Bluergh!

The last couple of days I am feeling totally blah, bluergh and ick! I don't really know why and can't really put my finger on it but I just don't feel 100%. My back hurts and my stomach is icky so I have been taking it easy this afternoon.

On Friday we left town to go camping for the weekend. I was really looking forward to getting away and also for some cooler weather. It had been far too warm for little ol' me and I was starting to feel a little wilted. I needed some cooler temps!

Dear hubbie loaded up the truck on Thursday evening and I did the last few bits on Friday morning and then I jumped in the truck to go pick him up from the field and we hit the road. We headed just south of Bend to a place called La Pine but as we pulled into the campground we were greeted by the 'Campground Full' sign. Uh oh, this was bad news. We hit one other campground and saw the same thing so we decided to head up to Paulina Lake.

We had wanted to camp up there but I was a little nervous because of the lake and the mosquitoes, but since the other two sites were full it was a sign so we headed up the road to Paulina Lake. Neither of us realised it was so high up and it seemed like the road just kept on going and going... at 6350ft we entered the campsite and it wasn't full. Infact, it was only about half occupied! YAY - I was excited!

We found the perfect spot and jumped out to start setting up camp and WHOOOSH, the mosquitoes were on us like crazy! I could even feel them biting me which is a first, usually the first I know that I've been bitten is a few moments later when it starts to swell.

Ugh! Cory was willing to leave and go find another campsite somewhere else but I didn't want to, it was so pretty there and it was an adventure after all.... a few painful bites later I was starting to feel like I was going to go crazy, so I got inside the half erected tent while Cory set up everything else and got a fire going.

A few moments after the fire got going they started to leave, they really didn't like the smoke so we kept the fire really smokey!

We walked over to the lake and it was just beautiful, it was as if we were on top of the world. There was no other point of reference that we could see from where we were and at over 6000 feet we really were up high!

After that we went to find the host and paid for the night... he warned us that it would be cold (and it was) and that hopefully we had enough blankets to keep warm for the night. I was actually looking forward to it being a little cold, and already had my beloved beanie hat on! ;)

We went back to the campsite and fixed up a yummy dinner and chilled out by the fire before hitting the hay early.

It was pretty cold that night, it hit somewhere in the low 20's and we felt it but we were very glad for lots of warm blankets and a blow up mattress! After breakfast and a walk to the lake we packed up our stuff and hit the road.

Saturday evening we stayed at a campground at Detroit Lake and it was substantially warmer than at Paulina Lake (it was also substantially lower in elevation) and had next to no mosquitoes. I didn't get one bite that evening nor did I even see a skeeter lurking nearby.

We camped close to a little beach on the far side of the lake and it was quiet and calm. We had a fun & very relaxing weekend... laying on the beach, relaxing strolls, throwing rocks and just not having to do any of the stuff waiting for us back home.

ooooh, and I almost forgot to mention that we had the first smores of the year and they were perfect! :)

A trip down memory lane

This weekend was the first anniversary of Cory's marriage proposal to me, so we decided it would be fun to head to the coast and visit the places that made our engagement so memorable and so very special.

We headed out of Mac early and as we were driving all the memories of a year ago came flooding back. I kept seeing the "swamp lantern' flowers all over the place (also called Western Skunk Cabbage because of it's foul smell). I hadn't seen them since the day of our proposal and it really reminded me of that day.

I had no idea what Cory had planned. I had only returned to Oregon mid-week and we were both excited to get to the beach, even though it was foul weather. It was raining hard, gusty and really cold, it was so powerful and it made the beach come alive - it was still beautiful. We stopped at many look out points along the way and I remember Cory asking me if I wanted to stop at Agate Beach. I was kind of excited to get to the lighthouse so I said "ummm, no"... little did I know that was where he originally had planned to pop the question. Whoooops!

So, we get to the lighthouse and it's raining and windy but we bundled up warm and got ready to face the weather. Right before we got out Cory said he wanted to take a 'before' photo. I laughed saying it was probably a good idea since we'd be looking like drowned rats afterwards. I even remember saying that Cory has a "cheeky" look on his face in the before photo.
Little did I know what he had in store for me.

We hopped out of the truck and started to the stairs for the cobble beach. Cory said he wanted to run back and get his camera so I walked on slowly - little did I know that his camera was already firmly in his pocket and he was going back to get my beautiful ring.

He caught up and we headed down the steps to the beach. I'd never been there before but I instantly loved it, even in the rain. The dark charcoal coloured cobbles were just amazing, and they made the most unique sound as the water crashed up on them.
We kept walking up the beach, it was cold and wet but we were having fun. They Cory starts talking, serious talking... I didn't notice at this point that he had taken the box out of his pocket and was starting to open it. Then he stopped me walking, right next to this large rock on the beach. It was there that he proposed and gave me my beautiful engagement ring.

I stood there, shocked, cold, wet and for once in my life I was completely speechless. I couldn't talk, I was just quiet and smiling and crying and hugging him. He had to actually ask me if it was a "Yes" and I some how managed to nod and mutter out my response. After putting the ring on me and savouring a few moments we got really cold and wet. We were the only ones on the beach that day, it couldn't have been more perfect. I wouldn't change it one little bit, not even the weather!

We got back to the truck and as we sat down Cory said "now for the 'after' photo" and it was then I understood. It wasn't because we would be cold and wet, it was our real engagement photos.
After calling (and trying to call) several people to tell them the news we headed to rogue for something to eat and to dry off...

So this weekend we did a similar thing. We went to Rogue for lunch and walked around a little then we went back up to the lighthouse and walked down on the cobble beach. It was a sunny day and it was a minus-tide, so naturally it was a lot busier than a year ago. But it was still special. We got to look around the tide pools for a little bit before we walked down the beach to 'Our rock'.
It was a really fun day and I am so glad we were able to get back down there. It's crazy what can happen in just a year, but I'm excited to see what the next 12 months brings our way!

Here's some pics from this weekend:

Of course we had to reenact the 'before / after' photos!This is 'Our rock' - the rock where Cory proposed and I whimpered a "yes!"