Topless Driving

Thanks in part to the fights being on time & a really short time spent in the airport collecting my luggage, I arrived in Portland early enough to have enough time to take a drive out to see the scenery. I was going to rent a compact car (as I had to pay for this myself), but when I was offered a huge SUV or brand new convertible Mustang for about $20 more I really had to think about what car to choose - NOT! That'll be one bright red convertible sports car thank you very much! I did have an underlying motive, no really I did. What better way would there be to see all this beautiful scenery than in a car with no roof!

Portland Bill? (No, Oregon)

I was lucky enough to be able to attend a work related conference in Portland, Oregon. Portland is located in the Pacific North West of America within about 50 miles of Mount Hood & Mount St Helens (yes, the Mount St Helens that erupted quite violently a few years ago & continues to be active). It was founded on the banks of the Willamette River in a location known as "The Clearing" which was about half-way between Oregon City and Fort Vancouver.

A few people in the office mentioned that the Northwest of the US has some fantastic scenery & that I should try to have a look around the surrounding areas. One of the people I work with used to live in Portland (as her husband is from there), so I got some really good guidance as to where to go & how long it would take to see the best sights.

There are no direct flights from St Louis to Portland, so I had to lay-over at Salt Lake City. This was pretty cool as I remembered from my childhood that this was the destination of the aircraft in one of the 'Airplane' disaster movies! The flight was early on a Saturday morning so I used to opportunity to get a quick snooze. When I awoke, the scenery had changed from the flat Midwestern terrain that I was used to into snow covered mountains - cool!

Time For A Blast!

Beth's school once again held their 'Bowles Blast' summer fair. Like last year there were displays by the local police, ambulance, & fire departments, raffles, games, snacks, & competitions. The same balloon modeller from last year was there again (probably because he was really good) & not only had he increased the variety of models he could make, but also his jokes (most of which entertained the long line of parents waiting more than the children). Beth did really well the chocolate pie eating competition & was just narrowly beaten into second place at the last minute by one of her friends. Cheryl volunteered to help out at the fair this year, so I spent the last half an hour with just Beth whilst Cheryl manned the bouncy castle.

The Cheetah Girls

Beth & Cheryl went to see the Cheetah girls with some of Beth's friends at the Family Arena in St Charles. The Cheetah Girls are a band who were created as part of the Disney Channel & included 'Raven' from 'I'm so Raven' (one of Beth's favourite Disney Channel Shows). Since the girls debut a couple of years ago on the Disney Channel, they have completed two Disney Channel Original Movies & a recent concert tour featuring Hanna Montana as an opening act. This is another Disney Channel TV show that stars Mylee Cyrus & her Dad, Billy Ray - yes the same person who got to number one with 'Achy Breaky Heart' years ago in the UK.

This event felt like a bit of a rip-off. The tickets were expensive & the merchandising even more so. However, it was going to get worse! Not only did the main star (Raven) not appear but in the middle of the very short 50 minute act, the band left the stage so that a dance team could dance to some music for about 20 minutes. We worked it out that Cheryl & Beth were paying almost $2 a minute each! Not good value for money (especially when most of the audience were youngsters), but Beth enjoyed herself which is the most important thing.

2007 O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals

I had planned to attend the main NHRA (drag racing) event at Gateway Raceway in 2006 but unfortunately I already had other commitments for that weekend & so didn't get to see the racing. This year the event had been moved forward to May & I made sure that I kept the weekend free. The event runs from Friday to Sunday with the qualifying on the first two days & the finals on Sunday. Two of my friends from work, Brad & Todd, & I went on the Saturday which turned out to be the best day of the weekend in my opinion. There was almost continuous heavy rain on the Friday which prevented any racing, & Sunday was really hot & humid. Saturday was sunny & warm but the weather was bearable.

It didn't take us long to get into the race complex & we got to drive on the NASCAR oval circuit as this was being used as the overflow car park - cool. This also meant that we got to see the pits for some of the lower classes of race cars as they were based in the center of the NASCAR circuit. When we got into the main race area we took a walk through the pit area for the Top Fuel & Funny Car race teams. These are usually comprised of huge semi trucks with trailers that open up with awnings to provide the workshops used to strip & re-build the cars after each race. A lot of the major teams had multiple signwritten semis & some of the more famous teams (like John Force Racing who had a reality TV show about which one of his daughters would join his racing team) were continually surrounded by a huge crowd of fans. Before we went to watch the racing we took the opportunity to have a look around the NHRA Nitro Mall where I bought a couple of really cool t-shirts.

I have been to a main drag racing event at Santa Pod in the UK, but this was at a completely different level. Ear defenders/plugs were a must as I found out whilst walking up to my seat without them on, even though it was a lower class vehicle taking a bye run. The Top Fuel dragsters were unbelievable. They would burn out for at least a quarter of the track length before reversing over the fresh rubber they had just laid down. It was odd because although they were noisy, it didn't seem that loud. However, when they launched for the race it was completely different. Not only did you feel the sound as the cars went by, but they were accompanied by a huge rumble that shook just about everything (my cooler actually fell off the seat in front due to the vibration from the dragsters). I had a great day & really enjoyed the racing - I can't wait until next year when the NHRA racing returns to Gateway!

Poms Local Competition

Beth took part in the local poms competition again. It was held at a different high school this time, but the format was the same. Each team did a cheer without any music & then did a dance routine to music chosen by their coach. Beth & her team did even better than last time coming in second place - well done Beth! This meant that they had qualified for the regional finals that were being held in Kansas City a couple of weeks later, so it was time for our first, 'short', road trip.

Jordan's Birthday

Beth was invited to Jordan's birthday party which was held at a local roller skating rink. Beth had never skated before, but with Cheryl's help she soon started to get the hang of it. The entire rink had been painted with fluorescent paints that glowed (along with anyone else wearing anything white) when the UV lights were turned on. After skating for a bit everyone sat down for pizza & cake & watched Jordan open her presents. Beth really enjoyed the party & liked the skating so much that she has been back to the rink again to skate some more!

100% AR

Beth has done really well with her AR testing at school having achieved 100%. When the students reach 100% they are rewarded with a McDonald's Happy Meal that they are allowed to eat with their teacher. Well done Beth!

Ballet Recital

Beth has been taking ballet, tap, & jazz dancing lessons & it was now time for the end of year recital. This was held in one of the sports halls at our local recreation center, Riverchase. There were two sessions - the first was a full dress rehearsal where you were allowed to take photos. The second session was the actual recital & the taking photos or using video cameras was prohibited. This was actually really good as it meant that the girls weren't distracted by numerous flashes from the cameras & the audience could just watch the performance. The recital was really good & Beth's dancing was brilliant!

Easter Eggs

Other than Cadbury's Creme Eggs, there aren't really any chocolate eggs at Easter here in St Louis. Traditional Easter eggs are decorated, hard-boiled, eggs. Our next-door neighbour, Sandy, kindly invited Beth around to make some Easter eggs. The egg shells are dyed using vinegar & food colouring & then further decorated using paints & crayons. To prevent the egg shells from becoming completely dyed (i.e. to create a band around the eggs) Sandy showed Beth a neat trick with an elastic band. Wrapping this around the egg prevents the coloured water from dying the egg shell under the band - cool!

Egg Hunt!

Beth really enjoyed the local Easter Egg Hunt last year so we signed her up again this year. There couldn't have been more of a contrast in the weather. This year we were still in Winter so the hunt location was changed from the frozen park to Riverchase. We all waited in one of the function rooms & the eggs were placed just outside to minimize the time spent out in the cold. Afterwards there were cookies, popcorn, & drinks for all the participants.