Coming to the end

We did actually finally see some rain on Wednesday but it was hardly anything. In fact, it was very nice when the temperature lowered a bit from the highs we experienced the last few weeks.

Cade was still being put through his paces at football camp on Wednesday and Scott took care of him all day. I took the opportunity of the cooler weather to go for a short bike ride up to see the Cathedral Hills trails - check my Cycling blog (http://bvetscycling.blogspot.com/) for a photo.

I'm losing count of the days, but Lucy, Jo, Braeden and I this last few days have been to Fort Vannoy Farm, done the Harry and David's factory tour, had a slightly boozy lunch at BricktownE brewpub in Medford and been on a trail hike to Rainie Falls. Great fun. Many of the photos have appeared on Facebook and there are a few on my Hill-walking (http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/) blog as well, but here's a few more - firstly Fort Vannoy:

Zip slide

Then yesterday on our trip down the Rogue Valley:

Watch this short video of them coming down:

We stopped off for refreshments at nearby Galice before heading back to Grants Pass:

Finally, a photo of the weird site that greets you as you enter Grants Pass from the North/West:

The Caveman is the symbol of GP - why?

Tuesday's diary

We continue with our relaxing last week in Grants Pass. Cade had the orthodontist and then his football practice again today so Scott took care of him all day, whilst Lucy, Jo, Braeden and I drove down to Medford and went on the Harry and David's (http://www.harryanddavid.com/) factory tour - finally, after several years of promising that we would do it.

We stopped at a local brewpub (http://www.bricktownebeer.com/) for lunch. Very nice - especially the 13 glass sampler tray:

Still no sign of the regularly threatened storms. I think Jo and I are slightly disappointed - we were thinking back to Arkansas many years ago when we drove back from Memphis in the middle of a huge lightning storm.

Incidentally, I was quite shocked when I went to watch Cade's football practice. I had thought that Cade was a pretty reasonable size for somebody just turned 14, but he was completely dwarfed by his team-mates, many of them with facial hair and deep, dark voices:

It's a distant shot, I know, but that's Cade in blue, 5th from the right - almost the smallest in a group of about 40. The High School facilities are excellent, however - here's the football stadium:

Back in GP

So Sunday was a pretty quiet day after our trip to Portland. Cade and Scott went to the local stores and Braeden and I walked round to the local park to practise his soccer skills:

Notice he's practising with his (non-natural) right foot. Then it was his turn in goal:

After dinner on Sunday evening, Scott and Lucy arranged for us to have a S'mores evening:

Today (Monday) was a bit more active. Jo and I got up and headed down to Lower Table Rock for a walk - check the hill-walking blog (http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/). Here's Jo on the way up:

We wandered home afterwards, following the Rogue River all the way. We stopped off at Ti'Lomikh Falls, a beautiful spot, to take a few photos:

Scott took me to watch a bit of Cade's football practice this afternoon then we went for an ice cream -  before dinner. For once we ate indoors as the skies were darkening a little. They have been forecasting storms here for over a week, but absolutely nothing happened until tonight - and even then it was only one peal of thunder and a few drops of rain, and then it was all gone.

A couple of photos I omitted to post from last week:

Just to show that Jo finally did get her new swimsuit wet.

We had to drop off Cade's football registration form at GP High School., so I took the opportunity to take this photo of him in reception with the Caveman mascot.

Weekend adventures

We've been up in Portland the last couple of days - Scott drove us all up there. We left fairly early on Friday morning and our first pit stop was for breakfast and coffee at Bronx Bagels - about an hour up the road:

Further up the road there was a pee stop at the Blue Star Memorial Highway rest station:

One of the targeted destinations was a little nearer Portland again - the outlets shopping centre, where Cade was planning to spend some of his birthday money. Braeden was a beneficiary too with brand new footwear, displayed here at the entrance to Portland Zoo, where we spent the afternoon:

The zoo was good - it was like walking in a park, with plenty of shade. Lucy took a similar photo to the following one of the boys comparing themselves to various bear sizes:

It's a bit like a poster for a movie, I think.

Our hotel - the Fairfield Inn & Suites - was out near the airport, so we checked in and Braeden and I jumped in the pool for 10 minutes before we all headed off to a local brewpub - the Laurelwood - for dinner.

On Saturday morning, we headed for OMSI (http://www.omsi.edu/), an interactive science and technology museum, where the adults received an education - and were occasionally completely baffled.

After a couple of hours there, we walked along the banks of the Willamette river for lunch at yet another brewpub - the Hair of the Dog - posing first of all for a few photos:

Portland's a pretty funky city, but I still couldn't explain these shoes hanging by a string from the overpass above our heads:

Then it was back down the road, with just one stop for Starbucks.