From Sea To Shining Sea

Sunset Edition

How fortunate we were to add yet another state to our list of adventure destinations this spring. G’s sister lives in Oregon and since travel has become difficult for her, we decided to head west with G’s other sister and our brother-in-law. It was a great opportunity to reunite with relatives that we hadn’t seen for years, to become acquainted with some new additions to the family by marriage and to meet a whole new generation of great nephews and great nieces!

We planted ourselves in a delightful VRBO in Salem for 3 days, perfectly located for visiting all the family groups. Our quiet visits with L. were joyous walks down memory lane. C., G., and L. collectively recalling the numerous pets and 4-H animals that they cared for over the years growing up in Plymouth. Many horses called the barn located behind the house on Michigan Rd. home, providing for many opportunities for recounting events, some hilarious others a bit harrowing. Although the exact details of one of the stories differed a bit between L. and C., one detail that is engraved in G.’s memory is the sight of horse hooves galloping over him after he was run over when the horses, being ridden by L. and C., stormed back along the fence line path to the barn yard. The common recollection between the sisters though was that their little brother had been trampled and they both felt so very worried for his wellbeing. Thankfully, G. was fine, and it’s become one of several repeated dramatic horse stories. Another quiet visiting opportunity found us enjoying time spent on the outdoor patio recalling favorite musical groups and songs from the 60s and 70s. We had the patio to ourselves so we felt free to sing along to songs as C. found them on her phone.

Saturday began with brunch at the Original Pancake house, a favorite restaurant for the young Slack family back in the day. A trip up to South Bend after church was a special Sunday treat. How fortuitous that we spotted one in Salem. In the afternoon we gathered at our nephew’s family’s house. C. brought along a lot of pictures from our nephew’s and niece’s youth before they moved to Oregon so once again we enjoyed elaborating about the moments captured in the pictures.

Sunday we gathered at our niece’s family’s house, again providing time to continue getting caught up with everyone and time for more stories. I was introduced to a breed of cat that I’d never heard of, a rag doll cat. It was the most relaxed, friendly cat I’ve ever met. After an afternoon of visiting we all headed out to a unique eating establishment. Circled by many food trucks was a covered area full of long tables that easily accommodated our large group. Everyone had the freedom to pick out what sounded good for dinner at any of the many food trucks. It was the perfect way to share a meal while changing the venue for visiting.

Salem is located in the Willamette Valley bordered by the Cascade Range to the east and the Coastal Range to the west. This geographic location creates the perfect conditions for many successful vineyards. One evening while in the area G., C., H., and I caught the sunset from the top of the Willamette Valley Vineyard, enjoying some vino. The view from the patio was beautiful. Apparently, we were treated to unusually warm sunny weather. Our niece had a hard time convincing us that this was not the norm, weather wise

Our visit to Oregon included a couple days exploring a stretch of the coastline along the famous 101 highway, visiting the towns of Lincoln Beach, Depoe Bay, Newport and Seal Rock and several state park areas that allowed us opportunities to view interesting rock formations around the rugged cliffs, surfers in training, tide pools and some whale drama.

We were excited to have spotted what appeared to be more than one whale in an area very close to the rocky shoreline. Our view was from a high overlook area of Cape Foulweather. We watched for quite a while, wondering if the whales were playing or eating. They remained in the same spot for so long. Every once in a while, we’d catch sight of a dorsal fin, a flipper or tail fluke. I reveled in the moment, what a fortuitous opportunity for creating great memories. Well, the warm fuzzy feelings of watching whales frolic in the Pacific came to a cold harsh reality after visiting with another observer as we returned to the car. He shared that this was the sight of a grisly whale encounter. The Gray Whales were migrating north from Mexico to Canada with their young when a pod of Orcas moved in, attacking and killing a baby. Gray Whales are baleen whales (eating planktonic creatures from the water), whereas Orcas, aka Killer Whales, have teeth and hunt other marine mammals. The mamma Gray Whale worked hard to defend her baby, but wasn’t able to fight off the aggressive Orcas. So, it became clear, the whales were eating.

Our trip ended on a far better note. We rejoined the families for a pizza dinner on our last night in Oregon. What a great week it was making new memories and reminiscing with old memories.