by Sharon O | Sep 16, 2016 | Uncategorized
At the campground at Fort Steven’s we discovered a great walking trail.
Since we both are in the ‘walking mode’ and so far like to do it, we ventured into the walk.
It was a clear and beautiful walk. The sidewalk paths were easy to climb and the pathways were amazing.
We walked and talked and enjoyed the occasional bike rider who would come by our way or another walker heading in a new direction.
The walk continued on and was every so beautiful, very peaceful and very easy to maintain our pace.
I love the natural tall grasses. They fill up the spots that might not grow.
There is a ‘beauty to them’ all on their own.
By the time we finished this walk we had made it over five miles. Not bad for older folk who are just trying to learn the fine art of walking.
The area was so pleasant and we just took in the beauty around us as we walked and talked.
Then headed back to our trailer for a rest before having dinner out.
by Sharon O | Sep 10, 2016 | Uncategorized
Fall is here. Trees are starting to change and the air is becoming more crispy.
Children are back in school and learning new classes and friends.
Expectations change for everyone. Life is a series of schedules and lists to do.
We have enjoyed this season of ‘relaxing’, and just got back from a trip to the coast.
It was good and surprisingly nice. Normally we didn’t care for the area we decided to stay in.
But this time it was different, we looked at it through different eyes and mindset.
Before we had tent camped in the setting and it appeared dark and overcast with trees.
This time we were in a trailer and we were proactive in finding a site that was open and sunny.
What a difference it was, then we learned the trails all around us and walked them.
One day we hiked over five miles before we headed back to our trailer.
We explored the city of Seaside one day and it was much different than we had remembered.
There was a very long boardwalk where we added in a mile or two on our walk.
A lovely beach setting with historical markers.
I found it very fascinating that we had gone this direction with a ‘mindset’ of what we had seen
many years ago and thought we would not enjoy it, but decided to give it a try one more time.
We even saw a ‘old fashioned phone booth that actually looked liked it worked.
Isn’t life like that? Change and surprises.
For instance I am on a new diet program and must eat high protein foods and lots of vegetables.
I have heard that hummus is very good for you. If you don’t mind garbanzo beans it’s a great snack.
Most of the kinds I have found have not been good and thinking there must be one out there I can like,
I kept looking. One day while shopping this one was on the shelf.
I love black olives actually olives of any kind, and then to add fresh vegetables and use it as a dip was a pretty good idea.
In fact today the thought came to me as I was eating a salad, the hummus could be used as a dressing if stirred into the salad.
Thinking new thoughts and out of the normal box is good for us.
Just as we discovered to not believe everything we thought we knew for sure.
We liked the campsite, we liked the day of exploring and now I like this new hummus.
If you are asking how do they ‘all fit into the same blog post?’
It’s all about change. Thinking differently. And being willing to learn new ideas.
How is it for you? do you like change
by Sharon O | Sep 4, 2016 | Uncategorized
My favorite time of the year is fall. I love the colors of the trees, the coolness of the air, I love sweaters and boots.
We even got married in the fall, so we could enjoy the season and also get the discount for fall/winter.
Soon the season will be here for hot teas, and soups. Raincoats and umbrella’s and flannel sheets.
I don’t so much like winter other than the Christmas season but fall…brings many warm feelings for me.
This November we will be married 43 years. As I look back and reminisce about all the years. It is good.
I am not much of a baker but I do love to create soups and sometimes chicken pot pies.
Oh I also remember making applesauce with my oldest grand daughter, she loved helping me out as we stood by the stove smelling apples and cinnamon.
Warm fuzzy memories hoping she will remember it too, as something special.
Oh and when the children were in school fall was always a beginning point of the new year.
They would get new clothes, shoes, notebooks and coats. So much newness and fun anticipation of what was to come for them.
Fall is always a time to decorate with colors of the season, I bring out leaves and flowers in oranges and browns changing the roses to leaves.
It is fun to rearrange and re-do the house. If only for a few months. I am anticipating a good fall season this year.
My husband is home now and we can travel or do nothing. It doesn’t matter what we choose since we are in our retirement.
A season of change is good.
I hope for you a wonderful fall. A time for reflection and for taking the time to be ‘thankful’ as we begin to move in this ‘season of change.’
by Sharon O | Aug 23, 2016 | Uncategorized
In the middle of the blogging and sharing our trip we took off for another one and the story got sidelined. So now I am back to finishing the vacation story.
We left Idaho and headed to Oregon one more time as we were heading home.
One more time through Baker and then one more time through North Powder which is where my grandma’s restaurant used to be.
We had the opportunity to see beautiful birds, beautiful wild life and beautiful scenery and of course it is always nice to come home.
It was so hot even the birds knew how to get into the shade to cool off.
At the Powder River we found a spot to remember our parents, my sister had purchased a bag of fresh flowers, she sprinkled into the water in honor of them.
We watched as they fell and then moved into the rivers edge, and some downstream.
It has been hard and sad to have our parents gone. In memory of them, the flowers fell and danced among the ripples and waves. It was a peaceful setting.
We then spent the day finding the old homes we used to live in, as little girls.
I remembered one, the rest of them I didn’t remember.
We found our grandma’s old run down restaurant. The powder club.
As little girls we spent a lot of days and nights in this place, grandma would make us many meals and we would sit in the round bar stools and twirl them around till we got dizzy… I can almost still hear her say, “You girls go play.”
The building across and down the street used to be some store.
The post office is still the same as I remembered it.
The next day we found a few of the old houses we used to live in as well as the houses in Haines and Baker. That night we had dinner at the Haines street steak house.
It was wonderful. Good food and great atmosphere.
The next day after doing a lot of sight seeing and memory making we ate at the historic Baker hotel. It was very good too.
The vacation was ending and soon we would begin to head home.
The next day we would meet very harsh winds through The Dalles and Hood River areas and also we heard later, there was a wild fire following us on both sides of the freeway which my sister and her husband drove near. It was a long and scary trip home.
It was a good trip and one we will remember for a very long time.
I hope it was a good ‘retelling of the story’ for you who have stayed with me on this journey. We travelled almost 2800 miles and through three states.
The miraculous part of it all, was when we got things all put away at home, we headed to the store for groceries and our car blew up. Yes we were 6 minutes from our house within range of AAA and cell service. You ask me if I believe in angels who watch over us?
Yes absolutely. The car is fine now and running better than when we left.
Thank God we were home. Thank God we were safe. Thank God our neighbor is a mechanic.
by Sharon O | Aug 12, 2016 | Uncategorized
We had many good times on our two week vacation.
Took lots of beautiful photographs and shared our experiences on facebook and with each other. We tried to find small ‘mom and pop’ type restaurants and most were very good. Our favorite was run by a Mennonite couple in Buhl Idaho. It was clean and quaint with lots of cars in the front of it, which is always a good sign. The food was very good and I would definitely go back in there if we lived closer.
We saw beautiful landscapes and many old barns as we drove from Oregon to Idaho and even into Montana. The areas were parched and dry most of the time, but also green and full of life depending on where we went, it was amazing to see the difference.
As we headed to Baker before going home we stayed at Farewell Bend state park for two nights, it was a very nice place but very hot outside and there were a lot of flies. We could not enjoy ourselves sitting outside so we dropped the trailer off and went site seeing in the truck, that was air conditioned. The best way to beat the heat is to find air.
That is when we saw the Four Rivers cultural center in Baker.
It was very interesting full of old artifacts and information just like the Big Hole museum in Wyoming.
A statue at the Indian museum. I so enjoyed the beauty of it along with the other one
We headed up the mountain to see Hell’s canyon recreational area.
It was a long road full of curves and switch backs and up to a height of I am not sure, very high and very beautiful once we got up there.
We have a picture of my husband and I sitting near that brick wall facing the valley below and as we were getting our picture taken I said to him, “why am I smiling no one can see me?” we had a great laugh about that one!
This is also the country road we saw the old ‘cow’ walking with a few of his buddies in the middle of the road. He didn’t bother to move either and was not bothered by our car.
After we settled into Oregon again and stayed at a park called Mt View Rv park.
We connected up with my sister and her husband to see some of the Baker area together, she is older than I am and could remember some of the places we used to live in as little girls, many years ago.
We went to a Hotel that one can stay in now, Larry had seen it on Oregon art beat show and he wanted to see it in person. The history of it is interesting as it used to be the a very well known place in Baker county in the 40’s then they made it into a sanitarium for those who ‘could not’ live in the outside world. After that it became a hotel people can stay at now.
It was very pretty but a bit creepy at the same time. (just my opinion)
Our next days adventures would include walking down memory lane in Baker and then back into North Powder where our grandma had a restaurant. Stay with me as we travel down through some years of my childhood.
