July 23, 2009
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Bandon Dunes wicked bits
 Yikes, it's gorst! This plant that grows here and in Scotland is a thick bush, with barbed thorns that secrete an oil under your skin that burns and itches like fury. Did I mention that it also eats golf balls? Kind of like a Venus flytrap.
Another Bandon nightmare is the sandtraps. Mike is pictured here at Bandon's newest course, Old MacDonald, where we played a preview round. Yes, that sandtrap is probably 100 feet deep. Most people who hit their ball in it will take a penalty and play another ball. Not Mike! He whacked it out of there with a Herculean effort, both in swing and hiking ability!! And no, he didn't rake it.  Labels: Oregon
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Golfing at Bandon Dunes, OR
How do I wax poetic about Bandon Dunes? Its 3 golf courses are rated among the top 10 public golf courses in the US by Golf Magazine. It's a serious course, for walkers who revel in superb links golf with jaw dropping views of the Pacific Ocean hitting the Oregon coast.
Speaking of jaws dropping, notice that Mike is agape at how far my ball rolls on these tight fairways (it's a GREAT course for women, very generous tee boxes). The crowds were down mid-week, so we saw plenty of wild deer roaming the fairway. We played 75 holes of golf and walked over 30 miles in 3 days. Time to shake the sand out of the shoes...
  Labels: Oregon
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Golf and Blueberries in Portland
  Visiting sister Kathy in Portland, OR...a little time for golf AND harvesting fresh blueberries right out of the backyard! This was the day after a marathon day of flying - we took the plane from Sandpoint, ID to Boise, ID to Tacoma, WA to Portland, OR. We're getting those Pilatus procedures down to a T. Labels: Oregon
January 30, 2009
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Skiing in Central Oregon
Skiing mid-week is a newly discovered treat...the top photo is taken from Mt. Hood, looking at Mt. Jefferson in the distance. The bottom is taken on Mt. Bachelor, with the Sisters Mountains in the distance. Can you believe the wide open runs? There wasn't anyone on the slopes on a five star day...we had it ALL to ourselves!!   Labels: Oregon
October 14, 2008
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Captain Mike flies the Eclipse 500
Eclipse Aviation http://www.eclipseaviation.com/ had a fly-in at Sunriver, OR. After waiting seven long years, Mike finally got to pilot an actual Eclipse 500 (I got to ride, too!). It was a sweet ride and a nice treat on his actual 60th birthday!  Labels: 2008 Highlights, Oregon
July 2, 2008
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Lincoln City, OR
 Beachfront house at Roads End. Not enough wind to hold up a kite, which made the beach really pleasant for play and about 10 degrees cooler than the "heat wave" of high 80's in Seattle. Mike has granddaughter Alana on his shoulders.  Labels: Oregon
June 25, 2008
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Golfing at Bandon Dunes, OR
 Summer Solstice = maximum daylight to play golf! Over 2 1/2 days, we played 90 holes of golf  and walked 30 miles. (Hey if you play twice in one day, you get a discount!) Bandon Dunes has 3 courses, all of which are in the top 15 courses in the US. The #1 course in the US is Pacific Dunes (my favorite). It's on the bluffs overlooking the ocean, where the salt breezes can provide many credible excuses for why your ball didn't go where you thought it should go. Bandon is golf as it was meant to be originally - like the original Scottish course. No power carts, no asphalt, no drink carts. Paths are cobblestone or railroad ties. It's really ZEN golf. Benny Moore was our ace caddy - what a great help he was with trick shots, reading greens and mediating bets! Labels: Oregon
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Portland - Father's Day 2008
 They grow up fast, don't they? That's grandbaby Madeline on the left and Alana on the right. Our high activity adventure this weekend was the teeter totter (it's been a few years!)
Labels: Oregon
September 17, 2007
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Biking in Sunriver, OR
 Sunriver is at at a 4,000 ft. elevation in central Oregon, which made for beautiful clear skies. Lots of stars, too!! We mostly golfed, but also took in a bike ride next to the horse pasture. Labels: Oregon
June 28, 2007
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Bandon Dunes, OR
  This course can be just brutally hard. In the morning we were surrounded by thick fog - sometimes we couldn't even see where to hit unless Benny the caddy pointed us in the right direction. The sand bunkers are so big that they have stairways. Having said all that, Mike shot a great 75 and I shot an all time personal best of 96, followed the next day by another personal best of 95 (net 63). So I won a couple of bets :) Mike complained that even Tiger doesn't shoot net 63, and that my handicap has gotta come DOWN! Labels: Oregon
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Bandon Dunes, OR
Bandon Dunes is mecca for golfers. It's in a little town on the remote Oregon coast, rated #1 nationally, followed by Pebble Beach. Bandon is about golf as it was originally designed - no carts, no asphalt cart paths, no surrounding homes. The two main courses have a dozen holes perched on bluffs above 23 miles of pristine shoreline. Your only option is to walk the course, but you can hire a caddy (our ace caddy and new buddy Benny More is pictured) to carry your bags. Each course measures about 7 miles, and we played them twice. That's 14 miles a day two days in a row!  Labels: Oregon
June 24, 2007
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Running Y Ranch Klamath Falls, OR
Quite a drop on this par 4. This is one of the top courses in the country for women, but Mike suffered through it!  Labels: Oregon
June 18, 2007
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Father's Day 2007
We had a great weekend with our daughters and all grandbabies. Here is Madeline (left) and Alana (right) getting a tickle from Grandpa. Between this and the US Open, Father's Day doesn't get any better for Mike :)  Labels: Oregon
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Giant Crab Cocktail in Cannon Beach, OR
Gwen is trying to escape the giant crab cocktail!! Behind him is a martini glass, and he's holding an "olive"  Labels: Oregon
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Cannon Beach, OR Sand Castles
Here's the grand prize winner - see the sculpted bear behind us with the fish in his mouth? Very northwesty...  Labels: Oregon
December 24, 2006
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0h, what fun it is to ride....
 In a 2 horse open sleigh! The weather was crisp, the snow was clean and the horse bells jingled. What a beautiful sight at My Hood, OR. Merry Christmas, everyone!! Labels: Oregon
December 23, 2006
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At Mt Hood, OR
 I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...and it was indeed snowing at Mt Hood, OR with (from the left) Sue, Mike, Christina, Alana, Joel and Madeline. We did do some snow tubing...pretty fun! Labels: Oregon
September 14, 2006
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In Portland, OR with Alana
 At the beautiful Rose Garden park, Christina and Joel treated us to a fantastic picnic lunch in honor of Mike's pending birthday. Alana had a blast flipping upside down. Mike and Joel even threw her up with a blanket... to which her response was "AGAIN!"  Labels: Oregon
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In Portland with Madeline
 Here's Madeline, now officially age 1, demonstrating her rocking horse expertise. Labels: Oregon
June 26, 2006
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In Portland for Megan's Graduation
Family photo for Sue's clan - that's Mom on the left, then sister Kathy, neice Megan and me. Megan graduated with high honors from Centenial High School in Gresham, OR (smart AND beautiful).  Labels: Oregon
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At the park with Christina and Madeline
 Madeline was trying her best to wiggle into the water - she might be a swimmer, you never know! Christina (Mike's daughter) is relishing motherhood...but keeping up with two little ones is a lot of work! Labels: Oregon
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Father's Day in Portland
 Here they are - that's Madeline on the left and Alana on the right. Although Madeline is still pretty bald, Alana is now growing some beautiful strawberry blond curls. And both have their Dad's blue eyes...cute, huh? Grandpa just might be a little happy. Labels: Oregon
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