Belated Photos

I know, I know... who cares about Halloween now; it's all about CHRISTMAS!!! Oh yeah, right after Thanksgiving. Is it me or do lots of people skip Thanksgiving? Anyway... I just thought I would share some photos of our Jack-o-lanterns from this year. We've got a Marilyn Monroe witch, Harry Potter (circa second year at Hogwarts), and Skelvis.

Oh.. and while I'm at it, here are some pics of our annual October camping at Manzanita. Can you believe Eric had never been to the Tillamook Cheese Factory before?! Also, one of those pictures is of the food that was ransacked by some rascal raccoons in the middle of the night.

Twilight

Saw it.... and still not sure what to say.

GUESS who got passes to the Twilight screener for the 18th?! That's right.... I DID!!! Traci and I are going to wait in line for a few hours... probably between 3 and 4, just to make sure we get in (no seats guaranteed). It's going to be a sweet adventure! And way better than waiting for the midnight showing!!! Plus it's free!! Who can argue with that? Although I will definitely be willing to pay to see it again if it lives up to my expectations.

Hillockburn Rd.

Today I went on my first chantarelle hunt (those are mushrooms, and yes, they grow in the wild here in Oregon). It was great fun. After a 40 minute drive out to some foothill of Mt Hood that caught fire decades ago, we reached the end of Hillockburn Road and began our hunt (obviously it is a strenuous process, but at least we don't have to chase the mushrooms once we've spotted them and we don't need to be quiet in order to sneak up on them). Plus, mushroom hunting seems a little more humane and absolutely more granola than certain other hunting. I found my first chantarelle just 10 feet into the woods hidden under a small log. Little did I know it would be a lucky omen for the rest of the hunt. After only 30 minutes of hunting we found the magic spot where there were chantarelles as far as the eye could see... well... at least we kept seeing more after each cluster we sacked away. So after a few miles of hiking and searching, we left Hillockburn Road with about 20 pounds of fresh chantarelle mushrooms. Doesn't that just make you want to sing?!