Twenty Four Years

August 2020

In celebration of our 24-year anniversary, we took a trip to the northern Oregon coast. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite area. It's so pretty and calm.

We didn't head over to the coast right away. We were wanting to eat IN N OUT so we drove to Kaizer where the closest one is. Riley sure enjoyed his burger, lol.

Engaging in activities that bring joy needn't take a lot of time or money. Sometimes, an inexpensive meal hits the spot. We all truly enjoyed our burgers. It left us feeling utterly content and satisfied. 

After we ate, we drove to the coast. Just seeing the ocean is an immediate spirit lifter. The vibe changes dramatically, everything seems to slow down which calls on you to notice the beauty around you and to inhale the salty sea air. 

I'm an observer which helps to live with intention.

I wanted to walk on the beach for a while so we stopped at Newport. It wasn't hot at all. As a matter of fact I had on my jean jacket and Riley and Jacob had hoodies ....  in August, isn't it cool? I relished this weather. 

Found a mostly shaded trail that led down to the beach.

Pleasantly surprised to have had the beach all to ourselves.

What a pretty view.

Make it a priority to spend much of your precious time pursuing activities together. Making it a point on creating memorable moments to reflect back on.

The boys playing catch football. While they were entertaining themselves with that, I walked along the shore and collected white pebbles and seashells. 

The sea air is nostalgic. I made sure to take deep breaths and to take in this moment. 

There were several dead fish and jellyfish along the shore. I find jellyfish very interesting. It's just a see-through gelatinous blob. It's kind of cool looking. Just don't touch it.

The sound of the ocean is so calming, dreamy even.

I like to picture myself sitting out here on a picnic table journaling as the sound of waves crash in the background. Or going on long walks by myself, being immersed by the surrounding beauty of the sea and sand on the right and the piney forest to my left. That would be a dream.

We also drove to the marina which is across the road from the beach. We saw several fishermen with their fresh catch of the day. And we also spotted a few seals hoping to get a fish thrown at them. 

Twining 

Next, we stopped in Neskowin. It's not as populated by tourists like lets say Seaside or Cannon Beach, so it's a very quiet beach.

The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest.

Riley was so small here. Five years have passed since this picture was taken. That's a long time. He's grown so much and so much has happened. Change is inevitable. Sometimes I don't like change. 

We continue to make our way North. We had lunch in Seaside. Jacob and Riley wanted to ride a surrey bike. While they drove it around I went window shopping. 

We stopped in Astoria for the night.

Another pretty view. 

It was a fun little getaway. I'm always grateful to be able to see the beauty of the sea.

Our anniversary also marks the day we lost Reagan. It's definitely a bittersweet day of celebration but we make it a point to physically remember him by lighting a candle in his memory.

Time just seems to be flying by. Twenty-four years has truly gone by so fast. I am grateful to God to have made someone to love me, and for me to love him back.

With arms outstretch, I thank. With heart

beating gratefully, I love. With body in good health, I jump for joy.

With spirit full, I live.

A Day Trip to Cannon Beach

July 18, 2020

A spur of the moment day trip to the Oregon coast. It's exciting when a spontaneous opportunity presents itself. It makes life enjoyable because you did something that was out of the normal routine. 

It's a 3.5 hour drive to Cannon Beach which is not that far. The day was set to be sunny and, in the 60,'s. 

I believe we were driving across the New Youngs Bay Bridge over Youngs River here. Which connects Astoria to Warrenton Oregon.

We stopped in Seaside at Ruby's Roadside Grill for lunch. Really cool place. Very down to earth.

Riley makes me laugh. Always making funny looking faces. He's silly just like my sister Claudia. 

Cannon Beach is only fifteen minutes from Seaside. It's quite busy during the summer months. It is definitely worth your time to stop and explore it.

A partial view of Ecola State Park. 

At 60 degrees it felt quite good to get some sun. We hung out here for a while watching brave people go into the freezing water. Jacob and Riley also played catch football for a while which I took the opportunity to read for a bit.

Afterwards we walked back to town and stopped at Schwietert's Cones and Candy for some ice cream.

Cannon Beach is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. There are a lot of gorgeous plants, flowers and trees. 

We left Cannon Beach in the late afternoon.

All the beaches along the Oregon Coast are gorgeous. They're so vast. So much sand and I especially love all the rock formations in the water. 

We made it to Portland and stopped at Chicken N Guns for dinner. They have the yummiest grilled chicken and Peruvian aji sauce, which is made of creamy jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, and lime. They call their crispy potatoes "guns", hence the name of their business. Everything was so delicious!

It was definitely a full day. The smell of the ocean air is so clean, calming and healing. It also evokes nostalgia. I love looking out at the ocean, gazing upon the waves as they crash against the shore. How they curl and come undone. But, for me, what's awe-inspiring is walking on the beach when a storm is about to hit. The moodiness of it is what makes the whole scene beautiful. Being at the beach brings me so much pleasure.

It is my hope that Riley will look back at his childhood with much love and excitement for the ocean/beach, nature and all the fun times we've had together on our road trips.

Whenever you experience awesome beauty, absorb it inside yourself. It does

affect your soul. Once there, it lifts your spirits and is alive in you now and as a memory.

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.