As all things must come to an end, so it was with our Pacific Northwest Vacation Holiday. The weekend in Florence was all that remained. Oh but what a great weekend! There was just enough time to do a little shopping in the historic section of town, to enjoy leisurely suppers surrounded by family, to raise a glass of good cheer and experience the warmth of loving hugs.
Category: Thoughts on a Subject
On the Road Again
Our wonderful holiday vacation is coming to an end. We’ll spend a few days in Florence with my beautiful sister and her husband. Maybe a day of shopping, and then it will be time to head home once more. We do have the breathtaking drive south along Highway 101 between Depoe Bay and Florence. I’m sure by now you are tired of hearing me lecture and ramble on. It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I have a few thousand to share. See you in Florence!
There She Blows!
In 2016, we took Kiddo on his first Oregon Vacation. Our time was split between Southern Oregon and Northern California. It was so beautiful that we returned again the following year, this time concentrating on the Central and Southern Oregon Coast. We took a year off from Oregon to return to our favorite Wild West State, Wyoming. It was time to return to Oregon’s coast. The haunting sounds of fog horns, the lonely cry of a seagull and the music of gray whales singing together call to our souls.
Next Stop, Depoe Bay!
Depoe Bay is one of those places that we stumbled upon without realizing what it had to offer. Two years ago, we were in Florence, some 60-odd miles south of Depoe Bay. We were relaxing on the veranda of our hotel room when suddenly a whale’s spout came into view. Needless to say, we were on our feet with excitement. As it turns out, our Gray friend was heading north, to Depoe Bay. A pod of Grays call Depoe Bay home 10 months out of the year. Your chances of a whale encounter, however brief, is fairly good. Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself once more . . . we still have the beautiful drive.
One Afternoon in Tillamook
Long before visiting the Oregon town of Tillamook, Hubby and I were familiar with the town’s prize-winning claim to fame, and that was their cheese. Sure, quality matters and when it comes to quality cheeses, Tillamook ranks high in my book. But it’s more than just their cheese that has won my loyalty, it’s their grounded approach to business. Come see what I mean.
Rolling Down the Highway
Rise and shine with the morning sun, or at least the promise of sun. The upside to a road trip is that you get to see so much more of a country than you might otherwise have seen from a train or a plane. The down side is that every few days, it’s time to pack it up, load it up and hit the road once more.
Rain, Rain Go Away!
When we made the decision to return to the Pacific Northwest for our Holiday Vacation, it was as a means to escape the heat of home. Mid July has historically seen temperatures well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. While Hubby insists we prefer a warm climate to call home, it seems to me we always pick a cool place to vacation. Kiddo and I adore fog, and mist and cold. But then again, we are tea drinkers. Misty mornings and a good cup of tea do wonders to quiet the human soul.
The Forgotten History of Fort Stevens
As many of you know, I grew up in California. Growing up in California when I did, the paranoia of the Japanese wasn’t such a distant past that it had been forgotten. The attack on Pearl Harbor was before my time, but not by much. Fourteen years in the conciseness of people isn’t very long. It’s been 18 years since the attacks that brought down the World Trade Center, and we still remember – some bitterly, some fearfully, most with sorrow. Growing up as I did where I did, there were remnants of the country’s fears dotted the coastal landscape. I had assumed these abandoned reminders were exclusive to the California Coast. Devils Slide and Muir Beach are the bunkers I am most familiar with, not far from San Francisco.
The Wreck of the Peter Iredale
Astoria offers two very different points of interest to the “modern” history buff. One is Fort Stevens, build during the American Civil War and attacked during World War II. The other, far more famous from a photographic perspective, is the Wreck of the Peter Iredale.
Do you know the way to Astoria?
Good Morning! Welcome to Day 4 of our Oregon-Washington adventure. It’s time to start making our way home – in a very slow, non-direct way. Our forth day had no particular agenda. It was a matter of driving from Castle Rock Washington to Seaside Oregon, with a stop-off in Astoria. Astoria is on the northern most point of the Oregon Coast. It is where Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean, having followed the Columbia River. Most people would have taken take the quickest route to the ocean along Highway 30, on the Oregon side. We took the meandering route, sticking to the Washington side of the river. It’s the road less traveled, and that suited us just fine.
Exploring Mount Saint Helen
Had we known when we caught a glimpse of Mount Saint Helen while driving through Portland that it was to be our only opportunity to see the full scope of the mountain, I might have taken pictures of that moment. Instead, we took pictures of the Portland skyline like a bunch of country bumpkins that had never laid eyes on a city before. I’m not 100% sure, but there may have even been a gasp or two. I think Portland took us by surprise because we weren’t expecting a skyline. In any case, we ignored the mountain.
Oregon-Washington Adventures Day 2
Our hearts were all a flutter with excitement for what lay ahead. Hubby and I had explored Crater Lake before, many moons ago. Our children were just teenagers, and Kiddo hadn’t even been imagined yet. This was his day – to walk around the crater of what was once the top of Mount Mazama. Mount Mazama is a Quaternary volcano, part of the Western Cascade Range. She blew her stack over 7,000 years ago. Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself. There are many things to enjoy as we head north along the highway from Klamath Falls to Crater Lake National Park.
Oregon-Washington Adventures Day 1
Ever since Kiddo was a wee little Kiddo, he has always been fascinated with Earth Sciences, especially weather and volcanoes. When he was four, we spend time exploring the volcanoes of Hawaii. Every couple of years, we head to Yellowstone for the every changing thermal features of the park. While some people like to sit on a beach and sip Tropical Cocktails by the pitcher their entire vacation, we like to explore, to learn, to stimulate our minds. Don’t misunderstand me, we like to relax with a tall cocktail while on holiday. Learn a little, drink a little, talk a little. It’s all part of the vacation process for us. Every day should be a learning experience. Care to come along?
If It’s Wednesday, This Must Be . . .
How many of you are planners? How many of you makes lists for everything? I have all sorts of lists, and thousands of plans. Now executing those plans and checking off those lists is a whole other ball game. Life often has its own plans, so you just gotta go with the flow. Otherwise you’ll go bonkers. No one wants that!
A Tribute to my Beautiful Mom on Mother’s Day
My mom wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. At least not for me. The last conversation we had, I brushed her off. She wanted to go to lunch and spend the day together. After all, it was my birthday. It was also a work day. “Playing hookie” as she put it was not something I was willing to do. I wasn’t sick, and I wasn’t about to call in sick just to spend the day with her. “Some other time, mom. I have to work today.” I could hear the disappointment in her voice. She had called bubbling over with excitement and hung up hurt. Two weeks later, Mom died in her sleep. For us, “some other time” never came.
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