When we heard Styx, REO Speedwagon and Don Felder of the Eagles and their "United We Rock" tour was coming to town, we had to get tix! What luck that the concert just happened to be on the last day of school for our youngest . . . a perfect way to kick off summer for a kid who loves rock! He has already posted many of the photos and concert videos on his Facebook account, so some of you might have already seen some of these. For those who haven't, we thought we'd share his concert recap and a few of the most tasty vids for your listening pleasure!
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Guest Blogger:
Our Rock and Roll Enthusiast!
"The concert was a blast! Sunlight Supply Amphitheater was a great venue! I liked how particularly low-key the setting was there and how it didn't try to be flashy and over the top like Jiffy Lube Live back in Virginia. The services were really great for patrons, as the security staff let us sit up closer because of my disability. Isn't that nice? I definitely think this is a great venue for live concerts.
Also, the bands still were great, even after over 40 years in the biz! Turns out this was the first night of the United We Rock tour, so they were really ready to rock. The legendary Eagles guitarist Don Felder and his backing band made it a great opening with his hit "Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride)" as well as a small but regardlessly catchy collection of singles from the Eagles.
However, Styx completely stole the show from Felder, performing "Gone Gone Gone" and "Radio Silence" from their new album The Mission as well as some of their greatest hits, specifically stuff from their album The Grand Illusion, which is celebrating it's 40th anniversary.
It's amazing how well the band's voices have stayed intact all these years! Even REO Speedwagon, which was merely OK when they opened for Def Leppard back in Virginia because of how exhausted they were, seemed more comfortable and performed much better this time around. All in all, it was a spectacular night!"
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VIDEO CLIPS
(Sorry some of these are so short, but it will give you the flavor!)
Don Felder of the Eagles performing "Hotel California":
Styx performing "Renegade":
Styx performing "Too Much Time On My Hands"
REO Speedwagon performing "Time For Me To Fly":
REO Speedwagon performing "Riding the Storm Out":
ROCK ON to the bands of the '70s and '80s that are still killing it on tour and making millions of fans like us happy with their music! 💜💜💜
"Great joy in camp we are in view of the Ocian . . .
this great Pacific Ociean which we been so long anxious to See."
William Clark, November 7, 1805
(mistakes in original--his reputation as a bad speller was legendary!)
We felt that same great joy as we arrived safely at the beach at the great Pacific Ocean with Sacajawea still in tow behind us. It had been a white knuckle drive for hubby the first half of the trip, with fairly strong winds causing a lot of trailer sway, even with the weight distribution hitch, anti-sway bar and newly installed stiffer shocks on the truck.
Our destination for our second travel trailer adventure was Thousand Trails campground in Seaside. We were looking forward to having a "full hookup" at our site so we could try out our "slinky" and sewer hose set-up (yes, that's "slinky," not "stinky," and I'll spare you the many euphemisms we already have for those hoses and equipment, lol!).
Given that it was only our second TT (travel trailer) adventure, we were bound to have something go wrong. This time we managed to leave our youngest's trip bag at home, and we didn't discover it until we were unloading at the campsite. Too bad the missing bag belonged to the kid who needs the most supplies!
The missing bag (!), safe at home where we left it.
There were still some good spots at the campground when we arrived there in the late afternoon, so we grabbed one with some partial shade and proceeded to set up camp.
Hubby has been experimenting with our GoPro and made a quick video to give you a feel for the scene in camp . . . check it out!
There was a heat wave across most of Oregon that weekend, and we sure didn't escape the heat by being at the beach. The high temp of 97 degrees was about the same as it was in Portland. So glad we have A/C in the travel trailer or we would have melted!
Enjoying a quick game of Rummikub
We had planned some fun north coast excursions for Saturday. Our first stop was Fort Clatsop, which is the historic fort where Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery wintered over after reaching the Pacific Ocean at the end of their journey west.
The Corps of Discovery camped about two miles up the Netul River (now the Lewis & Clark river) and began to build a fort that they named after the local Indian tribe, the Clatsop.
The Corps of Discovery stayed at Fort Clatsop from December 1805 through March 1806, trading with the Indians (mainly the Clatsop, Chinook and Nehalem) and preparing for their long journey home, back to St. Louis, Missouri.
When they left in the Spring to head back east, they gave the fort to the Clatsop leader, Chief Coboway.
We had been to Fort Clatsop when the kids were little, but that was before we began our "Fourth Corps of Discovery" adventures, so we were eager to see it again after following in the footsteps of the original Corps of Discovery and visiting many of their historic sites on our own journey westward last fall.
Visit to Ft. Clatsop in 2003 (pre-Fourth Corps of Discovery!)
The visitor's center at Fort Clatsop is small, but it has some neat artifacts and sculptures, and there are also several different movies that provide some good historical info.
"Arrival" (Lewis, Clark, a Clatsop Indian and their dog Seaman)
Replica of canoe used by the expedition
Sacajawea and Pomp
As you can see from the photo below, being anywhere near the coast is our happy place!
Happy explorers
We used to go to the beach a lot . . . and we used to be tent campers, too. We were pretty adventuresome when the kids were little, but after a while we found ourselves going camping less and less frequently because it was a lot of effort to gather and pack all the equipment and supplies we needed to have on hand to support our youngest's health care needs.
We've been dreaming of having a travel trailer to make camping easier for years now, and with Sacajawea's help, this return to camping thing might just work out!
After enjoying Fort Clatsop, we continued north to Astoria, where we had a delicious seafood lunch down at the marina, did a drive-by of the house where The Goonies was filmed, and then headed south to Warrenton to get some supplies at Fred Meyer.
We also made several excursions to "The Prom" in Seaside, which is a mile and a half long concrete boardwalk that borders the beach. The statue of Lewis & Clark at the turnaround in the middle of the prom is pretty cool!
We used to come to Seaside when I was a kid, and my most vivid memories of those trips is riding a tandem bike up and down the boardwalk with my brother. When he was on the front of the bike, he would terrorize me by driving up on curbs and generally driving like a maniac while I was stuck on the back of the bike, barely able to see where we were going. When I insisted on sitting at the front of the bike and steering, he would take both of his hands and grab me under the armpits while we were riding around, tickling me for all he was worth and saying "sound the horn," knowing I would scream and also knowing I wouldn't let go of the wheel for anything because I didn't want to crash. Love my Bro', bless him, always keeping me on my toes, ha!
The prom has really fancied up since we were last there. Many beautiful homes and yards . . . including this one with the bird scroll fence and elaborate gate that caught our eye:
The evening light was especially beautiful on our last night there!
Goodbye, Seaside and Northern Oregon coast. Look forward to seeing you again soon!
We held this blog post for a while, thinking that the reality of our oldest graduating just had to sink in and then we'd have some incredible insights or revelations we could share.
Ha! Weeks have gone by, he has crossed the Rubicon into adulthood and is moving ahead with his life, and we are still bewildered and trying to catch up.
What we do know is this:
1. Our first born is a prince of a kid, and we can take no particular credit for this. He was loved and supported by so many in our "village" of friends and family in his first 18 years. Thank you to everyone who poured your love and wisdom into this kid and helped make him who he is.
2. He has a giant heart, and he fearlessly wears it on his sleeve.
3. He learned compassion at a very young age through his very pure and fierce love of his younger brother, who is an amazing human being himself.
4. We are very proud of the young man he has become.
5. We’re incredibly excited for his future!
6. We can't wait to see where the opportunities he'll have in life will take him.
7. We’ll miss having him here at home.
8. We're glad he's only going to college a few hours away so he can come home often.
9. We're going to try to let him have his independence at school so he'll WANT to come home often (lol!).
10. We are glad he's going to our alma mater, and we plan to see a lot more Ducks games in the next four years!
To those who have kids younger than ours, be prepared, and know that you can’t even fathom how fast it goes. You'll be at this same place one day soon looking at photographs, and you'll wonder how time could possibly go so fast.
Thought we'd share a shortened version of a "digital scrapbook" we put together for him a few weeks ago.
After a blog hiatus for the last half year or so while we were living on separate coasts (hubby mobilized to active duty for one last unaccompanied stint), your intrepid adventurers are REUNITED and we're ready to seize the day and have some adventures again!
And we have a surprise . . .
We christened her "Sacajawea." She weighs in at a healthy 6,000 pounds, and she is 21 feet long (25 feet "all in," including the tongue).
We are counting on her to accompany and guide us on many family adventures in the years to come.
Ain't she a beaut, Clark? ;) Here are a few pics of some of the amenities she offers:
Some might call this next evolution of our carpe diem lifestyle "glamping," but hey, we're in our 50s now, so we felt like we deserved a little comfort.
Hubby feeling triumphant after getting it parked at the RV storage place
We couldn't get reservations at any of our favorite coastal parks over Memorial Day weekend, so Sacajawea's maiden voyage was to nearby Champoeg State Park, which is on the Willamette River, about 15 minutes from our house.
Of course, it wouldn't be an adventure without something going wrong! Thankfully, my hubby is resourceful, and the dead trailer battery (What the heck??? It was only sitting for a couple of days!) didn't keep him from figuring out how to manually raise the leveling and tongue jacks, and after much checking and rechecking of our "what to do" before you start driving list, we were on our way!
He backed it into our spot perfectly on the first try . . .
and before too long, we had her all set up!
Having the pop out dinette area is nice because it makes it feel extra roomy on the inside.
Although we didn't get to spend much time here, beautiful Champoeg Park was a great way to break her in and get our confidence up. Time to get some shut eye and start dreaming about the rest of our summer adventures!
