A Two Day Getaway

May 16 & 17, 2020

Looking back in my agenda for this time in mid-May, I saw two recurring words, I'm bored. Given that all the fun venues were closed and one was forced to wear a mask to go inside any stores really put a damper on our every day lives. Having these "emergency" requirements forced upon us was outrageous. It was shocking that this kind of tyranny was happening in our country. One definitely didn't feel free. The government taking away our freedom to choose was/is dangerous. All I could think about was control. It's all about control. It was very sad to experience and to see the injustice of it all.

Since Jacob was working from home and even the gates to some parks were closed, parking lots were roped off, we couldn't just go anywhere we wanted. Even after trying to stay busy with chores, hobbies, movie watching, I became bored. Bored of staying home day after day. That's insane. Once the weekend arrived we packed a light suitcase and we ventured out.

It was the perfect weather, cloudy and rainy. The roads were definitely less crowded, which was nice. 

Whenever we drove past this sawmill I couldn't help but be amazed on how many trees they constantly chop down. It's kind of sad but necessary. I'm glad that they do plant new trees though. 

Besides a cloudy sky my next favorite thing to see is fog or low clouds amidst the trees. I just love it!

Look how pretty all those evergreens are. 

Overlooking the Columbia River near Astoria.

Astoria streets. 

In all our travels through this city, we have only explored a few blocks. Astoria isn't really my vibe. We did check out the Goonies house once, we walked down then up the steep "Pigeon Steps" on 11th Street and Irving, went to the Oregon Film Museum which was the jail in the Goonies. We've walked up the 125-foot Astoria Column and Riley got the chance to send down a wooden glider airplane. That was neat. We would often stop to eat lunch at the Bridgewater Bistro on Basin Street which sits right on the Columbia River right next to the Astoria-Megler Bridge. This is about all we've done here in Astoria. 

We did stop in Seaside. It was windy and raining. 

But, we still stopped for some ice cream. It couldn't have been too cold since my boys weren't wearing jackets. 

Once done with our ice cream we drove the fifteen minutes to Cannon Beach. As we walked on the beach it began to rain on us. This time we did have our rain jackets and rain boots on, so we were prepared. It was a cool experience. I just loved it. I could have stayed out here for a long time. 

It was also very windy. 

Just as I felt I needed to get out of the house, I'm sure Riley did too. Being out in nature is very healing. Stimulating your brain in the outdoors, smelling and feeling the ocean air on your face is a wonderful thing. Real freedom lies in wilderness, not in civilization.  -Charles Lindbergh

After a while we continued down the coast. We drove past several areas where people usually parked near trails and they were roped off. 

Isn't it sad when the government has this much control? When people don't have the freedom to even go walking, hiking out in nature where the air is clean. Exercise is good for people. Breathing the clean ocean air is very beneficial but that right was taken away. There are really no words. 

As we continued driving down the 101, Jacob was calling hotels and all the hotels along the coast were closed to travelers. They were only open to people that worked in the medical field. Isn't that awful as well? So we had to drive East to Salem where Jacob finally found a hotel that was open to travelers.

Driving away from the coast was sad but as we neared Salem we saw a pretty rainbow. 

And saw where the rainbow ended. That was neat to see. This area is very pretty. It's hilly and green ... it's farmland. 

There was a nice park close to where we stayed the night. 

It was mostly deserted except for the occasional dog walker.

For lunch we stopped by IN N OUT along with about a hundred other people that had the same craving, lol. We waited in line for close to two hours. That was nuts. But, since we were craving an IN N OUT burger nothing else sounded good and we didn't want any other burger but this one, so we endured the long wait. It was worth the long wait though.

We made it home that afternoon. It was a nice little escape to the coast. We loved it even though all the obstacles that were presented to us however, no one can take away God's given right to us. To enjoy the beauty of His creation and the freedom only He can provide.

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big

enough to take away everything you have.  -Thomas Jefferson

Which is why our Founding Fathers wanted a small federal government,

with very specific duties, as outlined in our U.S. Constitution.

Keep living. Live with purpose and intention.