The ranger at one of the lighthouses we visited in California said “Everyone should drive Highway One at least once in their lives, and that’s enough.” We had already experienced enough of that challenging road to understand what he meant!
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Believed to have originated in Japan or China, the Resurrection Lily has simple leaves, which are not present when the flowers emerge from the crown. The leaves sprout and grow in the spring, then die back during June. Then in late July or early August the flowers appear. The flowers are white or pink and fragrant. The flowers spring dramatically from the ground in mid to late summer; it usually takes only four to five days from first emergence to full bloom.
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When we thought that we had pretty much covered the Redwoods, we found that we had really only begun. The Redwoods to the south of the national park were actually bigger than the ones we encountered in the Redwood National Park. We discovered that Humboldt State Park would treat our eyes to even bigger trees than we had previously seen.
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Bonnie and I have heard from “our youth up” about the Redwood trees and how big they grow. They actually are taller than the giant Sequoya trees but they are only half the diameter at the base. Nevertheless, they are giants created by an even bigger God who delights in amazing His people.
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The California Costal Redwoods are gigantic trees that cannot easily be conveyed with still pictures or even with videos.
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While exploring the Oregon coast, we made it a goal to visit all nine of the historic lighthouses on the Oregon coast—and we did it!
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They kept calling my name. But even when I responded, they wouldn't quit calling me!
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We were taking a little hike to see the Octopus Tree. We didn’t really know what to expect and were anxious to get a glimpse of this wonder of God’s creation. When the tree came into view we were quite surprised by the shape and size of the tree. But that wasn’t the only thing that was a surprise to us that day.
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It’s not often that Flat meets someone like himself: a “travel buddy.” But in Astoria, Oregon, Flat did just that.
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It’s hard to believe that we’ve been away from Tennessee for over seven months. I intended to write a reflection on the first six months, but we were so busy in August just keeping up with our travel blogs, that I didn’t have a chance. So this morning I’m sitting in a church parking lot at 6 am, unable to sleep, and thought I’d give it a go.
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While we were at Fort Langley, two of the docents sang this song for us. Nette said this was one of the songs that was sung during the gold rush period. It struck a chord with us.
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Did you ever lose track of where you were and what day is was? Trips like this can make that happen! Friday, August 30, we left Victoria (the capital of British Columbia, which is on Vancouver Island, confusing matters) by ferry from Swartz Bay, and crossed over to Vancouver (city) via the port at Tsuwassen, south of the city, arriving at my brother Jon’s home in south Vancouver in the early afternoon.
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When would a 39-room castle seem to be small?
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On our last day with Steve and Marie, we took both their minivan and our van across Puget Sound to Seattle on the Kingston to Edmonds ferry. Then we left our van at Trader Joe’s in Lynnwood and all rode in their car down to Seattle, which was a good idea, since our van would not fit in the parking garages downtown.
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My “baby” brother Steve was born when I was thirteen years old, and the first thing he remembers about me was my high school graduation. When he told me that, I remember telling him, “But Steve, I’ve known you all my life!” I left home at seventeen for college, and married at nineteen, so Steve and I have had very little time together over the years.
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