Travel Days - Tuesday and Wednesday - Oregon and Washington

It was absolutely wonderful to go to sleep to the sound of the ocean on Monday night!

The last thing I saw as I closed my eyes to sleep was the moon shining through the window.

And the ocean was still there when I woke up Tuesday morning.

This photo is out of order but I wanted it to be the first one!

Isn't he cute?

He was trying to show a little leg here!

We lingered long over our coffee and packed everything up - reorganizing it all once again!

Now we have a pantry suitcase where we have all our picnic food plus snacks and our new coffee cups from Phyliis. Once again - we were all in!

Our first stop was the Hope Chest in Rockaway Beach just a few blocks from our hotel.

The prices were great and we loaded up - again!

I made sure to brag to them about Phyliis inviting us to lunch since they know her very well.

The lady I talked to said she had worked with her for 13 years!

I hope Phyliis knows how special a lady she is.

She has been a school teacher, lost her husband when he was just 39 and raised five children on her own. After retiring, she has continued to bless others in her community and the Hope Chest gives special help to those in hospice. 

Her house is 100 years old and you can feel the love and memories of all those who have lived there over the years. Phyliis has been here over 20 years.

I didn't see a swing but there are lots of comfy chairs on her decks and porch.....

and I'm reminded of this song Louis Dean sings......

Old Porch Swing

Eddy Arnold

It's hung there on the front porch

Since this old house was built

It's where the old men whittle

And the women fleece their quilts

It's held four generations

Through whatever life could bring

That ol' swing

That ol' porch swing

It held a grieving widow

When my daddy's daddy died

And now it rocks my children

When they close their sleepy eyes

It's where I popped the question

With a quarter karat ring

That ol' swing

That ol' porch swing

It's been there through the sunshine

It's had it's share of rain

Been a witness to some good times

And a like amount of pain

If it could tell it's story

What a violin could sing

That ol' swing

That ol' porch swing

* That part especially reminds me of Phyliis *

It's where brother read the letter

That sent him off to war

We knew he had to go and fight

But we didn't know what for

When he came home he just sat there

And never said a thing

In that swing

That ol' porch swing

It's been there through the sunshine

It's had it's share of rain

Been a witness to some good times

And a like amount of pain

If it could tell it's story

What a violin could sing

That ol' swing

That ol' porch swing

That ol' swing

That ol' porch swing

Songwriters: Charlie Williams / Joe Allen

Old Porch Swing lyrics © Joe Allen Music

Songwriters: Charlie Williams / Joe Allen

Old Porch Swing lyrics © Joe Allen Music

After we left there we found this place.....

We are finding lots of good books!

Summer, Amber and I all love to read and I have stumbled across some real treasures.

(This evening I stacked them all up in the back seat floor board behind Louis Dead and they are halfway up to the seat. Maybe I can add to the stack as we continue on our travels!)

We all like some of the same writers and then they have a few special ones as do I and I think I have found some of all of them!

I wanted to eat some good clam chowder before we left Rockaway Beach and everyone we asked recommended the very same place!

Owned by two fishermen, this was indeed the best in town!!

Louis Dean had the cod basket and I had a small clam chowder and a shrimp cocktail.

Oh, my goodness! It was delicious!!

It's a rustic place with outdoor seating only.

They were swamped and we waited a bit in the line.

One of the employees - or was it one of the fisherman's wives? - came out and told us, 

"Folks, we were dead yesterday and now so busy that we have called in the reinforcements! "

It was worth waiting for!

We were not ready to leave - Louis Dean wanted to back to see Phyliis and talk some more - but it was time to move on.

We headed south down Hwy 101......

So pretty!!!

Our next stop was at Tillamook Creamery where we did the self guided tour and then loaded up on lots of cheese!

Shall I tell on Louis Dean???

He went through the cheese tasting line TWICE!

We had fun!

Then we programed the navigational thingy on our fancy rental car and left the ocean behind as we drove through the thick forests.

We were headed for The Dalles and another great room Summer had reserved for us.

Our route took us back to Hillsboro!

Louis Dean was wanting to buy a guitar in the worst way!

When we stopped for a bathroom and tea break at McDonald's, I googled pawn shops.

He had said a prayer earlier in the day that God would put one out there for him so when I found a pawn shop 5 miles from our route, I called them and asked if they had any guitars. They had 13.

I was not surprised when one of them was just what he was looking for.

Louis Dean knows his guitars and this makes his third Martin.

Can you tell he is a happy man??

We were back on the road and I drove forever it seemed.

It was dark long before we got to our hotel.

I was beyond tired.

*note to self*

No more night driving for me.

Let me tell you, this glass of wine was lovely.

I took a hot shower and went to bed!

Isn't it miraculous how a good night's sleep revives you??

I confess it took two luggage carts to get all our stuff in last night and we reorganized yet one more time this morning!

This insulated bag Amber brought us from their Gulf Shores vacation last month has been so handy in our travel.

While on the cruise, I had laid it flat in the bottom of one of our suitcases, and then pulled it out once we started our road trip. Right now it holds a lot of cheese and some lunch meat for our picnics along the way.

Another gift we keep using is the lanyards Leah and Patrick gave us for the cruise.

While on board the ship, it held our all important passenger identification card.

Now we use them for the key cards to our rooms and to keep track of the key fob for our rental car.

We left home on September 7th when we flew to Seattle.

Here it was September 19th and I needed to do some laundry.

Wouldn't you know that as we were having the complimentary breakfast at our hotel - fresh baked Belgium waffles! - I noticed they also have a guest laundry!

The machines were empty and it was over two hours before check out!

Win! WIN!!

They didn't get completely dry but that was no problem!

I simply decorated our back seat with denim!

Note all the debris lining the back area by the windows?

I'll have to do a blog post later on all our treasures.

Oh, LOOK!!

Another Goodwill!

More books.....

I must say that the prices at the Hope Chest were great.

Goodwills are a lot more expensive up here.

Their senior discounts are 10% instead of the 25-30% in Texas.

Other things I found interesting about Oregon.....

all the liquor stores are owned by the state.

Not that we went to any but my friend, Linda, told me.

And when we tried to fill up with gas before hitting the road again, 

an attendant said - ever so kindly -

"Just so you know, it is illegal to pump your own gas in the state of Oregon!"

And that's another thing we have noticed......everyone has been so kind to us.

No one has honked at me and I deserved to be honked at more than once ....or twice.

People have helped us and been so friendly.

The drivers are not nearly as aggressive as they are at home.

All this is true!

Now I am just joking but I did see this sign yesterday......

?????

That's all I'm saying......

We spent a large part of Wednesay afternoon driving!

Lunch was to be a picnic and when I couldn't find a roadside park -

what safer place than under a shade tree in a church parking lot??

Hawaiian dinner rolls, mustard, ham and slices of that good Tillamook cheese!

Then we drove and drove and drove some some more.

I chose the scenic route - you know the route that has dots beside it so you know it's pretty?

We crossed the Columbia River and drove forever on the other side with vast expanses of yellow dry grass and huge wind turbines. I could see the Interstate on the other side but there was a huge river between us.

Another *note to self*

Pay more attention to the map......

There was still a beauty in the landscape.....

this was right beside a rest area.

I'm used to them being right there when you turn off but this one was a mile or so away.

They had nice bathrooms and a sweet couple serving coffee, tea and cookies!

After we left the hotel this morning, I discovered I was still wearing my house shoes!

My suitcase was packed so I wore them all day!

Rest Area Exercises!!

It's good to stop every little bit to not get 'stove up' as Louis Dean says.

This is the view behind the rest area and it had picnic tables.

Now we are in Spokane, Washington!

Yet again - Summer found us another great room!!

It's awesome to have a personal travel agent like her!

We unloaded all the suitcases - yet again!

Will we ever get a handle on packing??

Then we went to the hot tub for a few minutes.

Ah, that hot bubbling water soothed our tight muscles!

 Louis Dean went back to the room to take a soaking bath with Calgon bath beads.....

that 'carried him away!'

I had some so very precious alone time with a book.

Life is good tonight.

God has blessed our every day with amazing friends.

From our dearly loved Brenda and Billy to Honora and her Great Dane to Linda and her son, Roger, to our new best friend, Phyliis, who holds a special place in our heart, we have had such a great vacation!

Tomorrow we will continue our journey north to visit our friends in Creston, British Columbia.

Bev and Brian spent their winters in Arizona for several years before moving back full time to Canada. On one of their road trips from Arizona, they visited Texas and we met for lunch in Arlington. We were friends before meeting but became fast friends after.

We'll spend a couple of days there before we head south to home by way of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and into Texas.

Thank you, Honora, Linda, Phyliis and Bev for inviting us into your life.

It's been the trip of a lifetime and we aren't done yet!!