Cheddar then, cheddar now, cheddar always

We're now all moved in and finally have an Internet connection. Not really anywhere close to being unpacked, but it will get done eventually.

The week before we moved, PH's mom came to visit. We took her all over the state. Every day was some sort of road trip or adventure in Portland. We drove through the Columbia Gorge, saw Multnomah Falls, showed her the mountain house, hiked in the forest, visited the Indian casino and the Tillamook cheese factory,

went to the beaches at Lincoln City and Cannon Beach, ate dinner riverfront in Astoria and watched seals playing in the water, climbed to the top of the Astoria column,

visited the Portland Saturday Market, and took a dinner cruise on the Willamette River.

At Cannon Beach we saw Haystack Rock,

which I'd never visited in person before. I always wanted to see it since it's in the Goonies. It turns out that you are not allowed to swim out and climb Haystack Rock. A lot of animals including 8 species of crabs live on the rock. I guess that is why you're not allowed to climb it, but I'm not sure. What I do know is that you would die of exposure before you even got to the rock, and it's not even very far out. But we waded in the water and it was so cold that it made your bones ache in a very bad way. See, in this picture we are barely in the water, but this caused enough pain to make us scream, "HURRY UP AND TAKE THE PICTURE!"