.

^Rory saw a ladder climbing down into the rocks and decided it was a cool idea to use it. He gave me his phone and hat in case something went wrong so that I could call 911. Of course, he kept the car keys!

^We were very hot after a fun afternoon snorkeling, so we stopped at a cute house in the north west area of Maui and had shave ice with ice cream. Rory had banana bread with ice cream. It was wonderful.

^One of many shots of Rory boarding on the waves. 

^This was a very beautiful but windy area in the south west part of Maui. Three years ago when we went, we were able to go through the black rocks and I took some awesome pictures. I was looking forward to more of the same but this year the path was closed due to too much human disturbance of natural resources.

 

^This was the view from the second place we stayed. It is called Hana Hotel and it was the ultimate luxury.

^Beautiful red sandy beach.

^I love the little lizard creatures. They were really cool to photograph. I was inches away from them and they were very kind to not run away.

^Rory and I. One of a few photos of both of us.

Maui is an awesome island to visit. If you ever have a chance to go, I really recommend it. It is the ultimate in relaxation!