sherriknits

We’re celebrating our 34th anniversary this year and we’re having a quiet little get away.  No, we’re not spending a lot of time on our laptops. 

We just tried to go to Fred Meyer but the bridge was just closing so we’d have had to go way around on a detour so we decided to skip it.  Instead we went for a great walk.  The whole time is all about quiet.  We must be getting old.  lol

First I want to show some pictures from yesterday.  We had our annual art walk and a friend of mine and I got a chance to sit outside in the sunshine.  She did some spinning and I did a little bit of knitting and we got to talk to people about what she was doing.  An interesting thing we noted…..the women were definitely interested in the spinning, but the men really woke up when she started explaining the mechanics of the wheel.  I have to say I am so impressed with my friend’s ability to spin.  She taught herself and she makes beautiful yarn.

It was fun. 

Here’s an attempt at a closeup of her working.  The sun was so bright I had no idea on any of them if I even got her in the picture!

And now to us.

For my gift to hubby, I offered to pay for a little getaway to Astoria, Oregon.  We did the Priceline thing and I was really hoping we’d get the place we got.  We are right on a marina overlooking the boats and it is so peaceful and beautiful.

The bridge in the  background is 4 miles long.  It only rises at the end on the Oregon side.  It was so weird, we were about halfway across and a car went speeding past us (2 lane bridge) and then we came to a complete halt.  We have no idea what was going on but after about 3 minutes the traffic started back up and off we went.  In this day and age, I am not fond of sitting on a bridge and not sure what the problem is.  Well, to be honest, I don’t think there was ever a day I liked having to sit on a bridge.  haha

This is looking towards the great Columbia River.

The hotel is L-shaped so that is part of the other side.

In the distance is a ship coming in.  This is not an unusual sight to us because we see them all the time at home but we love watching them.

Oh my gosh.  Remember me saying how hard it is for me to drink water?  Well, look what I found at Fred Meyer!

I love Metromint water!  I often drink The spearmint, peppermint and when I can find it the orangemint….but tonight I found CHOCOLATEMINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And not only did I find it…..it was 10 for $10!!!!  This water is expensive and often I will continue to use the bottle because some of the mint flavor stays in it.  When I saw this, I bought one, went outside and opened it, took a drink to make sure I liked it (of course I did!) and then went back in and bought 10 of them!  I’m one happy girl!

We are the very worst people I know when it comes to making a decision where to eat.  Neither one of us can ever decide.  We didn’t want to go to the same places we’ve gone before so we went downtown, parked the car and walked along the river.  They have fixed it up so quaint….we really enjoyed the stroll.  I left my camera at the room so I tried to take a few pictures with my phone.  Always fun trying to figure out how to get them to my computer! 

I took this picture because when hubby was a little boy, he got to steer a ferry across the Columbia.  These are old pilings from docks of old.  In the distance is Washington.  I love hearing about him steering that ferry so I wanted to take a picture even though this isn’t likely the exact spot the ferry went from.

We did find a new place to eat and we sat inside because we weren’t really dressed to sit outside near the water but we did get a window.  We watched a ship heading out.

Here is the beginning of sunset.

I wanted to hurry when we were going to go to the store so I wouldn’t miss it, I love sunsets.  We were only gone less than 5 minutes because of the bridge but this was the prettiest it ever got.  The clouds started pushing in and the sky turned whiter. 

Here was a little seagull passing by our balcony.

And from our little walk on the docks….

Can you just feel the peace?

And now I am off. 

Yea us!

Ok, I did exaggerate a bit last night, I only had 3 loads of laundry to do.  They were big, though.

Last night was a nightmare for me, I did not sleep one wink all night.  I thought I’d sleep in the car today but it didn’t really happen.  Needles s to say, I’m a bit tired tonight but the house is full of people, everyone is doing something different and I think we’re sleeping in the living room on our blowup mattress so can’t go to bed yet.

It was kind of an emotional drive.  I hadn’t been this way since the big storm in December.  Oh my gosh.  The fallen trees were incredibly sickening.  So much old growth just gone.  Huge, huge trees uprooted  There were many, many places where they had been cut away because they laid across the road.  Some places you wonder if they are going to come down on the road still because the ground is so soggy.  There are some sections that you can’t tell a thing and then other places where it is just devastating.  I thought a lot about the victims of Katrina and Rita.  I wonder how long it takes to get used to the changed landscape.  The cleanup continues up and down the coast.  The trees are being logged behind our church.  If I understand right, they were the retirement safety net for the owners and a very huge share of them snapped off halfway up the tree.  Now we have a clear view of the highway.  I’ve heard of people who have had to put up fences after being used to totally secluded yards and now the highway is in clear view and so are they.  It’s just weird.  I don’t think we try to dwell on it, it’s just a fact of life, our area has permanently changed and it’s strange.

I did try to get pictures but me in a moving car and a camera that would never be ready when I saw something interesting just got too frustrating.  I did take pictures of the bridge going in to Astoria,though.  It’s 4 miles long and I used to be scared to death of it.

Heading on to the bridge:

If you look closely you can see the end of the bridge far far in the distance…it’s kind of foggy.

The end is in sight.

At the end of the bridge, we go way up high, this is where the ships pass under.

I really tried to get the houses as we curved around but it just didn’t work.  I love the houses close to the bridge.  It’s a Finnish town and that’s my heritage so it’s kind of fun for me to drive through Astoria.  I love seeing the old fashioned saunas but I’m not sure if they are open any more.  We had one of our own but it burned down.

We stopped in Cannon Beach at Coastal Yarns.  It was funny.  Hubby let me off, the town was a madhouse.  As I was running up the steps, I discovered I had an Addi Turbo tangled on my purse strap and I was trying to unhook it as I went through the front door and I heard, “I was just talking about you the other day!” and was thrilled to see the owner there, she is only there occasionally.  We had a nice visit.  I didn’t get to buy anything today but I think I’ll drive down some Sunday and visit with her.

I did weave in the ends of the dish cloths for my MIL and knit one magic bootie, but didn’t take a picture of it yet.  Love the yarn, though.

We met up with some of the kids part way down and then drove through Starbucks and made the last part of the trek down the coast.  I was glad to get here but I am really ready for bed.

Hope you all have a fun holiday weekend!  We have to head home tomorrow but that gives us a day at home and we need it.

Technorati Tags: Knitting, RoadTrip