I was 6 years old when my Uncle Rod and Aunt Olive up and moved to California with my cousins Rick and Priscille. Priscille was my idol at the time – she was my only girl cousin in our little home town in New Hampshire. And she was so cool – she was 11. I asked ‘Mom, where’s California?’ ‘It’s far’ she said.
Fast forward 35 years. My brother reports that he’s visited our 4 cousins in California. You know, Rod’s kids. Wait a minute…
For those of you who read most of our posts or periodically peek at our map, you’re likely thinking, ‘If they’re going from Oregon to California, why are they heading north?’ Hmmm…
I recently read an article that referred to social media as a way to live ‘a perfectly curated life.’ Hmmm, is that what we’re doing with this blog? Featuring the perfect? Sweeping everything else under the proverbial analog rug?
Not really. We’re genuinely having great fun. Some days are outrageous – we climb mountains, see unbelievable views, swim in crystal clear lakes. We do tend to emphasize these in our posts, though some days are ordinary and we do laundry and go grocery shopping, while other days have hiccups like flat tires and roads suggested by GPS that turn into singletrack. It’s all part of the great adventure.
Except for wildfires.
My list of people who were most influential on who I became as an adult certainly includes John and Sharon. They opened my eyes and heart to diversity, open-mindedness and life balance, allowing me to see a whole new world of possibilities. That’s a long story. The short version is that I was John’s tenant, renting the camper in his back yard in 1983-1984, when he met Sharon. Together with their kids Josh, then 5, and Michael, 7, and a few pets, we lived together as a funky alt-family. They married, and I met Doug and moved back to the east coast.
To round out her vacation and trip through Oregon, Mo wanted to visit a few specific places in Portland. On the last day of our week together, we set off on an urban adventure to see the city and find those places.
Mo needed to see the Pacific. Thanks to a tip from friends Dana and Muffin, we aimed for Cape Blanco, the westernmost point in Oregon and the continental US. Brilliant choice!
Doug had toured Crater Lake in his youth, and we visited together in 2012. Mo had never been. It’s one of those places that’s so amazing that you can visit over and over again. Let’s go! Except, uh oh, there were several wildfires just west of Crater Lake, impacting air quality and visibility. *Sigh*
We’re honored to have our niece Monique join us on the road. She flew into Portland and climbed into the RV, launching a week-long, roughly circular tour through and around the western half of Oregon. We’re planning to hit a few select sights, introduce her to these nomadic ways, and spend some quality chill time together. More to come…
One of my favorite aspects of retirement is the freedom of time, and not having to plan how to cram fun into little boxes. However, when an incredible opportunity arises, we still know how…
Patty and I graduated from St Anselm College together. We stayed connected through mountain biking, skiing and hiking adventures for about 7 years after graduation as we settled into and unsettled our careers (as recovering nurses) and moved around the northeast. And although we’ve stayed in touch since Patty moved to Seattle in 1989, and later to Portland, we hadn’t connected live. Time to change that. It was just a coincidence that we’d be in Portland, not far from the eclipse path of totality, the day before the eclipse. We checked in with Patty and after almost 30 years, her response was ‘Come on over, we’re having an eclipse party!’