Category Archives: Travel

Boy Oh Boy!

The reason I originally made travel arrangements for Southern California was to attend a lifelong friend’s baby shower. Her mother and I were best Russian buddies in our college years and onward. Our families attended the same Russian Baptist church in Los Angeles. We sang in the Russian Youth Choir and in the 70’s we were in a Christian Rock Band that toured England in the summers. Heidi sang at Dear and my wedding. Lots of history.

The theme that my friend Heidi and the new mom-to-be, Nikki, decided on was a nautical one. Perfect for celebrating the soon to arrive little boy.

Heidi and Ken have a beautiful home in the Orange Hill area of Southern Calfiornia.

This is the mother-to-be, Nicole. When she was born she lived across the street from us.

My friend Heidi and Nicole.

The food was delicious and listed on a fun Nikki Cravings Menu.

These are all my sisters with me.  My SIL and two of my nieces were also at the shower.

My girlfriend Jeanie who married my cousin Jim was there, too. Our friendships intersect with a lot of people from church, the rock group and extended families.

We arrived for the shower in bright sunshine, sat down to our meal in the shade of the early evening, and left when the sun was setting…

It’s nice to be back home with Dear. I was upgraded to first class again and had a nice conversation with an ER doctor who sat next to me on the plane.

My Wednesday will be busy as I’m getting ready to travel to Canada on Thursday. I’ll be scarce till Friday. Hope all is well where you are…

Whimsy’s Flea Market

On Sunday morning I met up with Cori G. from Brambleberry Cottage for some Kean Coffee and a stroll around Whimsy’s Flea Market in Old Town Tustin.

The Whimsy shop was fun to stroll through out of the sun…

It was sunny, muggy, and very hot but we persevered and managed to see most every vendor’s wares. I even bought 6 pink goblets. Hmmm…I have to pack them in my suitcase. I hope they survive.

Cori was a good sport and posed for my camera at the little chapel in the Flea Market lot. It was very good to catch up a bit with my bloggy friend.

Another fun looking shop in the the Old Town area of Tustin.

 When I got back to my niece’s townhome I ended up going out to lunch with her and her fiance. They will announce their wedding date at our family gathering tonight. After lunch I was picked up by my sisters to head to a baby shower for a lifelong friend of ours. I’ll post about that tomorrow. Tomorrow I fly home and it looks like they upgraded me to first class again. Oh what a treat that is.

Fall Treats!

My first night in California my family got together for a build your own taco night.

I decided this was a good time to spring this new dessert idea on them.

Have you seen these caramel bits? I found them at Target and it’s great not to have to unwrap each individual caramel to melt them. The recipe for these treats is at Very Culinary. I used pecan pieces instead of cashews or peanuts. I wasn’t in my own kitchen when I made these. The next time I make them I’ll chop the nuts finer and the result will be prettier. They still were delicious chunky and disappeared quickly.

My parents made their first outing since my mom’s stroke and came to the taco party. It was nice to have them there and it was good for them to get out of the apartment.

The evening ended with this beautiful sunset in Orange, California.

Sunday was a full day and I’ll share later. Hope the beginning of Fall has been good to you.

Goodbye to Summer…

…and a look back at one more stop off the road from the Washington Coast.

We stopped at the Willapa Interpretive Art Trail…

The Willapa Interpretive Art Trail was created to commemorate the restoration of a small stream near Refuge Headquarters. The art trail is a one quarter mile curving boardwalk.

Artwork located along the boardwalk helps to tell the stories of the stream and the many species who live there.

Students from the University of Washington Public Arts Program designed, constructed, and installed the artwork for the trail under the direction of professors John Young, Ian Robertson, and Jim Nicholls.

From a distance we thought this little guy was real and you should have seen us approach it very very carefully so we wouldn’t scare it away.

We got closer and closer and it didn’t move…

When we got this close we realized it was part of the artwork along the trail. We laughed till we cried about how careful we were not to scare this fake frog!

These feather sculptures didn’t trick us.

These salmon sculptures in the trees didn’t fool us either.

This dragon fly table was designed by UW Art student Gary Carpenter. The quote on the table is from a poem by e.e. Cummings ~ …the world is mud luscious and puddle wonderful.

The moss on the trees was so soft…

It was a treat to stretch our legs here on the way home from the coast.

Tomorrow I head South for some more adventures. I’ll be back in the Fall y’all! I had to say that because I’m watching Paula on the food channel while I’m preparing this post.  See you next week.

The Oyster Capital…

…of the world is right here in the state of  Washington, at least that’s what the sign says.

We couldn’t leave without trying some of these oysters from the oyster capital. They were good, plump, and fresh. I’m not the biggest oyster fan and even I thought they were good. Here are more sights from around the small town of South Bend on Willapa Bay.

Seafood processing plants were in abundance. We went into one of the retail shops at this plant and bought some canned garlic jalapeno wild caught albacore. Haven’t tried it yet but I’m thinking it will make a great filling for a sandwich.

We spotted this great building looking up the road from the main drag and drove up to investigate.

A wonderful view from the courthouse. It was worth our stop in South Bend on our way home from the Long Beach Peninsula.

Tuesday I was back to Women’s Bible Study and it was nice to see friends from our last study again after our summer break. Looking forward to the new season and deepening some friendships.

How will you be spending the waning days of summer?

Out of the Ordinary…

During our time in and around the Long Beach Peninsula we saw some things that made us pause long enough to take another photo.

This store was a hoot with quite a variety of junk stuff to sell and strange things to see. Your kids would be able to find a souvenir here.

You don’t see many cities that fly all our military flags. I was impressed!

Along many of the roads to the peninsula and on the peninsula there were tsunami escape routes clearly marked.

There was a great combination of goodies at this shop. We made our only purchases beside food here. A copy of Pilgrim’s Inn by Elizabeth Goudge and a part we needed for an old glass door knob set.

It was fun to see this in the front window of a specialty shop in South Bend. We stopped in South Bend for fresh oysters on our way home.

Happy Saturday to y’all.

Sunset and Sunrise…

…at the Pacific Ocean is always a treat. I’m sure it’s a treat on the East coast, too.

We had an evening walk on the beach before we headed back to the room to enjoy Sunset from our deck. On our way back to the room we spotted this group of horses with riders headed for a beach stroll. Maybe next time we’ll enjoy riding horseback on the beach…

“How fine has the day been! how bright was the sun, How lovely and joyful the course that he run! Though he rose in a mist when his race he begun, And there followed some droppings of rain: But now the fair traveller’s come to the west, His rays are all gold, and his beauties are best; He paints the skies gay as he sinks to his rest, And foretells a bright rising again.” Isaac Watts

The first ones up before sunrise were the fishermen. We were up early, too, and took a rainy walk before it started pouring and we headed back to our room. The rain didn’t last long.

I’ve got a couple more posts from our time to the Long Beach Peninsula and back again. This weekend is going to be full with work on the house, soccer, a going away party, church, more work on the house and we’ll culminate Sunday celebrating Dear’s birthday barbecuing with Josh and Laura. Life is rich! Hope your Friday and weekend go well!

North Head Lighthouse…

On our way to the North Head Lighthouse we stopped at a scenic lookout. We were able to get a small glimpse of the lighthouse from here. We also read about the tragic history for ships in this area.

Three shipwrecks in one week in 1853.

It was an easy walk from the parking area to the lighthouse.

Remember on your walk away from your destination that it is good to look back and get yet another view.

Yesterday was a very busy day around this old house. Is anyone else surprised that it is Thursday already? I’m elbow deep in ripe pears trying to get creative. Today I’ll be working on pear sauce. I finished off my smirntopf with a few cups of diced pears. My jar is full so now we just wait until Christmas for the results!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Before there were lighthouses on the Peninsula, ships bound for Portland and Astoria navigated their way through the high waves and shifting sandbars, focusing on fluttering white flags and notched trees along the shoreline by day and flickering signal fires by night. These methods were crude at best and, despite heroic efforts, the sea offshore of the Long Beach Peninsula became known as ‘The Graveyard of the Pacific’.

In 1788, British fur trader John Meares named the area Cape Disappointment after his inability to locate the river’s mouth.

The Peninsula’s first lighthouse, Cape Disappointment, had a bumpy beginning. As early as 1848, a government survey had recommended a lighthouse due to the great number of shipwrecks. Lighthouse construction materials were underway in 1853, stashed in the hull of the ship Oriole when it sank two miles off shore. While a few items were salvaged, the bulk of the shipment was lost.

We got the tip to head to Waikiki Beach in Cape Disappointment State Park to get a nice view of the lighthouse from the visitor’s center in Ocean Park.

Both Cape Disappointment Lighthouse and North Head Lighthouse were taken under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. In the early 1990s the Cape Disappointment light underwent a major renovation, complete with a new paint job with black and white stripes with a dark green top.

Cape Disappointment is the oldest functioning lighthouse on the west coast. I will share my photos from the North Head Lighthouse soon. You will need a Discovery Pass to get close to each of these lighthouses.

ht: Funbeach.com

Walking…

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk.  Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness.  I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.  ~Soren Kierkegaard

Now shall I walk
or shall I ride?
“Ride,” Pleasure said:
“Walk,” Joy replied.
~W.H. Davies

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.  ~Henry David Thoreau

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain – and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light…. ~Robert Frost

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. ~ Thoreau

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began,
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many path and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
The Lord of the Rings
The Old Walking Song sung by Bilbo Baggins, Chapter ‘A Long-Expected Party’.

I’m hoping to inspire myself to walk more. These quotes are inspirational and make the case for walking quite strong. Maybe they can inspire you, too.

These photos are all paths we took while traveling to and staying at the Long Beach Peninsula. If you are looking for a spot to stay that affords many good walking paths in different settings this is a great destination. I would suggest buying a Discovery Pass before you travel here because some of the wildlife refuges and parking for the light houses require the pass. The pass is only $30-$35 and it’s good for a whole year for many state parks and refuge areas across the state.