Friday, June 16, 2023

June Means Weddings and Holidays

 Yes, I was MIA last week.  I have a good excuse.  It's called vacation.  The Professor and I were traveling in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon, which is my home state where I was born and grew up.  My brother and sister-in-law live there still, as well as many of my extended family.  Also, The Professor and I lived there for more than twelve years during the 1990s and early 2000s.  Therefore, my Friday Fave Fives (the link takes you to our host Susanne's blog) will be filled with recalling all the wonderful memories we made while we were there for the past almost two weeks.

1.  Breakfasts, coffees, dinners with friends who carved out time for us to visit with them.  A beloved prof (and his wife) who taught us so much about English literature and about life.   Friends from our former church there.

2.  The main reason that we chose to visit this month, this week, was because we attended the wedding of my cousin's son.  I loved being there with my family to watch the ceremony on a farm in the Willamette Valley.

3.  A weekend spent at a Pacific Ocean beach town.  My nephew owns a cabin there and offered it to his parents and us for a weekend.

4.  Driving along the coast was one of my favorite things we did.  I am a beach girl and I love the ocean.  I won't do a photo dump of all the pictures I took.  Come back tomorrow for a separate post on that.

A peek straight down onto the beach from a lookout point on Hwy 101.  Yes, we really were that high above the sea.


Foggy days at the Oregon Coast are normal, but it adds to the allure of the sea.

5.  Oregon brings all the memories together for me-- family, school, friends, camping.  And everywhere you look during this season of the year, you find three plants.  Roses (after all, Portland is the City of Roses), Rhododendrons, and Wild Blackberries.  Driving anywhere, you will see all three bushes, all the time.  I love viewing God's creation in flowers and plants.

Rhodies in all the colors!





So. Many. Roses.





In Oregon, blackberries grow everywhere.  Their long sharp thorns serve a good purpose of creating a natural barrier around the edges of properties and along highways.



I am so very thankful for the opportunity we had to travel.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds like a wonderful vacation. The vivid flowers were one of the things I was so impressed by when I went there a few years back. And the beautiful coast, of course. Mary

ellen b. said...

So happy for you that you were reunited with the Pacific Ocean! Beautiful photos. So nice to be able to reunite with loved ones at weddings instead of funerals.

Susan said...

Hi Willow, sounds like you had a really nice vacation. I think I ordered some roses from Jackson Perkins back in the 80's. I have about 12 plants now. I also love plumerias! I love the beach too, but we don't go often because of the traffic Glad you still found time to play Word with Friends with me!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I love foggy days on the coast. We had a deep fog on Tuesday evening here. The Pacific northwest is just so pretty. I'm glad you had a good time.

Barbara H. said...

It's so fun to go back to old stomping grounds and see the people and places. Glad you had such a good trip with family, friends, and beautiful scenery.

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hello! It's good to catch up with you. Oregon is a beautiful state. I remember all the flowers from last time I visited there which has been a few years ago. So glad you could fly out to Oregon, attend the wedding and spend time with family. Have a good weekend. See you again soon!

Schotzy said...

I am so enamored with your description of the vacation... I am actually quite caught up in wonderment regarding the Willamette Valley.. I think of the Oregon trail .. at least as I knew of it from my fourth grade teaching.. It must be an amazing place. at least in my dreams! Hw marvelous to stay on the cliff above the Pacific. Ive never ventured beyond Indiana, so I can only imagine how wonderful your week was!,, especially with family and friends! I am so glad you got to experience all of this on your week long stay.. Your photos are gorgeous!

Faith said...

What a wonderful way to go to a destination wedding: visits with childhood friends, family, and all the wonderful scents and sights of the Pacific Ocean that I know you love so well making it a great vacation for you and your husband. Would LOVE to see photos of the cabin and its surroundings. You know I love me a good cabin! I hope your foot is healing well so you can get back to hiking. I will come back later on this long weekend to read your other post.

OH....I saw your comment ....thanks for the well wishes and I'm LOVING the first Miss Marple mystery. I had read that one and another one (Ten Little Indians? is that a Miss Marple one?) when i was a pre teen......can't remember details but just remember loving both books. I think it's so cool that your friend lent you the entire series!!! WOW! Do you also have all the Poirot books?? or just Miss Marple? I'm concentrating this year and probably into 2024 on the Miss Marple. Just a fun personal goal i have for myself.

Happy Father's Day to your husband!