A Trip To Oregon

We took a trip to Portland, Oregon this past weekend. Our Chevy Venture minivan wasn't doing very well in the 106 degree heat in Idaho and started having problems.

We left our van in Idaho and rented a Kia Sedona. Since it's a rental that who knows how many other people have driven, naturally the steering wheel had to be wiped.

Once we crossed the border into Oregon, we stopped at a small town to fill-up. When my husband put the gas pump into the gas tank, a man came running over and said, "You can't fill up your own vehicle here. It's the law!" We thought it was the wierdest law we've ever heard of but at least we didn't have to handle dirty gas pumps the entire time we were in Oregon.

The main reason for our trip was for a luncheon and tour at the University of Western States Chiropractic College where my daughter wants to go after she finishes her degree at USU. It sounds like a really good school. Since there is a lot of hands-on learning there, I was happy to see hand sanitizer everywhere on campus!

We stayed at the Airport Comfort Suites in Portland. The rooms were clean and really nice. The service was absolutely excellent!

I did not, however, give my 21-month-old son a bath. I just can't bring myself to put a child in a hotel bathtub. I took him in the shower with me.

The hotel served a good breakfast. The only thing missing was hand sanitizer. There are a lot of people from a lot of different places there handling the utensils. I was as careful as I could be about not touching any food until I got back to my room and sanitized my hands.

My husband wanted to go see Astoria, OR because one of his favorite movies, "Kindergarten Cop" was filmed there. We saw the elementary school where most of the movie was set. Then we went up to the Astoria Column which has a 360 degree panoramic view of the area.

We had to go up 164 winding steps to the top of the column. It was quite a workout! I usually try not to touch public hand rails, but all the winding was making me dizzy. That's what the hand sanitizer is there for!

After we left Astoria, we went down the coast to Seaside and spent a few hours at the beach. My kids have never been to the ocean before. I don't know that I would have swam in the ocean if that had been an option. I prefer a chlorinated pool. It was only about 60 degrees there and the water was freezing. Just getting my feet wet was enough.

The kids enjoyed playing in the sand and looking for shells. I couldn't deny them their fun, even if it is dirt. We rinsed the sand off the best we could at a water spout near the parking lot. Then we all sanitized our hands. The two youngest kids needed a change of clothes as well. I don't know for sure how he did it, but Riley even had sand in his diaper!

MRSA at Beaches

An associated press article from San Francisco, published in my local newspaper on Sunday Sept. 13, 2009 states "staph germs found on beaches."

"Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem."

"The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-- a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms."

"The germ causes nasty skin infections as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening problems. It spreads mostly through human contact. Little is known about environmental sources that also may harbor the germ."

Marilyn Roberts, a microbiologist at the University of Washington is quoted as saying "We don't know the risk... but the fact that we found these organisms suggests that the level is much higher than we thought."

The article further says "People should not avoid beaches or be afraid to enjoy them, scientists say." This is where I have to disagree! I have dealt with this germ with my own family and it absolutely terrifies me. MRSA is a very agressive germ. All it needs is the tiniest of scratches or pinpricks and it gets under your skin and causes a huge abscess! It is very hard to get rid of and the whole experience is a nightmare. Everything has to be sanitized constantly because you don't know where it could be lurking.

My advice is: Avoid any place that is known to have MRSA!