Sunday, September 21, 2014

Flying High with Discover Paragliding

A year ago after we took our one-and-only daughter to college in Texas, we started out the whole "empty nest" thing with an eight-week sabbatical. That was pretty awesome. We had an excellent time traveling and had the extra time to try new stuff.  Jim has always had an interest in flying and has always wanted to try paragliding. He did his research and found a local company with a great safety record and top-notch qualifications: Discover Paragliding. They do towing tandem flights right off of the Oregon coast!

We did our first tandem flights almost exactly one year ago. Our lives have been changed forever...








 
Yes, even though I am pretty darn afraid of heights, I did a tandem flight too. Life on the edge, right??!! No regrets, baby!! Notice we are ABOVE the clouds! We topped out at about 3,000 feet above Sunset Beach near Gearhart, Oregon. Let's just say that JIM WAS HOOKED. 

Brad and Maren are the owners and instructors at Discover Paragliding. We are happy to now call them our friends. They are good people and very good at what they do. Since that first flight, Jim has worked very hard to earn his P2 Paragliding Certification. This meant countless trips to the beach for both flying and classroom time, as well as some mountain flying. The beach is my all-time favorite place on earth so I am quite happy to hang out and look for shells and do some rockhounding. So far, I have only done one weekend of ground-handling training. Still not sure paragliding is "my thing" or not but I sure do love watching and being part of a great bunch of folks. We have met some WONDERFUL new friends! I have also learned that as a driver for mountain flights, I am much appreciated.

Another perk of paragliding for me has been the development of a new love of photography. Don't get me wrong--I am not a skilled photographer by any means. I have no clue how Jim's fancy camera works and the "techy" stuff is definitely not my thing. But I am enjoying shooting the action and think that I have a pretty good eye for capturing the shot. Luckily, Jim handles all the "techy" parts and I get to do the fun part of pointing and shooting. He is also quite talented at the post-processing of the photos and I am grateful that he can clean up my work.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the past year....



















Jim is an amazing photographer. I will be forever grateful for all of his priceless photos of Natalie growing up, especially of her riding horses. It is different for me to be on the other side of the camera, but now I am grateful that I can capture my husband doing what he loves.


I am also grateful for this crazy sport of paragliding in our new empty nest lives. It will be fun to see where this adventure takes us in the world. Here we go, ready or not!



Saturday, September 6, 2014

Favorite Sleeps Around the Northwest

I just finished one of the most hellish weeks of my working career, and my husband is yet again working another weekend. Believe me, this is not how we like to do things. We pride ourselves on being weekend warriors. This work thing is cramping our style. I take comfort in knowing that we have some fun things ahead on the calendar, and that we have done some pretty awesome trips together these past 22+ years of living in Oregon. I thought I would share some of our favorite hotels and lodges from our past adventures! We like to stay at places with unique personality, history and charm if at all possible. If you get a chance, check 'em out!

Even when our daughter was a baby/toddler/youngin' we did not let that slow us down. We dragged that kid along everywhere! One of our first trips with her was to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada where we stayed at The Empress Hotel. The rooms were tiny (especially with a portable crib!) but what a view and what an experience. It is a stately hotel in the perfect location for exploring Victoria. Years later, we returned with the teenager version of Natalie and stayed at a luxury hotel across the harbor, Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Hotel. It was heavenly and we loved taking the water taxi to get to the downtown area. Victoria and Vancouver Island rock!



On that same trip, we passed through the Olympic Peninsula and stayed at the Lake Quinault Lodge. This place is off the grid, right on the lake, and a great place for families. To this day, I remember the dessert we had at the restaurant...Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Mousse. So much yum.


Jim and I returned to the Olympic National Park area on the motorcycle and stayed at the nearby Kalaloch Lodge. Well, actually we stayed in one of the little cabins there right on the beach. It was another scenic getaway with fun twisty roads and rainforest hikes. Of course, I also remember a rockin' breakfast! To this day I still try to recreate their Crunchy French Toast!


When Nat was four, we were lucky enough to travel a bit for Jim's first sabbatical. We started our adventure in Glacier National Park in Montana. During that trip, we stayed a night at the Glacier Park Lodge. Such a stunning setting!!!! The only drawback is that there is no AC and the train tracks are right out front. As with most historic lodges, they are creaky and noisy so bring your ear plugs! Definitely part of the charm!


On that same trip, we headed north to Banff and Lake Louise in Canada. Truly one of our favorite places on this earth. Someday we will spend the big bucks to stay at either the Chateau Lake Louise or the Post Hotel. We were in that neck of the woods again last fall and had a memorable, impeccably prepared dinner at the Post Hotel restaurant. We should probably dress up a bit more next time...they sat us in the very back of the house since we were in our finest hiking clothes after an all day trek. We sure did not feel guilty about having dessert and wine after that huge hike (see the pic of me and Jim at the top of my blog!).

In no particular order, let me hit a couple more favorites...

Thanks to grandparents watching our kiddo, we celebrated one of our past anniversaries at the Crater Lake Lodge in southern Oregon. What a treasure in our gorgeous state! I don't have any pics of the lodge, but what a view! Once again, the lodge restaurant did not disappoint. There is just something about national park lodge restaurants!


We were lucky to pass through here again a couple of years ago. Jim took this incredible shot. 


Not too long ago, we celebrated my birthday at The Lodge at Suttle Lake near Sisters, Oregon. What a cozy, quiet place to spend a winter weekend. We were hoping to snow shoe around the lake but Mother Nature did not cooperate. It was still a good little walk. Highly recommend the restaurant too! 






The quaint Maritime Inn in Gig Harbor, Washington has never disappointed us! Usually we stay with friends, but on special occasions we have splurged to stay in the Harbor. We adore Gig Harbor and love being steps away from the gorgeous waterfront, cute shops, Kelly's Cafe and the famous Tide's Tavern.




After years of living in Oregon and countless visits to see it, we finally stayed at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood last spring break when Natalie was home from college. Staying during the week was a smart plan. We scored a fairly good price and it was very quiet. Dinner and breakfast in the Cascade Dining Room did not disappoint and fueled us up for a day of snow shoe hiking!





While not exactly a hotel or lodge, we spent a cozy night in a funky treehouse!! Located outside of the Seattle area, be sure to check out Treehouse Point! We stayed in The Nest. Just too cool for words!!! It was amazing to watch the salmon running in the nearby river!! We packed a picnic dinner to enjoy every minute we had in our little treehouse. The gracious hosts also serve a lovely made-from-scratch breakfast in the morning. 



And now, the moment you have all been waiting for.....

Our all-time favorite spot to stay in the Pacific Northwest....

The Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria, Oregon!! This place is spectacular and we keep returning. If we can't be in Hawaii, this is the place where we celebrate our anniversary. Where else can you see huge ships pass by your window and look out on a massive bridge over the mighty Columbia River, all in the comfort of a plush hotel room. And Astoria is just plain hip...great restaurants, hikes, historical museums, coffee shops. You name it, they have it. We just love it.


You can sign up for a ride to dinner in one of their vintage cars! Be sure to borrow a colorful bike to zip around the waterfront too!



Nothing beats this view at the end of the day...especially with the one you love.



We still have a bunch of places on our list. Hopefully we will visit Alderbrook Resort in Washington state this fall. We are definitely due for some R&R together. This place looks like it will fit the bill.