One of our favorite places to go in Portland is the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden located in SE Portland’s well-to-do Eastmoreland Neighborhood. The garden is owned and maintained by Portland Parks and Recreation which keeps the entrance fee reasonable at $15 per year for a family pass, $3...

Our First House In 2001 we bought a small starter home in a working class Portland neighborhood with the intentions of fixing it up, selling it in a few years, and buying a bigger house. The typical American dream. Five years later, while everyone else was racing to buy bigger houses before the prices...

Many visitors to Bali soon realize the important part that festivals play in the lives of the local people. The events, which occur throughout the year, are significant for all the special occasions in Balinese life. In fact, festivals in Bali are part of the cycle of life, and there is usually some...

Last week my brother, Eli, and his 5-year old daughter, Addie, came to visit us. Since they live in a landlocked state, a trip to the Oregon coast was a must. A day trip to the coast is fun, but it feels like you spend your entire day driving back and forth and very little time doing stuff at the beach....

Two years ago we visited one of the most amazing places ever; Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Mexico is rich with pre-Columbian history and we were excited to see the Mayan ruins and to enjoy the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. But we were completely wowed by the Mayan structures and would love...

Two nights ago I was in the kitchen when I heard a loud CRACK sound from the living room. I went to the living room and looked around and noticed that the cat had been woken from his nap by the noise and was also looking around. I could not find anything that would have caused that noise and dismissed...

You know that anxiety feeling of getting ready for a one week vacation with the overwhelming amount of decisions and options that you must choose and can no longer put off? Will you pack enough? Will you pack too little? Will you need to dress up? What if your luggage gets lost? Will you get sick? What...

Do Scots wear anything under their kilts? We found the answer to that after a seriously crazy night in Edinburgh, Scotland. A few years ago my wife, brother, and I found ourselves in Edinburgh, Scotland for one night. None of us had ever been there before and we had no idea what to do, other than to...

I awoke from a dream at 2am this morning. It wasn’t the type of startling dream where you are falling or someone is chasing you; it was worse. I dreamt that I was standing on a dock at a marina admiring a small sailboat that a couple of friends just bought. When all of a sudden a massive cruising sailboat...

Chocolate cake. Those two words best describe Waikiki on the Hawaiian island of Oahu; good in small doses, but sickening if you get too much. After returning for a week, we overdosed! Three years ago we spent three nights in Waikiki before heading to the island of Kauai. We had expected to hate Waikiki,...

Whoa, my wife wrote another blog post.  This is the manly disclaimer stating that I did not write this and find reading books “decadent” and “luxurious.” So check out some of her favorite books (and some of mine, too) – Jason I love reading books! A decadent, luxurious...

Oh, the places we will go In order to travel round the world it is usually necessary to have a plan; or at least a compass bearing in which way to circle the globe. I guess someone could, and probably has, aimlessly wandered from place to place and eventually made a loop. When we travel we are more of...