Description: In the summer of 2003, right after college graduation, my boyfriend (now husband) and I took a 7-week road trip out West and put 11,000 miles on my Mazda Protégé. Of course, I scrapped our trip complete with a daily log and many photos. But, this was during my “patterned paper, stickers and markers only” scrapping phase. So I have decided to re-scrap our trip using only my favorite photos. This is one spread featuring my favorite photos from our trip to a botanical garden on the Oregon coast. Journaling: Perched on a scenic bluff above the Pacific Ocean, Shore Acres began as a private estate with luxurious gardens featuring trees, shrubs, and flowering plants brought from around the world aboard the sailing ships of pioneer lumberman and shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson. Simpson developed the summer home into a showplace three-story mansion complete with a heated, indoor swimming pool and a large ballroom. The grounds contained five acres of formal gardens, including a Japanese-style garden built around a 100-foot lily pond. While structural deterioration eventually forced the mansion to be razed, the restored formal gardens continue to attract thousands of visitors. The garden features year-round displays of floral and scenic beauty and the annual "Holiday Lights at Shore Acres" from Thanksgiving through New Year's. A fully enclosed observation building now occupies the site of Simpson's mansions, offering spectacular view of rugged seascapes, towering storm waves, and glimpses of migrating whales from December through June.