Vacation 2011

For our vacation, we decided we needed to seek out sunshine, so we ventured south to Medford, Oregon. Our major destination was Crater Lake National Park. We also took in some of the local sites. We visited this local chocolate shop.

The Medford Cruze was in town the week we were there. We came back from Crater Lake to find a bunch of classic cars in the parking lot of a hotel. Of course, Brad wanted to stop (more pictures to come). Benny got to sit in this little car.
Here is a picture of Crater Lake. There was so much snow up there that we could not drive around the rim. The lake was just beautiful.
Can you say Snow? This was the parking lot of the restaurant where we had lunch. The boys had fun playing in it.

Here is a local creamery. They are known for their blue cheese.

We all had a good time. Benny had a lot of new experiences. We spent an extra day in Oregon thanks to our van's fuel pump quitting on us. But, we got home safely.

The Falls

On our way back from Newport, we decided to take the long way home. We went home via I-84 which goes along the Columbia River Gorge. Although this highway runs by a lot of waterfalls, we stopped at this one because it was very easy to get to.

Here is a view from the bridge.

Benny admiring the falls.

Here is the falls. See the bridge? We hiked/walked up there. Only 2 tenths of a mile to the bridge but a full mile to the top.
Mommy and Timmy getting ready for our walk to the falls.

Oregon Aquarium

During our mini-vacation to Newport, OR, we visited the Oregon Aquarium. Benny was able to touch a starfish which he said felt bumpy.Here is Benny and daddy about to be eaten by a mega shark.

Benny saw some kids trying to catch the fish, so he tried to do it too.

There was a small play area at the aquarium. Benny had fun climbing on all the animals. (This picture is for you Aunt Jill :) )

Crater Lake National Park

Last week we took a mini-vacation to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. We drove 8 hours Tuesday to get there. On Wednesday it was rainy and foggy that we couldn't see the lake at all, so we decided to go to California since I had never been there. We drove by Mt. Shasta and was able to see it fine because it was sunny and warm. On Thursday (the day we were leaving to go back home) we went to the crater rim one more time. It was still covered in fog. We decided to take the east way around the lake and boy are we glad we did. As you can see in the pictures, the west side was covered in fog and clouds. Benny slept through the first part of the drive around the crater, but woke up and wanted to stretch his legs. It was very windy and cold. Here is an island in the lake called Wizard Island. It's elevation is 6940 Feet!
This is called the Phantom Ship. It is not really a ship, just a rock formation that looks like one.
In this picture you can see the blueness of the lake. Even though is was overcast, it was still pretty.
And here is a picture of Mt. Shasta. We didn't go up it or anything, we just drove by.