#109 Float the River, #18 Half Birthday, & #88 Country Fair

#109 Float the River

Last month, I came across this awesome 2 person inner tube with cup holders and a cooler in the middle on clearance for only $25, and I knew I had to add floating the river to my summer bucket list! Alex and I floated the river maybe 5 years ago, and it was definitely time to try it again. We dropped my car off at a boat landing downstream, strapped the inner tube to Alex’s car, and drove it to a gravel area upstream where we could leave his car and set off in the water. We filled the cooler with a big bag of ice and lots of drinks, and also brought along life jackets (in case our tube popped), and a pair of short oars to help steer our tube in the right direction. It turned out to be a really fun afternoon! We saw lots of wildlife along the way, including fish jumping, lots of hawks, a heron, a vulture, and a deer. We were anticipating that it would only take 2-3 hours, but it actually ended up taking 4 hours! We had such a great time, that I’m sure we will be doing it again many times this summer. I also tried to get a tan tattoo for the second time (the first time I tried was when I carved my watermelon), but it barely showed up at all, so I’ll have to work on that one in the future.

#18 Celebrate My Half Birthday

I have always thought it would be sooooo much fun to celebrate a half-birthday, and since July 14th marked the halfway point between my last birthday and my next birthday, I decided it was time to celebrate! Alex and I ended up hanging out with a handful of our friends in the next town over. We had a barbecue and drinks and I even baked myself a half birthday cake! I made two round strawberry cakes, cut them in half, and stacked them on top of each other to form a 4 layer half circle cake. I then frosted it with an outer layer of white cream cheese frosting and put it in the freezer to chill, which is called the crumb coat. This makes the outer layer of frosting go on smoother. I then added a layer of frosting I had dyed purple, and decorated it with mini M&Ms. It was a really fun excuse to make a cake and have fun times with our friends! I just might have to celebrate again sometime in the future!

#88 Experience the Country Fair

Giant flower pinwheels!

I live in Eugene, Oregon, which happens to be the hippie capitol of the world. Every year, they have the Oregon Country Fair, in a nearby town, which draws people from all over the world. Since I have lived in Eugene for the last 15 years and had never been, I figured it was about time I checked it out to see what all the hype was about. I was absolutely blown away by how extravagant it was, for being only a 3 day event. There were people everywhere, and it really felt like being in a big hippie version of Disneyland (without rides). So many people walked around in costumes, and there were booths with all kinds of crazy things, from “Mind Juice” to wooden children’s toys, tie dyed clothing, handmade jewelry, wood carvings, and so much more. By far the best part was all the people in costumes! Lots of women went topless, and many of them painted their breasts. We even saw one lady who had Spongebob painted onto her frontside, and her breasts were the eyes! Obviously, many of the pictures aren’t appropriate for this blog, but I’ll share a few that are. I can’t believe that it’s taken me so long to finally experience the country fair, and I’m sure I’ll be back in the future!

Rainbow face paint lady and a bubble blowing fairy!

I LOVED her tights!

 

Woodsy dude who had a doll on his back that spun in circles when you cranked it up!

A goddess and a wizard!