Way Up High

Last month my sweetheart and I spent nine days at a beautiful lake high in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon.  Of course you know a trip like that takes planning and packing and preparing and all kinds of activity.  I thought I would show you what happens behind the scenes when we take my sweetheart’s little fishing boat and our travel trailer, too.  In Oregon we can’t tow two vehicles, as in some states, so we have to be creative.  Someone came up with this idea and they started the company where my sweetheart bought his ‘car-top boat rack’.  Only, it doesn’t go on the car – it goes on the truck!

The first step is to empty the boat of anything that is not ‘nailed down’.  My sweetheart removes the anchor, the comfy seats, the fish-and-depth-finder, the battery and all fishing equipment.  The motor comes off and it all goes into the back of the truck until it's all put back in place when the boat is afloat in the water again.  Then he takes the boat out of the backyard – on it’s trailer.  He ‘tows’ the boat to the street with a tow dolly (done by hand, lots of pushing or pulling).  You may wonder why he doesn’t just back the truck up to the boat.  He’s tried that in the past.  The boat is parked in the backyard and he’s found it’s much easier to leave the truck parked on the street in front of our house. The process begins once the boat and trailer are backed up behind the truck.  The car-top rack is permanently mounted to the truck.  It goes with us wherever we go when we’re out and about – with or without the boat.  Guidelines that are part of the rack are attached to special hardware installed on the boat.  Then my sweetheart inserts his hand-held drill into the gears on the rack, turns it on and away she goes.  She is slowly lifted off the trailer and up in the air.The process doesn’t take very long but, for some reason, I always seem to hold my breath until she's horizontal again!  But, every time those strong guide lines do their job and she just keeps moving into place.Up and over.  I often think she’s just going to crash onto the rails of the car-top rack when she gets to this point.  But she doesn’t!My sweetheart’s hands guide her a bit at this point as the guide lines tighten and she smoothly begins to move down into place. Then, she’s down.  Safe and sound.  Horizontal again.  Upside down.  A few more turns of the gears and she moves forward into place - until a mechanism in the gears has wound the guide lines tight and she comes to a stop. I let out a big sigh of relief!  There she sits – on top.  Safe and sound.  Ready to go.  No matter how bumpy or how steep the road, she stays right there.  And soon, it’s time to go.  Time to head out for the chosen fishing spot.  Plans have been made, things packed, lists checked one final time – and we are off.  Off on our way to somewhere in the beautiful world around us.  Off on our way to rest and relax – and, hopefully, off to get the grill ready for a fish dinner.  Or two.

And We’re Off Again!

This afternoon shortly after my sweetheart gets home from work we will leave and drive to the Oregon Coast for a week of vacation. We will soon be on the highway, then travel over the mountains and arrive in our home-away-from-home this evening. One of my sweetheart’s sisters and one of his brothers and their spouses will join us there – his other sister and brother aren’t able to be there. We will miss them and wish we could all be together. Perhaps next year! As in the past, we will drive to Tillamook, the home of the famous cheese and dairy products, and stay in the RV park across the street from the cheese factory.

During our stay in Tillamook the men will go crabbing on the bay while the ladies antique and thrift and check out all the other RV parks and campgrounds in the area (planning ahead to next year!). On Monday the rest of the family will head home and return to work on Tuesday but we will still be on vacation! We will drive a ways down the Oregon Coast to Lincoln City where we will be able to spend time with dear friends of ours who are walking through very rough places. We are looking forward to being together to talk and laugh and cry together – and, most important, to encourage them and pray together. Tuesday morning will find us on the road again, driving down the coast highway to the southern Oregon Coast near where we used to live. We will spend three nights camped alongside a gorgeous lake where we used to camp with our kids when they were young. My sweetheart will be able to fish to his heart’s content and I will ride in the boat, walk and read and relax and, perhaps, work on a project or two that is going with me.

Our little dog, Joey, is not going with us this time. He has been at our daughter’s house since early this week where he is 'doggy-sitting' four of our grandchildren. Phone calls each evening reveal things about his personality we’ve never seen before. He loves the kids, but he is completely enraptured with our dear little Miss Hannah (four months old). Whenever she cries, he cries – and he goes to her and waits until someone picks her up or takes care of her. I’m afraid he’s having way too much fun and may not want to come home to our quiet house! Our oldest granddaughter thinks it will be a relief for him to come home! Here are some photos of one of Joey’s recent naps on the sofa. He decided to ‘adopt’ one of the sofa cushions and what started out to be a seat on top of the cushion to see out the window ended up to be a rather silly way to sleep. He fell asleep on top of the cushion and then - oops, he fell off – head first onto an old quilt – and just kept sleeping! Didn't miss a beat!

I will have my laptop with me and will have internet access in the RV park – so, I hope to stay in touch and be able to share some of our adventures along the way.

Here We Go Again!

In just a couple of hours we will be on the road again – my sweetheart, Joey and I – off to spend a week of vacation together after many months of an incredibly hectic pace. My sweetheart has been working about sixty hours a week and often has worked six days a week. Needless to say, there hasn’t been much ‘together’ time. My life has been complicated by the need to take on additional responsibilities he normally handles. Like getting the car serviced, keeping the home fires burning and things like that. Add to that my ‘normal’ crazy pace and we are ready for time away. We are tired!

We are taking our little cabin-on-wheels and heading back to a part of our state that we drove through on our way to hunting grounds last fall. A little town called my name as we passed through and I told my sweetheart I really would love to go back, spend some time there, park in the little RV park, see the sights and spend a bit of time with the ‘locals.’ That’s exactly what we are doing!

Destination: Dayville, Oregon. Population: Just over three hundred. Surroundings: Absolutely spectacular. Nearby: John Day Fossil Beds. . . .

And The Painted Hills.

Right in the center of the little town, near the general store is the Fish House Inn (a big, old house). . .

And RV Park - our home for the next few days.

The Office and Gift Shop are in a cute little building.

The grounds are beautifully maintained and the owner and his wife live in the ‘Inn’. They make it known that it’s not a B&B – just an inn. You are responsible for your own meals. At the little cafe nearby.

We plan to do a lot of day trips and we don’t really know for sure where we will ‘land’ after our few days in the Dayville-John Day area.

A friend from our church was born and raised in Dayville. He has given us the most incredible map that he highlighted so we can find his favorite places in the hills and mountains that surround the area. Those out-of-the-way places it would be easy to miss.

Last fall as we passed through this part of the state I spied every thrift and antique store along the way. My sweetheart knows I would like to find those shops again. What bargains and treasures await? Only time will tell! But we really hope we meet the Dayville ‘Fossils’ - Tony, Larry Joe and Bill!

I’m sure we’ll have lots of tales to tell and stories to share when we return. Maybe I will just sit on the porch of the inn and smile and relax. And chat with a new friend!

I’ll have my laptop with me but it’s doubtful that I will have internet connection along the way. If I do, I’ll check in and let you know that we are alive and well - running with the wild horses and enjoying the folks who live and love this part of my state. Eastern Oregon! Ah, I hear you calling my name – I’m coming! Soon!

For more information, click here to check out their website.

Time Away

I will be away for a few days. We have rented a house at the Oregon Coast where our family will spend the weekend together. We will have a private memorial time for our dear friend who recently lost her battle with cancer. It will be a sweet, quiet time - just us, as she wished. There will be moments of tears and times of laughter as we share what she meant to us and how she touched our lives. Tears for our loss and laughter as we remember the special ways she brought such joy to our hearts.

Here is where we will be safe and warm from the stormy weekend that is predicted. Today my dear little mother, my sweetheart and I will travel to the beach. Later today our son and daughter and their families will join us there. We are all excited and looking forward to our time together. We have talked of making this an annual event. Wouldn't that be great? I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures and much to tell when I return home on Sunday evening.

Just Being 'Neighborly'!

My dear mother and I are off to Oregon City, 9 miles from our town, to shop at the 11th Annual McLoughlin Neighborhood Sale. There are over 300 families participating at 80+ sites throughout the historic district of Oregon City. (Only 57 sales are open today!) We have enjoyed this event the last two years and we have our sale maps and walking shoes on – we are ready to go!

Dr. John McLoughlin's Home

(in the heart of the historic district)

Oregon City was the first incorporated city west of the Mississippi. It was established in 1829 by Dr. John McLoughlin as a lumber mill near Willamette Falls and later designated as the first capital of the Oregon Territory and the cradle of American government in the Northwest.

Willamette Falls

(For another breaktaking view of the falls - go here)

Dr. McLoughlin is known as the Father of Oregon. He was a Canadian born chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company and a firm supporter of settlers who wished Oregon to be independent from England. He is credited with starting Oregon City.

Oregon City is also the home to the traditional End of the Oregon Trail. Many of the wagon trains disbanded on Abernethy Green in Oregon City. Today the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center - a museum devoted to the history of the Oregon Trail - stands on this site. This area is rich with history and natural beauty. We are so fortunate to live here!

Photos courtesy of www.orcity.org/

Off To See The World

Thank you to each of you who sent me sweet birthday wishes. It was a day I will always remember, seasoned with a very special, unplanned reunion with a young man who was a little boy in my life a few years ago. Today we are taking our out-of-state family up the Columbia River Gorge to Multnomah Falls.Then we will drive through Hood River and around Mt. Hood until we get to the road that will take us high above the trees to Timberline Lodge. After that we will come down off the mountain and find our way home.

I'll tell you more about our adventures when I return. Goodbye, dear friends - we're off to see the world today!

The Pleasure of Your Company is Requested

Today I am here with my sweetheart. This is the day for his annual company picnic and we have gone away for the day -- out of town; out of state! We are about an hour from home at this beautiful private park, east of Vancouver, Washington. We will enjoy time with my sweetheart's friends and coworkers and their families, eat delicious food, play lots of games with fantastic prizes and spend a peaceful, quiet day in this refreshing open-air place. The picnic was held here last year and we hoped we could return again. It was so much fun that we stayed all day. Here's are some of the things we might do -

Gather here and

• meet friends,
• eat lunch together ,
• play bingo for very nice prizes;

Ride paddleboats on the lake;

Enjoy the kids' safari play area;

Drink pink lemonade from fountains all through the park;

(Yes, it really is pink lemonade!)

Walk over trails through the woods.

This is a magical place to spend a day away from the demands of life and the noise of the city. We will enjoy our day relaxing in this beautiful part of God's creation. And when we return home we will be tired but we will have fond memories of our day together and the pleasure we had at the company picnic.