Weekend in California

Here we are driving over the Golden Gate Bridge in the early evening.

Another view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dad, Mom, Melinda, & Aubrey spent some time exploring San Francisco. We were strolling around Fisherman's Wharf when we spooted a group of people touring around on Segways.

We drove down the very crooked Lombard Street.

A view of Alcatraz.

There was a man hiding behind the "bush" by a garbage can. As people would walk by he would jump out and scare them.

Friends Retreat to Rockaway Beach House

In September, I enjoyed a weekend with friends at a beach house close to one of Rockaway's beaches. The weather was sunny during the day with light morning and evening fog. Robin Sommers plans this fun event for us. This year there was Robin, Aimee, Molly, Jill, me, Barbara, and Carol. On Sunday we attended the Rockaway Branch sacrament meeting. Elder Parker from Arizona was serving in this ward and greeted us all at the door.

During one of our many walks along the beach, I found quite a variety of rocks and pieces of shells.

Visiting the Southern Coast of Oregon

Beautiful rock formations along the southern coast.

Watching the waves hit the rocks at Devil's Churn.

A photo taken during a calmer wave.

This is a lighthouse on a small island by Crescent City. It is only accessible for tours when the tide is out. As you can see the tide was in when we were visiting.

Mylee Over for a Visit

Mylee brought her new babydoll, Emma, over for a visit. It was amazing how Mylee knew how to take care of her baby.

Biking to Downtown Hillsboro

Here we are on a Saturday in September just returning from a 22 mile bicycle ride from our home in the country to downtown Hillsboro. We strolled around Hillsboro's Saturday Market, purchased a few nectarines, and listened to some live music.

Sauvie Island Pumpkin Patch

On a chilly day in October, Gram, Evan, Driel, Moriah, Marissa, & Mylee took a drive to Sauvie Island to check out a big pumpkin farm. We visited the animal barn and took a hayride out to the pumpkin field. At the farm store we bought some fresh produce and the girls picked out their own little pumpkins. Fortunately, it started to rain after we got in the car to leave.

Family Beach House Vacation

Here we are all together sitting on the steps in front of the beach house at 820 S. Columbia in Seaside, Oregon. Evan, Driel, Moriah, and Melinda flew out from Utah to be with us.

It was quite a sight to see 10 Andersens riding along on a surrey through the streets of Seaside. It took six people peddaling and one person steering to keep us moving in the right direction. Once we found Gram running in front of the surrey to keep her granddaughters entertained and once we found her behind the surrey pushing it.

Moriah & Mylee having a good time sharing the stroller while getting pushed around the inside of the big old beach house.

Gram & Moriah watching the lively bumper cars.

Mylee's first taste of ice cream is mmmmmmmgood!

Melinda, Moriah, & Elephant taking a ride on a high-spirited carousel horse.

Mylee with her daddy taking her first "bunny" carousel ride.

Dad, Melinda, & Aubrey enjoying slushies from the "Pronto Pup" corn dog stand while taking a leisurely walk along Seaside's Promenade.

Blaine, Marissa, & Melinda step on the gas at the "Ride the Scooter" bumper cars.

A stunning rainbow

The other day we glanced out of the kitchen window in time to see one of the most stunning rainbows we have ever seen. The colors were incredibly vivid against a dark gray sky. We could clearly see the "end of the rainbow" right by our neighbor's barn. At times we could even see two rainbows right next to each other. 

Sauvie Island Bike Ride Loop

On Saturday, Dad, Mom, and Aubrey took an afternoon bike ride on Sauvie Island. It was our first visit to the beautiful, peaceful island. It is located only a dozen miles from downtown Portland, is perfectly level, and is one of the largest freshwater islands in the country. The weather was in the upper 50's and cloudy--just great for a bike ride. We were glad that we brought our binoculars along to enjoy viewing the wildlife.


Sauvie Island has many fresh water lakes and Sturgeon Lake (below) is the largest one.
A well done trim job on this mature tree.

Sauvie Island is well known for its pumpkin patches and enormous corn maze.

Dad and Aubrey riding on the 12 miles bike loop that goes around the southern end of the island.
We enjoyed the lovely scenery of trees and meadows and the fresh air. The island is a very quiet peaceful place to take a bike ride. Every so often a car would pass by us (maybe everyone was in Portland at the Rose Parade).

We spotted this neat old red pickup truck that had lovely annuals growing in the engine compartment and behind the driver's seat.

Dave and Mary Ann in their official biking gear in front of the old Ford.

We spotted a bald eagle in a tree by one of the fresh water lakes.

Numerous houseboats are permanently moored on the Multnomah Channel of the Willamette River that surrounds one side of the island.

Not only does Sauvie Island have fertile farmland for growing organic fruits and vegetables it also has pastures of sheep and dairy cows.

29th Wedding Anniversary Vacation

Our 29th wedding anniversary was celebrated on a weekend trip to Pender Island (one of the southern Gulf Islands of Canada). Our flight arrived in Victoria, B.C., early enough in the day that we could see The Butchart Gardens before our ferry left for Pender Island. Here is Dave standing in front of the entrance to the gardens.

There were lots of these Painted Daisies (Cinerarea) planted in many of the flower beds. Butchart Gardens was started a little over 100 years ago by the Butchart Family. The property was a worked-out limestone quarry that was once used for cement making. It started as a family hobby to beautify the acreage by using plants they collected from all over the world. There is a Rose, Japanese, Italian, and Sunken Garden.

The tulips were in full bloom in the gardens with lovely English Daisies (Bellis) growing beneath them.
Mary Ann viewing the Ross Fountain where the water rises 70 feet and changes fountain patterns often.
A lovely combination of pink tulips with little blue flowers.
Posing by the Painted Daisies.

Enjoying the Sturgeon Fountain by the Rose Garden.
Blue Poppies with salmon colored Azaelas.
One of the many waterfall inside the Japanese Garden.
This was one of Mary Ann's favorite spots in the Sunken Garden.

Here we are finally on Pender Island. The sunsets at night were gorgeous. Here is a view of the harbor from the back of one of Poet's Cove hotel restaurants.

We enjoyed a delicious anniversary dinner of fresh halibut and scallops. They gave us a complimentary lemon tart dessert as a gift for our special occassion.
Since we had a rental car we were able to tour the island.
A view from the front of Poet's Cove resort.
Several float planes took off and landed during our stay. One evening two float planes delivered about 25 people for a company dinner at one of the resort's restaurants. On Saturday night there was a lovely wedding and reception taking place at the resort. We enjoyed dancing to their music close to the harbor.