We Heart Visitors!

It's true. I love when people come to visit. Our latest visitor was my mother. She was on vacation and I had a week off of work thanks to our lovely economy and the required furlough each employee is taking this summer. So the obvious solution was a trip to Portland. It was off to a rough start when mom called and said the flight was delayed. Thankfully it was only about an hour before she called again and they were on their way. It was going to be a short visit so we started in on the fun right from the airport. We headed downtown for lunch at Baja Fresh and then a little wandering around, where we found an elephant in a park!


Then we wound our way up the hill to the Japanese Gardens. We had never been there before so it was a new adventure for all. The drive to the garden was beautiful and we had only made it to the parking lot. The grounds were even better and it was a beautiful day to be outside. The view from the first stop in the garden was of dowtown Portland with Mt. Hood in the back.


There were many statues, sculpted plants, sand gardens, ponds and tea houses throughout the 5.5 acres on the Portland hillside. It is a great find and I am glad we went to check it out. More pictures here.


The next day we were off on a self guided wine tour. I know, I know, it seems like all we have done here is drink wine, but there is just so much of it around that you can't avoid it!! We made stops at many wineries - August Cellars, Rex Hill, Duck Pond, The Four Graces, Dobbes Family/ Wine by Joe and Argyle. As the driver I was only tasting the ones that Jake thought I would like. But mom and Jake found many that were good and a few that were not so great, but it all depends on your taste. The last stop at Argyle was a little different because they took the "bubbly tour" of sparkling wines. After a long day of touring we headed home to relax a little before going to dinner downtown at Henry's.



The last day was pretty low key. Mom and I went shopping and out to lunch, just hanging out. It was a quick trip, but we had fun. Thanks for coming to visit, mom!!

Seals and Sandstone

Back again! Yes indeed, I am back from my latest travels and home now for a few weeks. Our current project is located about 60 miles off the coast of Southern California, on one of the Channel Islands. This trip was a short two weeks, spent preparing our living quarters and getting the details worked out for our project to get underway. This island seems like five-star accommodations compared to others as we have a bunk house, kitchen and shop. The terrain reminds me of the southwest, with lots of exposed sandstone and a semi-arid environment. It makes for some great photo opportunities and some challenging hiking.


Once again I had some pretty good National Geographic moments, this time with Northern Elephant seals and California Sea Lions. What characters they are! I have added my latest pictures to the slide show, enjoy. Our work there will continue through the rest of the summer, so more pictures and stories to come!

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day and a time to remember those who have served our country. On my way to the outlet mall this weekend I noticed a sign for the Oregon Korean War Memorial and decided to stop and check it out. The memorial was very neat. It is outside at a park in Wilsonville, just south of Beaverton. There was a wall with names of Oregonians who lost there lives in the Korean War, as well as stories and other facts about the war. There was a man there also looking at the memorial and came over to talk to me. He told me about how he had served 10 months in Korea and it brought me to tears just listening to him talk about it. Every time I hear a story about a soldier I feel truly grateful for those who have and are currently serving in the armed forces. I can not even imagine how the families feel who loose someone they love and I am lucky to have never lost someone. We live in a truly great country and take many things for granted everyday. I am appreciative to those who are defending our freedom and realize that I do not think of them enough. Thank you to all soldiers all over the world. This day is for you.

Pictures of the Memorial.

Birthday Celebration and a Trip to St. Louis

Last weekend I was invited to join a birthday celebration for Scott (husband to Erin who works for UPG). He was turning 30 and Erin was planning a surprise for him. Another friend, Hailegh, is a member if Willakenzie Estate and they were having a members only event. So Erin arranged for a limo to take us to the tasting event. Scott thought they were just meeting Jaime and Doug for breakfast and was very surprised when a limo was out in front of their house and Hailegh, Brad and I were inside waiting. We all enjoyed champagne and mamosas on the way to the tasting. It was a gorgeous day in the 80's, perfect for enjoying a winery. After we went through the tasting stations we headed out to the deck and set out all of the snacks that we had brought, as well as a bunch of wine that we purchased. A few hours later the limo came back to pick us up and take us back to Erin and Scott's house. We had some delicious cake and then decided to walk to the Mexican restaraunt down the street for some dinner. Overall it was a great day of celebrating.

The next week I was off to St. Louis for an HR meeting with work. All of the managers from the different UPG locations came together to discuss benefits, policies and other HR issues happening at the locations. Lots of HR fun to be had by all! There were a few exciting highlights to the trip:
- being on a full fare ticket - no standby!
- seeing the manufacturing of our products
- going to a Cardinal's game
- seeing the Arch

One of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing the manufacturing plant in St. Louis and the distribution warehouse in Edwardsville, IL. It was so cool to see how the machines work to make the products from start to finish. I could watch it all day. The warehouse was massive (660,000 square feet) and full of pallets of product. It amazes me the processes and machines that people come up with to make things run more efficiently.

After a day of meetings we headed out to see the Cardinal's. Getting to the baseball game was an adventure in itself. As a cost saving measure we rented a 15 passenger van rather than a bunch of rental cars to get everyone around. The biggest challenge we found was parking it in a garage! We cleared the limit by just a few inches and made our way to a parking spot as close as possible. As we started piling out of the van we discovered that we had been weighing it down quite a bit and our clearance was much less now that the van was empty!! We headed to the game and had a typical baseball dinner at the park. Even thought we did not stay for the full game, much to my dismay, it was a lot of fun. We headed back to the garage and found that getting the van in was the easy part. Now we had to go up a couple levels to get back out on the curving ramp! With 9 girls in the car, thus 9 backseat drivers, I am sure we will be renting seperate cars next time!

The next day we went to the arch before our dinner reservation in hopes of taking the ride to the top. Sadly, when we arrived we found that it was sold out for the rest of the day. This is really something they should tell you before you enter the parking garage. But we got to see it from the outside and took a picture in a replica of the cart you ride up in, so that was enough. I would love to go back though to see the view from the top. It was a good trip - productive business stuff and a little bit of playing tourist.

See winery pictures here. St. Louis pictures here.

All Caught Up

I think this will finally catch us up on the blog. A couple weekends ago Lindi came to the great state of Oregon for a psychology convention in Portland and had the pleasure of being the first to sleep on our couch. Since Jake and I were working during the day and Lin was at the convention (aka shopping downtown!), there was not a whole lot of excitement during her trip. We tried out a Mexican restaurant nearby and then just enjoyed a few adult beverages at home one night. Watching Step-Brothers was the activity the next night. Then came Sunday and the real fun happened. Lindi had never been to a vineyard, and since there are a few (dozen) close by we thought we would share the wealth. We headed to David Hill first and enjoyed a few samples. We each bought a bottle of the house white to enjoy later. There was another vineyard not too far away, so we headed down the road and found Shafer's. This was not a typical vineyard. In addition to the wine samples, they also had a large variety of jams to taste on crackers. There was also a room filled with Christmas decorations to look at. Mostly ornaments and things to set on tables, but there was every size shape and design you could think of, and more. It was a little too much Christmas for me (since I am a scrooge and all), so I wandered for a bit and then returned to the wine. We bought another bottle here and then headed back home.

The next weekend I headed to Utah for Jess's graduation ceremony. I still can't believe my baby sister is graduated from college!! I am so proud. Due to a little miracle I made it on the first flight. I greatly enjoyed the very short flight now that we are back on the west coast, it is no longer an all day excursion to visit family. Everyone was together at Bry and Leisl's house for a combo birthday (Xavier and Mom) and graduation party. Upon arriving at the house I was greeted by a crowd of mask wearers afraid of the pig flu. Sadly this was not documented on film. We enjoyed dinner, cupcakes, and just hanging out. After the crowd started thinning out we looked around and realized that it was just Jess, Sis, Bry and I in the room. Seeing as how this does not happen often, we decided it must be documented. Our first attempt was with Sis's camera in the cupboard on self timer. It was not too bad, but we tried the self portait style as well and it turned out pretty good.

Can you tell we are related at all?

There are no words!

The next day Mom and I headed to Logan to keep Nana and Uncle Larry company. Jess and Lindi joined us for dinner at Cafe Sabor. I also went to visit Jenny and Rob, and Amanda came by too. It was fun to see them again and catch up. Saturday was the big day, and of course it was raining. Everyone else arrived in Logan that morning and met at Kappa Delta. I then started the shuttle service getting the graduating girls, then the parents, aunt and uncle to the Spectrum so they didn't have to walk in the rain. The ceremony was good, and Jess and Lauren sat in back so the Leystra's would make it before she had to walk (Xavier had a soccer game that morning too). Lin and I headed down to the floor and played papparatzi during their walk.

Before the ceremony. Good job girls, it's official!

We went back to KD to take pics with the fam since it was raining. There are none here because really we just took too many. We had lunch, watched the Derby and then it was time to head back to SLC. Don't worry Lin, we will do this all again next year with you! Somehow I was convinced to go out to Liquid Joe's on my last night in town. I had never been before, and all I can say is it was interesting. I had some fun and the people watching was excellent, but I am glad that is not an every weekend experience. It was great to see the fam and friends that I had not seen in a while. Congrats again Jessie, we are all very proud!!

Playing Catch-up

We have fallen behind on our blogging, so this is my attempt to abbreviate the last few weeks and catch-up to the now.

My first weekend home, Jonas (my college roommate), Dohnele and Emma Parker came up from Sutherlin, OR to visit. We hoped to do some shopping with them and then go to the Portland Zoo, however the rain prevented us from making it to the Zoo. Instead, after shopping at IKEA, we went to Multnomah Falls in the rain....go figure. Even with the rain it was still a great time and very pretty. Afterwards we decided to check out Powell's Books downtown, which is a ginormous (yeah that is officially a word now) book store. This place was impressive! So large even after we all split up for an hour we did not cover the entire store! We were happy to have the Parkers and hope they will come visit again.

Jonas and Dohnele with their daughter Emma

The next weekend Kari and I made the drive south to visit my parents in Alturas. My brother Zeke came up from the valley as well, so the parents had a full house for the weekend, with all their boys back at once. It was very nice to see the family and visit with everyone, even though it was a short weekend trip.

Kari and I decided to explore a little this past week and take a hike. I picked a rather easy hike in the gorge that leads to a nice overview, however before we left I realized the storm moving in would obstruct the views. Instead, we went to a nearby state park called Molalla River and walked the trail system there. It was nice to get outside and we practically had the trails to ourselves. The trails mostly paralleled the Willamette and then the Molalla Rivers, where we saw some waterfowl and plenty of deer tracks. This park is supposed to be home to the Willamette Valley's largest blue heron rookery, so we will have to return when the birds are there. All in all, a nice easy walk through the woods and along the rivers.

I told her we were lost in the woods and this is what I got.

Boobies, Beaches and Beer

So I have finally found the time to sit down and write my first blog post. Kari has done an excellent job of keeping you all up to date, but I decided to expand on my travels and our most recent adventures here in Portland.

In January I started my new job with Island Conservation and after a week in Portland for training, spent a few weeks in Ecuador on my first project. This was my first time visiting Ecuador and I was very excited to see some of this diverse country. We flew into Guayaquil and then drove to the small coastal town of Puerto Lopez, which was quite a tour as we went from big city to very rural towns. The poverty levels in some of the small towns we drove through reminded me of the prosperity we enjoy back in the States and how we should not take it for granted. After a day in Puerto Lopez spent finalizing our gear and supplies, we were ferried out to our final destination Isla de Plata. The "Poor man's Galapagos" as it is often called, is part of the Machalilla National Park and is an important breeding ground for several seabird species. In fact, traversing around the island consisted of wading through colonies of birds, who often were standing directly in the middle of the trail. Blue-footed and Nazka (masked) boobies were quite common, as well as Magnificent frigate birds and Red-billed Tropic birds. The island also hosts two species of Albatross (including the Waved, which is critically endangered) although they were not present during our time there. Additionally there are numerous passerines that were continually showing up on the island and a few residents that provided daily entertainment, such as the local mocking birds. In all, the island is a magnificent treasure with diverse flora and fauna that seemed to have something new to show you everyday. Our conservation work there should have a very positive impact on the bird life and our hope is that our efforts will aide in helping the island return to a more natural state.

After returning from Ecuador, I spent my time off moving Kari and our belongings across the country to Portland and unpacking boxes in our new home. Unfortunately I was not able to help with all the unpacking and settling in as I left again on my next tour, bound for Puerto Rico. This time our destination was a small island off the NW coast of Puerto Rico called Desecheo, which is part of the US National Wildlife Refuge system. Historically this island hosted the largest nesting colony of Brown Boobies in the world and several other seabird species, however the booby colony is now reduced to a sparse few that only roost on the cliff faces and other species visit infrequently. The island also has several endemic species including a species of anole that was quite prevalent. For this trip we flew into San Juan, drove across the island and parked it in Boqueron for a few days as we prepped for four weeks in island. On our departure day the weather decided to not cooperate and the wind shut down our helicopter operations (the easiest way to get on/off island is by helicopter). We were shut down for two extra days waiting for better weather, which I spent working hard on my tan at the beach. However, the weather finally cleared and we were off to work, not to return to civilization for four weeks. Our work there should have major impacts on all species and should aid in the restoration of the islands fragile ecosystem.

Now, you know about the months spent surrounded by boobies and the beaches....on to the beer! Kari and I joined two other couples last weekend for a nice trip to Portland's Spring Beer and Wine Fest. Portland is home to many breweries and the PacNW is a great place to be if you love good beer. Oregon's wine country is also situated close to Portland and many a local winery made the treck to share their lovely creations. We hopped on the Tri-Met (no drunk driving!) and headed down town. There was an amazing selection of breweries and vineyards, not to mention eateries and specialty foods (such as my fav. pickled garlic!). Needless to say we spent the entire day there and got our moneys worth! Kari enjoyed her wine sampling, while I stuck to beer. Although, there were also a few distillers, that had some specialty liquors. I would highly recommend Ben Distillery's "Mazama Infused Pepper Vodka", it is simply amazing. Also, Kari found a strawberry lemonade vodka cocktail (pre-mixed), called "Hello Lovely", that she enjoyed. Anyway, too many good beers to remember.....er maybe too many good beers equals loss of memory? Either way, we both enjoyed tasting the different varieties and had a great time. Check out some pictures from my travels at http://picasaweb.google.com/karibonham/SlideShow#