Astoria to Cannon Beach

We’ve been away from our Country Bungalow since June 20th. Our first stop was at our Son and DIL’s home for two nights. Then early on Monday morning we drove from Bothell to Cannon Beach, Oregon but our first stop on that journey was in Astoria, Oregon.

We were only stopping here for a meal before we continued on to Cannon Beach.

Perched at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River, Astoria is Oregon’s oldest city and the first permanent U.S. settlement west of the Rockies.

With Victorian-era homes etched into hills overlooking the Columbia River, this picturesque settlement is a port city with Scandinavian flavor. Surrounded by forests, boasting three rivers and situated a stone’s throw away from the Pacific, Astoria is a fishing village-meets-Victoriana, chockablock with forts, museums and great local brews.

If you squint, you can see the bridge in the distance that connects this part of Oregon to Washington State.

We had decided ahead of time to eat at Fort George Brew Pub and we were not disappointed.

The seafood chowder was so good and the Albacore Fish and Chips were excellent. The Albacore was a first for us and we really enjoyed it.

The house made tartar sauce was excellent, too.

Driving out of town we stopped to get a closer shot of this bridge.

Astoria Bridge, truss bridge spanning the mouth of the Columbia River between the states of Oregon and Washington, western United States. It was designed by William A. Bugee and at its completion in 1966, it was the longest continuous-truss bridge in the world.

It is 4.1 miles long.

Before we made it into the little seaside town of Cannon Beach we made a stop at Ecola State Park to get these views of Cannon Beach.

We managed to arrive at a good weather window. We paid $12 to park which was the ‘out of state’ parking fee.

Sea air does a number on my hair so I’ll be in search of a good hat to wear for any future beach trips.

The famous Haystack rock is one of many along the Oregon Coast.

 

Zooming in for our final shot of Haystack. In the next several days we would see the rock up close.

On the way back to our car we took another path to see a different view of the Pacific Ocean.

We drove the narrow winding State Park road down again to get to downtown Cannon Beach where we would be staying for the next 5 nights. More about our time in future posts.

It was a very nice time away but it is very good to be back home.

My Voice Shalt Thou Hear in the Morning ~ Hymn

My Voice Shalt Thou Hear in the Morning

My voice shalt Thou hear in the morn­ing,
O Je­sus, my Sav­ior, my all;
While na­ture its mu­sic is wak­ing,
On Thee from my heart will I call.

Refrain

My voice shalt Thou hear in the morn­ing,
My praise to the hills shall as­cend,
I’ll join with the glo­ri­fied mill­ions
A chor­us that nev­er shall end.

My voice shalt Thou hear in the morn­ing,
O Je­sus, my shep­herd and king;
Refreshed with the dews of Thy mer­cy,
Thy won­der­ful love will I sing.

Refrain

My voice shalt Thou hear in the morn­ing,
At noon­day, at eve, and at night;
I’ll tell of Thy good­ness for ev­er,
My hope, my sal­va­tion, my light.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1892.

Cannon Beach Postcard

We are on our way home from a week at Cannon Beach Christian Conference center. I’ll share more about our time there soon. It was a lovely way to start off the summer.

“Our unseen God is providentially working in our lives even when it feels like he is conspicuously absent or silent.”

 

Cambridge to Ely

Continuing our travel journal from our trip from the Danube to Cambridge in March of 2026.

On Wednesday morning March 11th we walked to Bill’s Cambridge restaurant for breakfast before our train ride to Ely.

I know those are poached eggs but I honestly can’t remember what I ordered that came in that skillet…maybe potatoes of some kind. Oye.

After breakfast we called a taxi to take us to the train station for a short trip to Ely. Once we arrived we walked over to another taxi to take us to the cathedral. When the taxi driver asked me where we wanted to go, I said, “Ely”. He said, “Well you are already in Ely so where else would you like to go?” Ha! We talked about soccer and his favorite team that wasn’t doing too well, Spurs.

  • Ely is the second smallest city in England. The small town grew up around the monastery and Cathedral which dominated the Isle of Ely for centuries.

I’m sharing the outside of the cathedral first and the inside will be another post.

The history of Ely can be read here.

 

Why were we interested in seeing Ely Cathedral? We first heard of Ely through the author Elizabeth Goudge.

Elizabeth Goudge was a celebrated 20th-century English author who spent her formative years living at Ely Cathedral, where her father served as a canon. This historic Cambridgeshire setting deeply influenced her writing, inspiring her iconic 1960 novel, The Dean’s Watch as well as A City of Bells.

We both read The Dean’s Watch and it was one of my favorites of Goudge’s books.

flight-souvenirs2

We bought this copy of The Dean’s Watch in a used bookstore in Chipping Campden in September of 2013.

A quote from The Dean’s Watch by Miss Montague,

“How much more friendly it is when you cannot see, thought Miss Montague, and how much closer we are to Him. Why should we always want a light? He chose darkness for us, darkness of the womb and of the stable, darkness in the garden, darkness on the cross and in the grave. Why do I demand certainty? That is not faith. Why do I want to understand? How can I understand this great web of sin and ugliness and love and suffering and joy and life and death when I don’t understand the little tangle of good and evil that is myself? I’ve enough to understand. I understand that He gave me light that I might turn to Him, for without light I could not have seen to turn. I have seen creation in His light. He shared His light with me that I, turned, might share with Him the darkness of His redemption. Why did I despair? What do I want? If it is Him I want He is here, not only love in light illuming all that He has made but love in darkness dying for it…And she said, I will learn to pray.”

My next post will be of the inside of this magnificent cathedral.

Hello Summer Hodgepodge

 

Summertime at our Country Bungalow.

Hello Summer Hodgepodge. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Summer’s here!  In the northern hemisphere anyway. If you’re in the southern hemisphere substitute winter for the word summer. What do you love most about summer? What’s your biggest summer pet peeve?

I love summer fruits like nectarines and peaches and plums and watermelon!

In our neck of the woods mosquitoes and mean bugs like wasps are a nuisance!

2. What song always reminds you of summer?

The Beach Boys ‘California Girls’. I was born and raised in Southern California and my early days were filled with music by this classic group.

3. What’s something you remember about your childhood summers? Do you think kids today get to enjoy summer the way you did as a child? Elaborate.

Honestly, I don’t remember specifics about summer versus other times of year. We were outside a lot. We would go to the beach with other relatives. I do remember getting the worst sunburn of all time and our mom soaking rags in vinegar to put on our burns.

Our summers as kids were very much unplanned by our parents. It seems like parents nowadays are more hands on and do more planning for summer activities. Summer camps and summer sports, etc.

4. We celebrate Fathers Day on June 21st. Do you favor your dad in looks or temperament? Tell us something about your dad. Or your husband as a dad. Or a son/son-in-law as a dad. Or your grandpa.

Our Pop worked hard to support his family. He was a man who loved His Lord and Savior and was faithful to our mom and us. He was punctual to the point of being early especially for church. He loved jigsaw puzzles and in his old age worked on them to pass the long hours of the day.

My Pop and me camping in Southern California. He is working on a jigsaw puzzle.

Our dear Pop was called home to heaven June 24th, 2018. Eight years ago today.

I’m a combo of our Pop and our Mom. I do enjoy jigsaw puzzles and I’m punctual to a fault.

5. Let’s wrap up with a summer this or that-

  • flip flops or sandals
  • beach or pool
  • watermelon or peaches
  • shorts or sundress
  • iced coffee or ice cold lemonade
  • amusement park or water park

Sandals, beach, watermelon, sundress, iced coffee. Neither an amusement park or water park are on my list ever for the summer. 🙂 I’d rather go to a place like Disneyland in the cooler months.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We are getting ready for the 250th celebration of the USA at our house. Here are some initial decorations to mark this epic event.

A lot more will be coming out of my red, white and blue bins.

Our schedule is not our own this week and it will be hit or miss as to whether I can visit as usual. If not, I will catch up next week.

Happy Summer everyone!

Cambridge – King’s Chapel

Our travel journal from our visit to Cambridge in March 2026 continues.

This is still from our Tuesday March 10th in Cambridge. Warning: There are a lot of photos in this post!

Our guide got us into the grounds of King’s College and then said her goodbyes while we enjoyed the Chapel.

The college quad. The chapel is on the right.

The fountain (1874-1879), with a statue of the College’s saintly Founder, stands in the centre of the Front Court.

King’s College Chapel is the oldest surviving building within the College site and perhaps the most iconic building in Cambridge. Work on this Chapel only started five years after King’s College was founded by Henry VI in 1441.

King’s College Chapel is the chapel of King’s College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world’s largest fan vault.

It took 5 kings to finish this structure. 

26 windows chronicling scenes from the Old and the New Testament.

Adoration of the Magi

The three wise men have brought Jesus their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. At the front in red is the oldest man, holding a container of frankincense; frankincense was burned in sacrifices to God by the Israelites in the Bible, so it came to be a symbol of Jesus being God. The man behind him is holding a jar of the perfume “myrrh”; this was used in embalming corpses, so it became a symbol of Jesus’ death as a sacrifice for mankind. The third man, often called the “Black Magus”, has brought Jesus gold, a symbol of the fact that Jesus is a king.

It was painted by the artist, Peter Paul Rubens, who born in 1577, in what is now Germany. He was one of the most well-known and successful artists of his time. He didn’t usually paint pictures in order to later sell them in a shop or a gallery: most of his paintings were commissioned by groups who wanted his pictures in their churches. This one was originally painted for a convent of nuns in Antwerp, Belgium. It only came to Cambridge in the 1960s.

King’s College Chapel escaped unscathed during wars including the Second World War, when the glass of most of the windows was removed for safety. The opportunity was taken to clean, repair and photograph it. Only the West Window remained in place, appreciated at last in the absence of unfair competition.

Carved Tudor Roses are seen and they, too, have an extensive history.

The Tudor Rose, was created in 1486 by King Henry VII. It symbolizes the unification of the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose), bringing an end to the brutal civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses.

 

Built as a house of God it draws your eyes up.

We left the chapel and enjoyed some scenes from the grounds of the college.

It was time for some refreshment after all the walking and viewing. We decided to try The Mitre for our main meal of the day.

We bought a famous Chelsea Bun from Fitzwilliams and enjoyed that later in the evening at our lodgings. We were content to stay in for the evening.

This ended our Tuesday March 10th in Cambridge. We had plans for Wednesday that took us on a train ride out of Cambridge.

Father, Lead Thy Little Children ~ Hymn

Father, Lead Thy Little Children

Father, lead Thy lit­tle child­ren
Very ear­ly to Thy throne;
We will have no gods be­fore Thee;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Lead, O lead Thy lit­tle child­ren
Very ear­ly to Thy throne;
We will have no gods be­fore Thee;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

In the Bi­ble Thou hast taught us
All our thoughts to Thee are known;
Thou canst see us in the dark­ness;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Though the hea­then bow to id­ols,
They have made of wood and stone,
We have Christ­ian friends to tell us
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Thou dost give us all our com­forts,
Everything we call our own
Comes from Thee, our heav’n­ly Fa­ther;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1883.

Puzzle Me World Cup

Josh and Laura gifted me this puzzle on their last visit and it was a fun one to put together during World Cup Fever here in the USA/Canada/Mexico and the world!

The World Cup posters for each city hosting games are so clever.

Seattle

Boston

Atlanta

Miami

Vancouver

Houston

Dallas

Los Angeles and more…Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterey, Toronto, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco, and New Jersey.

The USA played Australia yesterday in Seattle and Josh and Laura were able to be there and enjoy all the glory of World Cup Fever with a 2-0 win for the USA. From the fan excitement in the stadium, the patriotic clothes and costumes worn (Uncle Sam, Eagles, Lincoln etc.), 60,000 people singing the National Anthem the cheering was deafening. And then when the game was over the whole stadium sang ‘Country Roads, Take Me Home’. It was a blast of energy that was so refreshing to see and hear!

What a joy to vicariously enjoy being at the game with these two!

Hope all is well in your corner of World Cup Soccer and that your team is performing well!

Truth for Today #192

Friday June 19th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Note: I will be away from my computer next Friday so there will not be a Truth for Today post Friday the 26th.

Hebrews 6:4-8

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 10:26-31

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgement, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has se aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or more witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

From Vera:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” ‭‭

From Maristella:

1 Timothy 6:11

But you, man of God, flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

 

 

Cambridge – Tuesday March 10th

Our travel journal of our time in Cambridge continues here from March 2026.

It was nice to enjoy our French press coffee on this morning before we headed out for breakfast at The Copper Kettle on King’s Parade in Cambridge.

It was a lovely morning and I took some photos along the way to breakfast.

We would sign up for a tour of Trinity College later in the week.

Looking out the window of the Copper Kettle.

I’ve never met a scone I didn’t like.

Greg went for the full English.

The Views from breakfast were lovely. This is the college and especially the chapel that would be part of our tour on this day.

This cafe was used in some of the filming for Grantchester. (Possibly as a tea-room?)

After breakfast we met up with our alumni tour guide and group for a 2 hour tour that would include King’s Chapel.

St Bene’t’s church on Bene’t’s street was one of our stops.

St Bene’t’s has been a place of Christian prayer and worship for nearly a thousand years. The exact date is in dispute; estimates vary between the tenth century and the reign of Edward the Confessor, but there are good grounds for placing it in the reign of King Canute about the year 1020. More history at this link.

St. Catharine’s College.

We continued on Silver Street to Queen’s college where the famous Mathematical Bridge spans the River Cam. I was chuckling here as I remembered the new quirky Ludwig murder series filmed in Cambridge. One of the episodes featured the bridge, the building on the left which is part of Queen’s college and a chapel. Have you watched the series. I highly recommend it.

The bridge was designed in 1748 by William Etheridge (1709–76), and was built in 1749 by James Essex the Younger (1722–84). It has subsequently been repaired in 1866 and rebuilt to the same design in 1905. More info here.

We continued on Silver Street to Queen Street on ‘the backs’ with some nice views of King’s College Chapel.

This is Trinity College Bridge.

St. John’s with the clock tower without an actual clock.

This bridge might be the Kitchen Bridge.

Working our way back to the King’s Parade to King’s College where our tour began and would end except for those of us who paid extra to go into King’s College to be able to visit King’s College Chapel.

The Chapel deserves a post of it’s own and that will come on another day.