Beasts, Birds, and Butterflies

Today I biked just over 18 miles. I started from Sunny Roseburg in Southern Oregon. Just a few miles south is the Wildlife Safari in Winston. I wandered around the main area. Only closed cars allowed in the animal compound. Shame. If I'd been able to go in, I might have seen something interesting, like this:

As it is, I did get to see this:

And in case you wonder what I look like:

Pretty skinny for a fat lady!

After wildlife safari I returned to Grandma's house and rested up, just a little bit. On Monday I'll head up to Elkton, Oregon, home of the Butterfly Pavilion.

Start at the beginning

Hello! I am Meme (aka Melanie Emry) and I am taking a virtual journey. Why? Well, why not?

Actually, there is a reason. Some time ago I decided I needed someplace fun to put my brain. Yes, it's actually in my head, but I keep spending time thinking about things that are stressful, worrisome, or just plain negative. I needed something healthy. So I am taking a virtual trip. That way I can plan where I will be next, or imagine myself where my virtual journey has taken me so far.

I make progress by exercising and losing weight. I decied that I bike at 50 mph (hey, this is a fantasy, right?) and walk at 4 mph. (actually, I walk about 3 mph, but 4 is easier to divide). And if I lose weight in any given week, then I'm happy that week and happy people walk faster - so for that week I get to count extra distance (for every 4 miles walked I get to count 6). There you have it.

I am starting in Roseburg, OR. My grandmother lives there, and I like it there. I'm heading north from her house towards my parents in Oregon City, then I'm going to spend a while exploring Washington State (where we currently live). We'll see where we go after that.

So, welcome to Roseburg!

For my contacts

I am taking a virtual tour. For every hour I exercise (and every step I take during each day), I get to count travel distance on my imaginary trip. I want to visit interesting places, some of which I may have actually seen, some which I never have. Hopefully I have photos of the places I've been which I will post to make my virtual trip more interesting. However, there are many places I have never been.

If you are connected to one of these places (or you would like me to visit your place on my virtual trip), I want to post a description of what I would see along with a photo or two and maybe a link to your own website. I hope to make this trip interesting to readers so other people can be inspired to take their own trip, real or imaginary.

I can be reached at virtually meme @ coastaccess.com (I inserted spaces to fool spam engines). Please feel free to email me there if you want to be included and are willing to give me pictures to dress up my post. If I can, I will include your location in my trip (and I probably can. - one of the joys of the virtual world, I can go back and rewrite my trip!)

See you in the virtual world!