Hello Everyone,

Sorry we have not been posting for a week or so but we were in Coos Bay, Oregon visiting Mom and Dad Rutledge.  We had a great time and the visit brought back a lot of memories for both of us.  Darrin spent most of the time overhaulin a boat for Dad and it turned out great, we hope he gets many years of enjoyment from it. I spent a lot of time hiking on the cliffs overlooking the ocean and letting Marley run, anyway, here are the pics from our time in Coos Bay.

Mom "nana" Rutledge, it was great to spend time with Mom and Dad, we miss them already.

What a beautiful evening at Sunset Bay

Hiking on the cliffs overlooking Sunset Bay and Cape Arago, if you make this pic larger you can see a kayaker right in the middle, fishing for Ling Cod.

The landscape at Cape Arago is fantastic, this is a rock area that is at the top of the cliffs overlooking the rocky coast.

C'mon Darrin, strike a pose "aaahhhh" little help here!!!

My hero...

Another view from the cliffs

Darrin pointing out where he use to kayak back in the day.  "Way back in the day!!"  

It was right over there Aaron, at that little inlet to the bay, we would paddle out over 8 ft swells, sometimes we were lucky to make it out of there alive. Ahh, those were the days....

Here is a good picture of the cliffs, the hiking trail goes right along the top for miles. if you look close you can see people hiking down to the water on the left side of the rocks.

When the kids were little we would hike down to the tide pools here...  Darrin... bring me a tissue :(  I want my babies back!!

We had a picnic at a little park overlooking the ocean, what a wonderful day.

"Ooo nice flannel, it's so soft".   Yea, takes me back to my lumberjack days honey.  You're looking pretty good in that terry cloth vest too!

Went into Pouslbo to see the marina and stop at a nice little bakery for pastries.

Sailing conditions were outstanding this morning, here are a few of the boats we saw from the ferry ride.

Kelly and Jenny with Seattle Space Needle in the background.

Walking along the waterfront in Seattle's downtown district.

A cool waterfall on the boardwalk.

We made a beeline for Chipotle and Kelly was ready for a "Happy Face".  

After a nice lunch we headed down to the famous Public Market Center and Pikes Place

$28.00 for the Ferry Ride....

$36.00 for a fantastic lunch....

Having Seattle's famous "Silver Man" try to stick his finger in your ear...  Priceless!!!

Actually, seeing your beautiful wife smile at the pretty flowers is Priceless....

Famous seafood market at Pikes Place, there was a rope tied to the fish in front of Jenny and Aaron and the guy behind the counter scared the "you know what " out of them.  Classic!

What everyone really wants is to see the guys toss the fish across the storefront, in this case the lady in the middle was heckling them so they grabbed her and had her stand in the middle.  "Hey, that's a three point field goal".  (click image to see flying fish)

No trip to Seattle would be complete without a stop by Seattle most disgusting attraction "Gum Wall"

Unless you find your favorite flavor "Yum Yum".  Save some for me Kelly!!!

One last shot of the Space Needle as we head home to Bremerton on the Ferry.

Truly a wonderful day that included good food, great company and lots to see.  We recommend Seattle's waterfront district as a top notch adventure filled daytrip, just remember, bring a hearty appetite, good walking shoes and of coarse your visa because they dont take American Express at Pikes Place, Seattle Wa.  

(actually they might, we didn't check, cause we don't have one).

One of the few places we stopped on our way to Coos Bay was Multnoma Falls near Portland, Or.  

Oregon has had allot of rain and the falls were crankin.

Here is my beautiful Wife at Sunset Bay in Oregon, Sun was shining and weather was really nice.

A little farther up the coast is a viewpoint overlooking the coastline at Coos Bay, directly behind us are the cliffs that we hiked with Marley the next day.

Heading up to the cliffs for a morning of hiking and exploring.  Couple of puffs on the inhaler and were off!!!

We hiked down to a secluded beach through some really nice scenery.

Looks even better without me in the way.

That's better, here is my lovely wife after a 1/2 mile hike into the woods on top of the cliffs at Sunset Bay.

Marley getting to know her surroundings, Ah... so many smells, so little time.

Marley taking the time to stop and smell the "Skunk Cabbage".

Back on the road to see Aaron and Jenny in Seattle, we just had to stop and take a pic of this old barn in a nice little valley.

This is a small platform overlooking a 1000 foot drop, the area is "The Little Colorado River Gorge".  What a crazy view.

A peak over the edge, thats the little Colorado River way down there.

Now we are coming into "Monument Valley" 

Amazing Rock formations standing all by themselves, very cool place.  

Kelly took these pictures while we were moving, not bad Kelly.

An Arch formation on the way to Moab

"Balance Rock"  Kelly wanted to go tip it over!  She's so destructive! 

Getting closer to Moab, another cool rock formation but this one has a door carved into the bottom. 

One last awesome shot then off to a nice meal and shower in Moab.

This part of the trip was astonishing, The Canyonlands of Arizona and Utah are amazing and well worth seeing.