Langlois, OR

Time flies when you're having fun. For the last week we have been living in Langlois, OR at our friends Andy and Joanna's place. They live and work at a Bed and Breakfast here on Floras Lake and have been kind enough to host us for a week. Andy is a pro kiteboarder—he works at a kiting and windsurfing school and has been taking the time to give us lessons. Every time we have a spare hour or two or three, we head down to the lake and learn more about the sport. Floras Lake is a shallow freshwater lake just 100 yards inland from the Pacific. It makes for the perfect kiteboarding conditions and we have had wonderfully windy weather this week. We started on the beach with trainer kites and have slowly worked our way up to practicing with a board in the water. Kiting can be dangerous and it takes some time to learn it the right way, lessons are pretty much necessary, and the equipment is expensive. Therefore, this has been a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm so thankful Andy has gone out of his way to make it happen. We have definitely been getting a good taste of the coastal lifestyle here—kiting, paddle boarding, boating, body-surfing in the ocean, and cruising ATVs on the beach. It has been great to live near the ocean—to see it and hear it everyday from our house.

It has been fun to really experience the local scene here in Langlois. The first night we arrived here, we went to a birthday party at the Cheese Factory. It is an old barn off the 101 that's a perfect venue for a get-together. People of all ages from all walks of life were out that night to have a good time. There was live music, dancing, and a raging bonfire. Everyone was having fun and it was so cool to be a part of it. The next day we were able to participate in the annual cider press up on Langlois Mountain. After spending our morning gathering apples from all over town, we headed to the party with five huge containers of apples ready to be pressed. It was quite the scene up there. The same band from the night before was jamming bluegrass tunes while people went to work grinding and pressing apples into cider. It was a lot of work but also a big celebration—people danced, played apple baseball, enjoyed the fire, made delicious food, rode the giant slip 'n slide, hung out in the tree fort, played disc golf, and drank fresh apple cider. By the time all the apples had been pressed, everyone was sticky and dirty and smiling. The community of people there were great—the place was hard to leave… I think that was the coolest party I have ever been to.

Along with having extreme amounts of fun here in Langlois, we have had the opportunity to experience some new work. Our friend, Joe, has a ranch here. He raises grass-fed cattle and farms cranberries at the most beautiful ranch you could ever imagine. We have been getting in on some of the action at the ranch—harvesting cranberries, helping with a tree-planting project, working with the cows, and getting to know the great crew there. Andy even kiteboarded in the cranberry bogs which was pretty fun to see. We have gotten to know the cranberry crew pretty well and just about every night some of us get together for dinner. It has been great to become part of this small community of good people… thanks for the hospitality everyone!

We plan to leave this place on Sunday and head for Grant's Pass where we will be working with Wildlife Images (http://www.wildlifeimages.org/). Langlois and the wonderful people here have treated us so well... as usual, it will be tough to say goodbye. However, I'm excited about what's next. I love Oregon… life is good!