DRIVING TO CANNON BEACH

Tammy and I had a wonderful day exploring the coast of Oregon today. We left Portland this morning and took all day to drive to Cannon Beach by driving south to Newport and then North from there.  We had a fabulous day.  

Getting to Portland

Funny how many people ask me "Why Portland?"  I tell them "Mom wants me to go." Then I have explain how that is when she died 17 months ago. Last August I decided I would use my portion of the money from Mom's estate to do some traveling. Mom always called me her wanderer. I have not been  anywhere for some time and decided Mom would want me to use some of her money this way. As I started researching Thailand and Viet Nam, ads for Portland OR would pop up. Every time I picked up a magazine it would open to an ad for Portland. Suddenly, every stranger I dealt with through my job had stories about Portland. During my visit to Richmond to visit my relatives I learned more about Portland during lunch when my Aunt  said "You know your Uncle Bill and I lived in Portland for 3 months. No, I had not been aware of that. Finally in March, I started reading a book my sister gave me for Christmas.  The first 4 words in the book: "Winters in Portland, Oregon..."  I threw the book onto my bed. "OK, Mom, I get it.  You want me to go to Portland!"  That   weekend, I booked the trip. I invited my friend, Tammy, to go with me.  Mom would want to gift this trip to her and I can't think of anyone better to have along.

I got up early Friday morning to get to my office to check in online for my flight to Indiana. At 6:00 AM, I backed out of my garage and hit a friend's car, knocking off the side view mirror.

Today at 6:00 AM I was going through security when my new hip set off alarms.  I was asked to have  a seat while they checked in everyone else. I had my first pat down.

Tammy picked me up at the Indianapolis Airport. We have already had so much fun beginningwith lunch at Cheddar's.

Up at the crack of dawn today gave us time to ease into our morning and trip to the airport.

This is our first posting.  Please join us daily to see what we are seeing. 

Give Me Your Halibut

Cynthia had some Halibut in her freezer last weekend and I felt like cooking. So, I made her a deal: Give me your Halibut and I will give you dinner.  I was inspired. Fresh mango, banana, add a secret ingredient...fresh asparagas and tomatoes with mozarella cheese and basil from my herb garden.  Top that off with wonderful fresh bread from the bakery.  Not too bad.

Earlier that day I filled up the bird feeders, something I have been neglectful of the past few weeks.  I am tired of feeding Grackles. You know, those big black birds that are the size of a small pony.  I have fed birds for years, but do not have much luck in this neighborhood.  Mostly I get those sweet love birds, red finches and I have spotted a few hummingbirds recently. 
  

I don't like the Grackles, but I like the other birds that show up so I will keep feeding.  And I will keep feeding my sister anytime she wants to entice me with something like Halibut.

On The Way To Blackwater Falls

My weekend plans keep changing. I ended up back in Roanoke with my sister a few weeks ago, arriving just in time for my niece’s birthday dinner.

Thursday we shopped. I am not very good at shopping so my sister offered her car for my escape. Thank you. Friday was a workday. That work is really what brought me back to Roanoke. I came to help get my nephew’s recently purchased house move-in ready. Our family is project oriented and it never occurs to us that our impossible list is impossible. That weekend was no exception. We stayed focused.

We worked very hard and accomplished

 a lot. The house was not quite move-in ready, but close.

At the end of the day, we were dog tired.

I was supposed to spend some time with a cousin before going to Roanoke, but had to move those plans to the following weekend. That got cancelled, too. But! I went to one of my favorite hang out places with one of my favorite friends.

 

When I arrived at Gail’s Friday evening, she was making dinner, which included a wonderful take on blueberry cobbler. The blueberries were straight from her garden, of course.

   

Gail and I like to take road trips together. Just for the day. Some of our road trips have convinced us we need two things during our road trips: binoculars and a gun. On this trip, we kept to main roads and would not need the gun. Gail lives in a beautiful part of the world. It really doesn’t matter in which direction we travel...it's all good. Saturday, we started out on 220 North to 28 to 33 to 32. Or something like that. For once, it was not raining and we had a picture perfect day. A shop owner told us it was the first time since Mother’s Day that there was no precipitation. I could not have told you that, but I believed it. A little cloudy, a light breeze, low humidity. All was good as we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide. I feel confident in saying most of you reading this have never crossed the Continental Divide at this particular spot. I apologize for not having a photo for you armchair travelers. My camera would not have done justice to this scene. Nor did I want to stop or interrupt what I was feeling. Sorry. That moment belongs to me.

Gail and I went to Davis and Thomas, WV where we explored a few shops, mostly art galleries. 

 

 
...and we attended a wine tasting at a fabulous

art gallery.

We had lunch at the very popular Purple Fiddle. The food is very good and there is an unbelievable list of musicians who perform there.

The reason for this day trip was to see Black Water Falls.  Gail knew it would be spectacular because of all the rain we have had.  It was amazing.  That is not mud you see. The tanins in the water create a beautiful amber color in the water.

 From Wikipedia: Blackwater Falls State Park is located in the Allegheny Mountains of Tucker County, West Virginia, USA. The centerpiece of the Park is Blackwater Falls, a 62-foot (19 m) cascade where the Blackwater River leaves its leisurely course in Canaan Valley and enters rugged Blackwater Canyon. It is among the most photographed venues in the state and appears on calendars, stationery, advertisements of all kinds and, most famously, on jigsaw puzzles. The River is named for its tannic acid-darkened water.

Gail drove the same route back home.  Clearly Rt. 28 is now my favorite road. Beautiful. That evening we had dinner with our friend Donna. Perfect ending of a perfect day. Breakfast on the porch Sunday morning...

When I got home that evening, I discovered my Gladiolas had bloomed.

  Ahhhh.