A Full-time Life

Sibling Road Trip – Bellevue Washington

October 1, 2023

We finished out the camping season last month by enjoying some more travel with the tiny trailer. I'm calling this one the Sibling Road-Trip because we went from home here in Oregon to the Seattle area (Washington State) for a great visit with my sister and brother-in-law and then across Washington into Northern Idaho for the same with Bill's brother and sister-in-law at their floating cabin on Lake Chatcolet. We enjoyed great catch-up times at both destinations and, as always, enjoyed the journey as well.

Here's a picture taken from our doorstep on our first night's stop:

Mount Rainier, late afternoon in late September

This is why we like staying in our own home-away-from home. You don't often get a view like this from a motel room.

We met up with our family the next day. It was a great catch-up time, enjoying good conversation and reminiscing, good meals, and exploring the area. One day the four of us visited the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. Below are pictures from a beautiful bridge walkway built across a ravine in the 55-acre park.

As the sign says, it's a taste of the wild side in the middle of the city.

The whole park is one of those places that always seem sort of magical to me because of being so close to a major metropolitan area, while feeling as if you're miles away. An easily accessible outdoor getaway for city-dwellers — and tourists as well.

October and November are Dahlia season in the Pacific Northwest and the "tamer" area of the park had a beautifully groomed garden featuring these show-stoppers:

Who could fail to be cheered by these beautiful flowers.

Every variety and every color so photogenic.



We saw a few deer as we wandered around the park and always enjoy these sightings . But the above sign (and chewed up hosta leaves) reminded me of why some gardeners aren't happy to see them. Obviously, this park wasn't going to stop the deer from snacking. I'm sure the sign is to explain to the public that the plant damage isn't because the gardeners are neglecting their work.

The bees loved this flowering bush. Plantings in the gardens were all those that would do well in Western Washington's climate.

We had a great couple of days, over all too soon, before we got back on the road. I'll share some pictures from the other side of the State of Washington and neighboring Idaho in another post.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to all of the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS
The Port of Newport

September 10, 2023

The Port of Newport owns and manages Newport Marina for fishing fleets and pleasure boats just as you would expect of a Port District.

Port of Newport Marina

They also have two RV parks and we were lucky to snag a last-minute reservation at the older of the two. It's a very popular destination during the summer months and no wonder. The RV facilities are well managed, clean and close to most of the good things Newport offers.

NOAA headquarters, Newport

One of the most interesting tenants of the Port District is The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Operations Center – Pacific (NOAA MOC-P) .

It was quite a big deal for this port when it was awarded this lease back in 2008. The other finalists in the competitive bidding process were much larger cities, including Seattle Washington. From all appearances it seems the Port of Newport is up to the task.

We often read about the important oceanic research and discoveries by NOAA marine scientists. But it was interesting to see job postings for some of the many support people necessary to run the research ships. Those workers also have to sign up for lengthy sea voyages as these research ships travel the entire Pacific Ocean.

We saw one ship pull into port and some of the crew disembark and head for the headquarters building with their suitcases. I think there might be lodging for them there. Thankful there are scientists and support staff to do this important work.

The Port also leases land to several commercial businesses. The Rogue Brewing Company was one we patronized and enjoyed. It was very easy walking distance from where we stayed.

It's a fun place to eat located within a working Brewery. You enter through a silo doorway into the actual brewery and honestly do have to follow a maze to get to the upstairs pub tables where you have a nice view of the water while enjoying dinner.

(In back of the brewery)

Here's a sunset picture from Newport Beach. It was taken by our daughter-in-law who visited Newport the week after we did.

Sunset at Newport Beach

We had taken the Florence-to-Coast Route from home to Newport but to make a circle we went inland further north when our visit was over.

I've always wanted to go to Boston, but we left Highway 20 quite a few miles before we reached it*. (US Highway 20 begins here in Newport and eventually goes all the way across the country to Boston.) *Newport is less than 100 miles from Eugene.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY
A few days in Newport

September 3, 2023

We spent another few days on the Oregon Coast last week. This time we drove North on the Coast Highway to the busy port city of Newport. The c0ast route between Florence and Newport is beautiful. There are good views of the Pacific the whole way and numerous places to pull off for a longer look.

Newport is one of the larger and busier coastal towns in Oregon. Besides beautiful ocean and bay views and a busy fishing port, it is the home of NOAA's Pacific Fleet and of the Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center (Oregon State University's oceanic research facility). We packed a lot into our three-night midweek getaway. Here's some of it.

This iconic arch Bridge spans Yaquina Bay on the south side of the city. It opened in 1936 and is one of eleven major bridges along the Coast Highway designed and built during the same era.

Our first morning we drove to Cobble Beach hoping to do some tide pool exploration, but we missed low tide. (I sleep really well whenever we're at the Coast and the morning low tide happened before I wanted to open my eyes. Sleep seemed more important.) But a day with a view of the ocean and a walk along the shore is never wasted.

Two not very good pictures but from the beach. By zooming way in, I could see a whole lot of pelicans on one of the rock ridges and a colony of common murres on a couple of others.

None of the birds were accommodating enough to fly in for a close-up shot. On the next day on the Bayfront, we got a nice close-up view of another sea creature:

You can get up close and almost personal here with a whole bunch of California Sea Lions. The picture above is a jetty across from a dock where even more of them hang out. There are hundreds of them between the two places.

It's hard to get a picture of one single animal no matter how you focus. They really like to hang out together.

Really really close together.

We spent some time the next day at the Hatfield Marine Science Center visitor center. I got to take some good pictures of tidepools there — probably much better than I could have gotten exploring the pools at the beach.

There was a whole lot to see and learn at the Center. Along with other Newport activities I have enough for a whole other post. Sometime soon because this one is already quite long enough.

Here's an evening view of the same bridge in the top photo. This one is from the RV Park where we stayed:

End of another perfect day.

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS
Elbe River Cruise

August 27, 2023

In blogland (as opposed to real life here in Oregon) we are time-traveling back to June.

After our days spent on our own in the Czech Republic, the Viking River Cruise we had scheduled began with a night's stay in the Prague Hilton Hotel and an evening tour in Prague (this post). The next morning, we embarked by Viking bus to Bad Schandau in the Saxon area of Germany. Our ship was docked there on the River Elbe.

We crossed the border into Germany less than an hour and a half after our bus departed from the hotel.

Bastei National Park — above the Elbe in Germany's Sandstone Mountains.

Before we reached our ship, we had about three hours to spend on an excursion stop at Bastei National Park. We found good walking paths and some lovely viewpoints of the river valley from the top of the trail and admired the craggy rock formations formed by water erosion over a million years ago.

Bad Schandeau — across from where our room was on the Beyla

In the afternoon, we boarded the River Ship Beyla. The picture above was the view across the Elbe from our stateroom — I never did find out exactly what this building was, but it certainly made us feel as if we lived temporarily in a very interesting neighborhood. While we slept that night, our ship traveled along the Elbe to dock near Dresden where we awoke the next morning.

Not my photo — from Viking Website

We spent all of that day walking around Dresden and I am sad to say I have no pictures to show because my camera ran out of battery while we were there (I'm pretty sure the pictures I took before I realized I was out of juice were the best ones I've ever taken). I can't even find a picture in the public domain which looks anything like what we saw.

It was here in Dresden where the tragic events of WWII were most evident. This beautiful city was nearly totally destroyed during WWII — over 25,000 people were killed in one day of allied bombing raids. Almost beyond comprehension. The museum complex and Halls at the Center of the City (where we spent most of our time) are still being restored. This is partly because following the war, when East Germany was absorbed into the USSR, those in charge definitely did not think architecture and history were worth remembering or restoring. In other parts of Dresden and all of the other cities we saw in the former east Germany, there are blocks of Soviet era housing and office complexes still standing. I'll just say they are not photo-worthy.

Zwinger Museum area Dresden (Not my photo, from Wikipedia)

Here in the heart of Dresden, there was construction equipment working as we walked but also much of the re-created Baroque architecture, statues and so forth are completed so it is possible to imagine what it used to be.

(Viking Photo, Elbe River ship)

Sadly, during the ship debriefing the night before, we had learned that the water level on the Elbe was so low that water travel between Dresden and Wittenberg (which was to be our next port of call) had been cancelled by River authorities, so our ship would not be able to proceed. Viking has plans in place for this eventuality however. There is an identical Viking river ship which takes the exact same route only from the other end of the cruise. So at the point where water traffic was stopped, there would be a passenger exchange. Both ships are configured exactly alike. The night before, we packed the little bit we'd already unpacked on our one night aboard and put our suitcases in the hall. Had a lovely meal in the ship's dining room, charged the camera, slept well and embarked after breakfast the next morning on a road trip instead of on the water.

Our tour stop that day was in the town of Meissen.

Meissen Porcelain Factory

On arrival, we were met by tour guides for the Meissen Porcelain Factory and Museum where we had demonstrations of the steps that go into the fine craftsmanship of these beautiful pieces.

In the Museum, we admired some of the more exclusive custom creations. I had to tear myself away from admiring the birds. The picture shows only a portion of this installation.

View from our state room on the Astrild

When we arrived at our port in Wittenberg we found our luggage waiting on board the River Ship Astrild in what was exactly the same stateroom and location we'd had on the other ship — it was a little surreal but all well handled by Viking. For the rest of our time on this "cruise," our stateroom and the entire ship really became a floating hotel as it remained in this dock and we traveled by bus and motor coach to the remaining destinations.



It's possible to see from these last two pictures how low the Elbe was — the water is supposed to be at least up to the green and white pole you can see on this point of land. It was disappointing not to enjoy cruising on this beautiful river, but we understood that a boat could not possibly travel on this low water. Also of course while understanding that it was not under Viking's control, it was fairly obvious to us that the company knew about the problem with the water level well in advance of our arrival for our river cruise. We were still were able to enjoy all of the amenities of the ship. Viking does do an excellent job of that. We were able to visit all of the ports of call and take the daily excursions, but did not get the river trip we were anticipating.

It is important, I think, to be flexible anytime in traveling, whether on our own or with others — it's not always possible to plan for every eventuality.

We know we are fortunate to be able to do what we do and I don't take any of that for granted.

Sharing these first three tour stops with the following link-ups. Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS
Summer before it sizzled

August 17, 2023

Eugene Oregon is seriously HOT right now. We are also under a hazardous air quality alert because of a wildfire in the eastern sections of Lane County, so I'm posting some memories from the earlier and prettier part of the season.

Just like for almost everywhere these days, extreme heat and wildfire are both pretty much normal now for at least part of our summer months. The current fires are not a danger to us here in the City, except for the smoke and air inversion. We can only offer hope for the people affected by the flames. For our own health, we stay indoors as much as possible. Instead of any new day trips, one of us is planning for the future and the other is documenting the past. As usual, I'm the memory person and Bill is the planner, but we do work together on both.

All of the pictures in this post are very recent memories. I'm still working on some posts from our June trip. The ones directly below are from our son-in-law and daughter's yard back in July:

The butterfly was quite cooperative taking its time at each nectar stop. I'm usually not that lucky with these flighty beauties.

The pictures below are even more recent — from our trip to the Coast earlier this month. (We probably should have stayed there — it is always cooler at the Ocean!) To be perfectly honest, even without the heat and smoke we would probably be staying close to home right now anyway. We actually do a lot of that — I just don't often blog about it.

This is Simpson Beach at Shore Acres State Park. The eerie tree trunk in the center picture is along the path leading from the beach to the "tamer" part of the Park.

At the end of one of the forested paths from the beach viewpoint, you arrive at this small gate. On the other side, in just a few yards, you are in the middle of the precisely landscaped gardens of Shore Acres. The entire park, including the beach, forest, lawns and gardens, was once the estate of the Simpson lumber baron family. Heirs donated the property to the State for public use.

We were kind of between flowering seasons at the Gardens, but there is always beautiful color and the Japanese-style garden and pond are so calm and restful. We visit Shore Acres almost every summer — one of my favorite State Parks. I like the combination of wild and tame.

Store front mural, Bandon Oregon

I am grateful for the memories and enjoy planning for future ones. But this week I'm especially grateful for not-so-simple things that don't get blogged about — the shade trees around our home that keep the outside temperature a little lower than the official reading and the air conditioner and air purifier that continue to keep it comfortable indoors.

LINKING THIS WEEK (and next) to these sharing opportunities:

THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS ; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; and MY CORNER OF THE WORLD
Present at the Oregon Coast …

August 7, 2023

(… or a present of the Oregon Coast. )

I've been blogging about our June trip to far-away shores and still have more to remember about that vacation, but this week is all about the present — or at least a little closer to it.

Yes, it's the beautiful Oregon Coast — we just got home from a perfect week at the Pacific Ocean. It really was a gift (another meaning of the word 'present').

(not either of us on the kayak)

We camped in the tiny trailer, staying for three nights in Florence (Oregon) and then moving south to Coos Bay. By doing day-trips from these two locations, we easily explored the stretch of Ocean Beaches and charming coastal towns between Yachats (north of Florence) to Bandon (south of Coos Bay).

For context, Florence is only about 60 miles west of Eugene, where we live. At the Coast, the distance along US 101 (the Coast Highway) from Yachats to Bandon is less than 100 miles. A lot to see not too far from home. We are grateful for that.

The sea lions and rocky beaches above are at Simpson Reef, south of Coos Bay.

Bandon Lighthouse

The weather was pretty much perfect every day — blue sky and not too hot. Those kind of days are always a blessing — but especially nowadays. (The wind does blow — it is the Coast after all.)

Oysters!

Top left is the Umpqua Triangle Oyster Farm south of Winchester Bay. On the right two views of an oyster shell mound at Clausan's near North Bend, where we like to go to enjoy a fresh seafood dinner right from the source! The picnic tables are empty because it was too windy to eat outdoors on that day – thankfully they've recently added a few indoor tables. Then, on the way home yesterday, we stopped at the Fisherman's Seafood Market in Coos Bay to bring home a taste or two of the ocean (sign at lower left).

I really do like everything about the Oregon Coast. Even this seaweed-coated rock under a bridge boardwalk in Bandon made me smile.

   Rocky Coast line near Bandon

A calm day on the Pacific Ocean

Sharing these gifts from the Oregon Coast with the following:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; TUESDAY TREASURES; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

Thank you to the hosts.
Museum, Library, and a couple more towers

July 30, 2023

In the interest of trying to finish blogging about our June travel before the rest of the summer is over, I am combining three places we visited in Prague. They each deserve more time and space, but there's lots of good sites at everyone's fingertips for further information. I've been doing a lot of that kind of research these days to refresh my memory.

The Czech National Museum was within easy walking distance of our Prague apartment. It's located near the top of Wenceslas Square, the main gathering/shopping area in the City.

Main entrance Hall

We spent most of a day in just one wing of the the main (Historical) building but also visited the New Building next to it. The buildings are connected by a tunnel.

The stunning main building is a major landmark for the city. It was built between 1885 and 1891. The main building underwent a major renovation between 2011 and 2019 and was even completely closed part of that time. (It had been damaged during the war and again when the city metro tunnels were being built.) During those years, exhibits were either stored or moved into the "New Building" next door which had been purchased both for that purpose and to eventually add exhibition space. I'm glad we visited after the big move and reopening had taken place. In the main building the exhibits we visited were on Czech history — ancient treasures. No pictures included — the ones I could take did not turn out well enough to bother.

Cupola from entryway

The exhibits in the newer building were where we learned more about recent history (during our lifetime). There was an excellent photo and light display showing what it was like to be in Prague at the time of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. This is when massive demonstrations (hundred of thousands of people at times) helped to force the end of the Communist regime in Czech and Slovakia. Some major gatherings took place right here on Wenceslas Square in front of the Museum buildings. A fitting place to learn about this incredibly important piece of history. It was after this time that the former Czechoslovakia, which had been part of the USSR, became two republics: The Czech Republic and the Slovakian Republic. This display was impossible to capture with my camera, but the contribution to our understanding will not be forgotten.

There are more stunning views of Prague from the top floor of the Main Building.

On another day during our stay we took the Metro (underground) to Prague Old Town. The famed medieval astronomical clock of Prague is attached to the Old Town Hall.

It was first installed in 1410 and is the oldest astronomical clock still in operation. The figures surrounding the clock are the apostles and other Catholic saints and a skeleton representing death (he shows up pretty clearly to the top right of the clock.) The apostles and the skeleton do a very quick parade around the dial on the hour. I forgive them for being quick about it, because they are probably tired of working that hard after all these years.

The astronomical dial represents the position of the sun and moon. HERE is a link to the Wikipedia page with more about the mechanism, history, and legends surrounding the clock.

I think it was on the same day that we also visited the different kind of tower below:

Idiom by Matej Kren

This art installation in the foyer of the Prague Public Library includes hundreds of books stacked in a cylindrical tower. Mirrors at the top and bottom give the tower the illusion of infinity. There's a tiny window that lets you look in and imagine what it would like to drown in an infinity of books. The question is whether that is a book-lovers dream or nightmare.

Of course, I have family pictures from every single place we went with our grands, but those from the children's section of this library (bel0w) may well be my all-time favorites:

It's never too early to introduce a child to the love of reading. We all love libraries and I was so glad our three "guides" took us to this one.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY
Visit to Prague Castle

July 23, 2023

Prague Castle is actually a 1900 foot long series of courtyards, churches, and palaces covering 750,000 square feet. Buildings include the seat of government of the Czech Republic.

Our trolley stop took us to a short walk leading to the Northern entrance. We could see the impressive Cathedral spires as we walked along. The first courtyard we entered is where the offices of the President of the Republic are located. Palace Guards in full uniform are stationed at the entrance. The fountain marks the center of this Courtyard.

A passageway leads to another Courtyard where the impressive St Vitus Cathedral is located.

This Gothic Cathedral is the Czech national church. A church has existed on this spot since AD 920.

Rose Window, St Vitus Cathedral

Restoration work still in progress.

Third Courtyard, Prague Castle — Statue of St George (replica of 13th Century original).

We exited the complex by taking the New Castle Staircase — it's long, with many steps, but there are wide landings with lots of stopping places — viewpoints and even a place where we could stop for a cold drink at a table. There are wonderful views of Prague along the staircase.

Prague from the New Castle Staircase

The Staircase takes you from the Castle complex to downtown Prague. We stopped at a small sculpture park for a quiet rest.

In town we found a good place to eat and just wandered a bit before heading home. Although Prague Castle is a major tourist destination it hadn't feel anywhere near as busy and crowded as downtown.

I'm really a small-town person at heart, so am always a bit in awe of the crowds and hustle and bustle in major cities.

But I'm always happy to to visit because you don't get to visit Castles (among many other treasures) in small towns. Grateful for all we saw and learned.

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY;
River Elbe cruise, Part 1

July 16, 2023

We spent more days in beautiful Prague than all of the rest of our trip put together and we loved every minute of it. Below is the apartment building where we stayed (top row) and, in the lower row, a view from the side street next to the building.

Our grandchildren were staying in a small hotel on the other side of the river, but Prague's excellent public transportation made it easy for us to meet for our days of touring. I'm still sorting and labeling Prague pictures and I will blog again later about all that we saw and learned during the week we lived in that apartment.

But today I'm skipping forward to the part of our trip scheduled with Viking River Cruise line. We were still in Prague for a couple of days, but as scheduled we moved to the Prague Hilton (below) for two nights.

That evening, the Viking tour was a trip by bus through some beautiful countryside to an old barn/restaurant near the village of Cicovice:

We were served a typical Czech family-style dinner of farm-raised food and Czech wine and beer. We were entertained with a village gala featuring dancers, musicians and a singer performing traditional music. We enjoyed both food and entertainment.

The next morning, on our own, we visited Petrin Hill, one attraction we had not seen already. We skipped the scheduled city walking tour because we'd already experienced most of it with our family. (Our grandchildren had gone home to Germany on the same day we left our Prague apartment.) Our guidebooks said that the views from the Hill are some of the most spectacular in the city. I think they were right.

At the top of the hill, there's a tower replica of the Eiffel Tower at one-fifth of the height. We were not quite up to climbing the 400 steps, so we paid for an elevator ride. Just that ride was adventure of a sort because (ridiculously) I'm a little bit phobic about elevators. The creaky old elevator car to the top of the tower held only three people plus an operator. I told myself if the lady operator wasn't afraid to ride the elevator all day, then I shouldn't be either.

We rode the Funicular to the bottom of the hill. As with all public transportation in the City, the funicular railroad was free to senior citizens. We ended up in a part of the city I think is called Lesser Town Square, where we enjoyed a good dinner before returning to our Hotel for the night.

Grounds around the tower

In real life, this was our last day in Prague. The next day we traveled with Viking by motor coach to Bad Schandau on the River Elbe where the Viking River Ship Beyla was waiting for us to board. However, here in Blogland, we'll be traveling back to more about beautiful Prague as well as to further stops along the River Elbe.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY;
Home — with memories

July 9, 2023

We're back in Oregon and happy to be home. We took pretty much the exact opposite of a short-cut to get here and had a wonderful time doing it.

Coming in for the landing

I'm still sorting pictures and trying to "unjumble" all the information flying around in my head. We learned so much — now I just have to figure out how to put it in writing so that it will still make sense when we look at it in the future. While I work on all that, here are a few sample views from the beautiful city of Prague, Czech Republic where we spent a little over a week:

The best part of Prague was having our own very special guides to the City – Miss Olivia, our youngest great-grandchild and her parents, our grandchildren (grandson and his wife):

We were so grateful that "the kids" had time to spend with us and we marveled at how adaptable and happy the baby was. Jacob and Maya are quite familiar with Prague. (And one of the family of three speaks the language fluently — I'm sure pretty soon it will be two or even all three.) With their help, we navigated the city like locals .. almost!

Prague Castle on the horizon

There's so much more from Prague that I want to remember and after our time there we joined a Viking Cruise during which we visited several cities in Germany (the former East Germany) culminating in a couple of days in Berlin and I want to document that too eventually! Meanwhile, we are happy to be home and looking forward to enjoying summer days here in Oregon.

Glad to be back to blogging again too. LINKING THIS post to the following sharing opportunities with thanks to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY