Sunday Reminiscings

Last year about this time, my husband surprised me with a trip to Seattle. We had been there about 10 years prior and loved the Seattle area and the coast of Oregon. We had such a wonderful carefree trip, that we have talked about it ever since. I never dreamed we would return!

My husband does not do things spontaneously or without careful, arduous thought. We live somewhat simply, but fully. Our Christian faith, family, and service to others are what makes our life so abundant. So we don't travel a lot or do "big" things mostly because we try to be good stewards of what God has given us.

When we made our travel plans last fall for Seattle, we planned to fly into and out of Seattle so we could take advantage of better airfares. One of our favorite places there is Pike's Market. It is a farmer's market with something for everyone including "flying fish." The young man in the picture below is waiting to participate in the "flying fish" routine that is seen frequently at this fish market. They have become somewhat famous for their escapades with the fish soaring over the counter at the customer's request. We missed a picture of it that day, because the crowd was large and I could not get a picture because I'm considerably shorter than most adults.



As we traveled the coast of Oregon, we stayed in a different place most every night. This scene of the ocean was over a cliff outside our room. The motel was named Cliff Top and it certainly was at the top of the cliff we discovered after driving up a steep road.Our 2 favorite places on the Oregon coast are Bandon and Astoria. Both are very small towns, but have very interesting features for us. You can walk most everywhere and there's lots of local beauty and points of interest.

In Astoria, we saw sea lions, and attended a local market that sold homemade aprons, freshly baked bread, locally grown flowers, and much much more! They call it the Sunday Market because several streets are blocked off in the heart of town on Sunday morning, tents are erected, and wares are displayed. This is done spring through fall. We visited the market for several hours.


Bandon is quaint and has a lovely promenade by the ocean complete with a view of the local lighthouse. We got wonderful pictures of sunsets there, dined on fresh seafood, saw local cranberries being harvested, and stood on a cliff overlooking the ocean with winds blowing 70 mph!


This cottage in Bandon was just off the water in a row of cottages that we saw as we walked around the more historic area. It didn't look much larger than 1 or 2 rooms.

We have wonderful memories of our trip to Washington and Oregon. The people were very hospitable and friendly. There is so much to see. You can definitely visit there on a budget because there are lots of mom and pop type motels along the coast. We reminisce frequently not only about all the above, but about how much we enjoyed being with each other away from our regular routine.