Tacoma Rainiers Game

What a nail biter today's game was!  Unfortunately, the Rainiers were not able to pull it out and lost 4 to 2 in the twelfth inning.  On the bright side, I finally got my selfie with Rhubarb, so I'm happy!

Westport, Oregon Volksmarch (#6) and Astoria Column

Can't believe we haven't been on a volksmarch since April! Wow!  Today Scott & I completed a 6k volksmarch in Westport, Oregon.  The volksmarch started there, but most of it was actually on Puget Island, Washington.  We had to take a ferry across the Columbia River, which was really fun.  The weather was way better than we had expected, and we had beautiful blue skies & plenty of sun to keep us warm, even with the relentless wind off the water.  We saw cows, donkeys, chickens and even a bald eagle!

Afterwards, we took a little detour to Astoria to check out the Astoria Column, which my friend Jennifer recently told me about.  It is a monument which was dedicated in 1926 and stands 600 feet above the city of Astoria.  It features a hand-painted spiral frieze that would stretch more than 500 feet if unwound. We climbed the 164 harrowing stairs to the top to enjoy magnificent views of the Columbia, Lewis & Clark and Young Rivers.  We also saw several bridges and across into Washington.  I'm so glad we got to go!  It's definitely worth a stop if you are in the area.

The ferry we rode across to Puget Island.

On the ferry heading back to Oregon.

View of the Astoria Bridge

The Astoria Column

I took this about half way up the stairs to the top.  It was a tight squeeze!

Adele

We all went to watch Adele perform on Tuesday night at Key Arena.  It was a fabulous show!  That girl really can sing!  She was also very talkative & funny.  It was a sold out show and I still can't believe we were able to snag tickets!  Definitely the highlight of summer 2016!

Corey likes this picture, but I don't like the creepy photo bomber!

We were waiting in line for merchandise.  It was moving so slow, we were nervous about missing the show!  Luckily Adele came on 15 minutes late & we didn't miss one moment!

Everyone lit their cell phones for this song.

After the concert. 

While I Was Away...

While I was away in Portland, Scott & the girls had some fun of their own.  They rode a steam train from Elbe to Mineral, where they visited a logging camp & train museum.  They said it was a lot of fun, and even though Mt. Rainier was not out, they still saw pretty views of the woods & the Nisqually River.  On Sunday, Scott completed a 5k run, which benefitted foster care programs.  He was happy with his performance, and finished in 28:27.  Unfortunately, neither of the girls were willing to wake up early and go with him, so I don't have any pictures of that.  Lastly, the girls floated down the Deschutes River on inner tubes, which they've been wanting to do for many years now.  They had fun, but it also came with some challenges.  Gabby got swept into a little channel & underneath some logs.  She managed to get a big bruise, cut her foot & drown her cell phone.   I'm just glad everyone made it through the weekend alive!

Corey floating down the river.  It took them 2.5 hours from beginning to end.

Nisqually River