Quick Update (from OR to CA)

    So we are now in California! The first 2 nights were spent at Mountain Gate RV Park in Redding CA. After some relaxing, we went and checked out the town, the famous Sun Dial Bridge, and then In-n-Out. It was our (Ave and I) first time to In-n-Out and we all enjoyed it. :)  That night we decided to play Just Dance for the first time in our trailer. Nothing/no one broke: It was a success.
    The next 3 days we spent in Vacaville where we able to take a day trip up to old town Sacramento.  There dad had lunch with an old friend of his while Mom, Avery and I walked the town shops.
    It is Sept 28th and we are now in San Jose! This is kinda our second home.. Avery and I grew up here until we were five and seven, and mom and dad have lived in this area since they were children. This evening we will probably take a drive and check out our old rental house (We had a rabbit named Thumper and three kittens (Romeo, Jasper, Mascot) at the time.  We hope to find the cement slab where we all made hand prints while living there.  Then on to Grandpa and Grandmas old house where Mom was raised, and we were both born. :)
   We hope to unite with some old friends and family throughout the week and hit up some good restaurants! Miss you all up there in Idaho!
-Devin

History of Roseburg OR

Roseburg, Oregon was named after the first man who settled here in September of 1851, Aaron Roseburg.  He converted his house into a tavern and it also served as the first roadside inn in the area.  He died in 1899.

                Although it may not have much history, Roseburg Oregon has some notable events  which happen to be worthy of my time.  J  The biggest event that has taken place in this town happened 53 years ago and left the town a mess.  The event has been dubbed, “The Roseburg Blast” and for a good reason.  On August 7, 1959, some trash cans caught fire in front of the Gerretsen Building Supply Company building. Soon the building was burning, and before anyone had the chance to notice the truck loaded with two tons of dynamite and four-and-a-half tons of nitro carbo nitrate parked just outside, it caught fire. You can guess what happened next.  The massive blast destroyed buildings in an eight-block radius and severely damaged 30 more blocks.  Fourteen people died in the blast and fire and 125 were injured, which is actually a miracle, considering the amount of space the blast affected.  Eventually the town was rebuilt, along with a new bridge that crosses the Umpqua River.  If you want to know more about this happening, or want to know why there was a truck filled with explosives, check out the article here.

-Devin

Listening to sermon on our way to CA

The Wise and the Foolish Builder - SermonAudio.com http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112091810166

Roseburg, OR. (Sept.16-22)

After leaving the coast last Sunday we were instantly warmed up with the inland heat.  We left the beautiful coast and arrived in Roseburg, Or. to and 88 degree day.  The Twin Lakes Rv Park, 4 miles out of the town of Roseburg, is nestled between vineyards in big shady trees along the Umpqua River.  We have enjoyed the warm weather and beautiful evenings here.  

Rick and Avery were very excited to try their hand at salmon fishing.  It seems every morning and evening the river is busy with many people (mostly men) fishing for Chinook and King Salmon.  After seeing a couple men pull in 25-35lb salmon Rick was even more motivated to get their fishing rods set up right so they could better their chance at catching one of these fish.  After going into the local town fish store and getting all set up, they woke up two mornings in a row at 6am to fish and again in the evenings from 5-8pm at night.  Unfortunately they did not pull in a salmon, but were able to enjoy the experience.  They look forward to future fishing on our trip and hopefully some successful catches. :)  

Yesterday (Thurs.) after school, the boys and I took off for a day trip.  We went to the Douglas County Museum and then over to the Wild Life Safari.  The museum was a mix between the history of the first settlers to the area, the Indians that lived there before them and the wild life of the area.  The exhibits were very enjoyable.  The Wild Life Safari was a 4.5 mile car drive where you can view over 500 animals (from Africa, Asia and America) in their natural habitat roaming freely much as they do in the wild.  The kids and I had a great time and ended up driving through twice. (of course I forgot my camera and phone but at least Devin had his iPod)

The kids have been doing fairly well with school although not a full schedule by any means. Rick is still being trained by his new company and currently having to listen to hrs of training during the day.  I am learning to use my crock pot more and have enjoyed trying new recipes.  :)  My back is on the mend, still in pain and still a daily struggle, but thankful for Gods daily grace. 

Today is Friday (Sept 21st) and we are leaving for Redding, CA. tomorrow morning.  Our plan is to stay there a week before heading into the bay area. 

Thankful for God's Provisions as we continue on our trek and our journey together as a family.  

You can see our picture updates here https://plus.google.com/photos/112037325646005786708/albums?hl=en

---Jenn

One night

Left Florence, OR by 12pm, and traveled down 30 min to Winchester Bay rv park for one night stay, before we head inland to Roseburg.  The sun was out upon arrival, but the thick fog quickly rolled in for about an hour and then cleared up again.  Beautiful spot right on the Bay with a marina.  Avery is eager to fish.  My parents friends from highschool (Brian and Sandy Weatherford) are actually here n staying right across from us. (Fun surprise, and a joy to see them again) Brian has given us some hints on salmon fishing and we will see what happens in the morning w our smaller lighter weight poles.  Wish we were staying longer but have to be in Roseburg in the morning.
--Jenn

Florence History.

The official town of Florence Oregon started with a man that owned a very unattractive name; George Melvin Miller. When Mr. Miller first arrived in Oceola (now known as Florence) in 1882, it consisted of a rustic hotel, a trading post, a few cabins, and some Indian huts clustered along a muddy street. (The land was originally populated by Indians, but what first American settlements weren’t?)  The 90 acre settlement of Oceola was owned by an old man named A. J. Moody who was not willing to sell his property to anyone.  Miller was interested in buying, and was disappointed that Moody would not sell.  So he waited. After two years of waiting, old Moody died, and George Melvin Miller bought the town at an auction.  By 1885, other youthful and ambitious entrepreneurs had discovered Florence, and had started building their businesses.  These businesses included a Lumber and Navigation company, a drug store, a cannery, a creamery, and Florence’s First saw-mill. 

                By the mid 80’s, the town of Oceola had a new name.  The name Florence first appeared when a group of Indians found a 10-foot long painted wooden nameplate on the beach after the schooner Florence wrecked just off of the bar.  They carried the plank back and propped it up against the side of Moody’s store. The owner of the town’s hotel liked the nameplate, so he nailed it over the front door of his hotel.  When the post office was established in the hotel, the citizens saw no point in making a new sign to designate the town, so in 1893, the town was named Florence.

                Today Florence is still a small town, but now it is also a tourist attraction with a beautiful bridge.  It also has a reputation for blowing up whales.

-Devin

Catcher-Uhper

Well... We have survived yet another week!  This week was spent in Florence Oregon at a Thousand Trails campsite.  The site we are camping at is surrounded by trees, very shady, and at the moment, the only thing illuminating my laptop is a small beam of sun light coming through our sunroof.  Apart from the cave-like features of our site, the campgrounds are a very pretty place.  It has a great activity center with a very clean out-door pool and hot tub along with a pool table and a TV inside.  Once you get out of the park, you can either take a left; to go to the sand dunes/beach, or a right; to go downtown.  On Tuesday we chose to go to the dunes in attempt to find the beach.  We found it alright... along with 100 mph wind (kind of exaggerating there).  But no joke, that was the most powerful wind I think any of us have ever felt!  Besides the wind, we were rewarded with some shells we found along the beach.  We were thankful to return to our ‘house’ after that experience. That night we all enjoyed a camp fire, provided by Dad and Avery’s wood scavenging efforts, along with some marshmallows.

                On Wednesday we decided to take a right.  After holding our breath over the bridge, we arrived downtown.  Mom had a chiropractor appointment within the hour, so we walked in and around some of the shops near the Chiro’s office.  Most of the places were either clothes or antiques shops, so we ended up not browsing very long.  We were all getting kind of hungry by that time, so we chose to eat at an eatery called Maple Street Grille.  As soon as we ordered, we all split up. While Dad and Avery were waiting for the food to come out, Mom went to her appointment, and I left to go check out a comic book store.  I had never been to a comic book store before, surprisingly, so I was occupied for quite some time.  I only got scared by a cardboard cutout once.  When we all joined back up, we had some ribs and some other decent food, then went for a walk.  That walk just happened to end up at an Icecream shop.  We all appreciated some icecream from BJ’s Icecream and Taffy shop.  Once we had all consumed our treats, we climbed into the truck and drove back ‘home’.  But as we were driving by the activity center, Dad decided to stop and we all got out and played a game of pool. Then we went ‘home’ to our beds J

-Devin