HAPPY 4th of JULY!!

Today we celebrate our freedom as American citizens. But more than that we should celebrate the freedom we have in Christ everyday of our lives. Unfortunately too often we take for granted both the freedom that was given for us 2000 years ago on the cross and the freedom that was given for us 234 years ago by our founding forefathers. This morning in church our choir sang this song. May we never forget.

Statue of Liberty

In New York Harbor stands a lady,

With at torch raised to the sky:

And all who see her know she stands for

Liberty for you and me.

I'm so proud to be called an American,

To be named with the brave and the free;

I will honor our flag and our trust in God,

And the Statue of Liberty.

On lonely Golgotha stood a cross,
With my Lord raised to the sky;
And all who kneel there live forever
As all the saved can testify.

I'm so glad to be called a Christian,
To be named with the ransomed and whole;
As the statue liberates the citizen,
So the cross liberates the soul.

Oh the cross is my Statue of Liberty,
It was there that my soul was set free;
Unashamed I'll proclam that a rugged cross
Is my Statue of Libertty!

Word & Music by Neil Enloe

HAVE A SAFE and BLESSED 4th of July!!!

Should I stay or should I go?

It's been more than a month since I posted. I'm trying to decide if I just delete the blog or continue on with posts. I never have been one to "talk" to myself............. so who knows, we'll see.

A day of remembrance.......

Too many around the USA today have spent the day barbequing in the back yard, going to the beach, fishing, swimming at the river or lake, or just enjoying life in general .

But, may we never forget the sacrifice our men and women have given for our freedom. This Memorial Day, I for one, hope never to forget their sacrifice, and remember my cousin, Jesse, who gave his life July 8, 1969 in the Viet Nam war. He died carrying wounded soldiers back to camp when he stepped on a land mine.

http://www.bobcat.ws/uptigrovetrib.htm

The rips and tears..........

This hole is underneath a layer of lace - this is looking at the tear from the backside. You can't see it from the front.
These are the two rips/tears at the bottom of the dress

A small hole on part of the tucked area

A hole on the sleeve

I hope to start on repairs sometime in the near future.

I couldn't resist........

Full gown & bodice view
Inside of the gown pictured below

..........the antique gown going home with me. Before we left Newport to begin our journey back home we made a stop to get the gown. Here are a few pictures of it. More pictures tomorrow.

The best Asian food..............

in Newport. We read reviews of the top restuarants on Trip Advisor before coming here. Noodle Cafe is rated # 1. We understand why now. If we had more time we would go back again for the 3rd time. We both had the Crispy Shrimp Sichaun Style. Tomorrow it is back to Local Ocean Seafoods for one last meal in Newport. I think the food is one of the main reasons Jim wants to keep coming back to Newport. ;-0 Well, not the only one, but a pretty good excuse if you ask me.

A storm brewing

The pictures say it all........we headed out for another stroll on the beach. Needless to say, we didn't get to stay long, but long enough to snap some pics.

Our last full day here..... :-(

Close up of bottom area of gown
Christening gown

Yaquina Bay Historic Lighthouse

Today we did a little sightseeing and antiquing. I spotted the above antique Christening gown just as we were about to leave. I wanted it to come home with me but I passed it up, after I took pics of it. There were 3 rips on it, 2 were at the bottom of the gown and the other was on the top of the sleeve. After visiting the antique shop we went to Yaquina Bay Historic Lighthouse for a tour. This light house was only in operation for 3 years. After it was built they realized it was not in a good location so built Yaquina Head Lighthouse and shut this one down.

We weren't the only crazy people today

to brave the rain and the wind that was gusting 35 - 40 mph....... When we woke up the sun was shining in between the clouds so we decided to drive south to Shore Acres Gardens to see the beautiful flowers. When we first arrived Jim wanted to walk down to nearby Simpson beach to see if there were any tide pools. This is what we saw instead. Wild, boisterous waves crashing against the rocks.

Just a small sample of the beautiful flowers, rhododendren in all colors. The gardens were not as beautiful though as we saw them 2 years ago. Alot of the flowers were past their bloom. Still it is a beautiful place to visit........if it hadn't been raining. If you click on the pictures you can see the raindrops all over the flowers. I got these shots before the heavier rain came.

Rainy, misty and windy........

Quite a difference between this shot taken today of Heceta Head and the shot I took Sunday. The wind was blowing so hard Jim could barely get a shot. I know we are crazy....but we weren't the only ones. There were at least 6 other people with their cameras out also.

Finally..............sun, still wind but SUN!!

We arrived back in Newport and went straight to Local Ocean Seafoods for a fabulous late lunch/early dinner, Coconut Prawns. We plan to go back for lunch before we leave it is SO GOOD, not something we can get back home. While we were there fishermen came to bring loads of fresh Red Rock fish to the restuarant.

Tuesday - a lazy do nothing day

Yesterday was a lazy day. It started out raining and dreary so we decided to go antiquing and to a movie. A friend from back home asked me how would I bring back an antique find? What she didn't realize is, when I go antiquing, I look for sewing related items. You can take them back on a plane easily. Jim found the buttons for me. They are vintage mother of pearl buttons. I love all things vintage and also I love crocheted doilies.

Cloudy, dreary but still a wonderful place to be

Always looking for something interesting to find on the beach. This time we came back with lots of shells and interesting rocks to add to our collection.
Boiler Bay, north of Newport
This was our view from the Noodle Cafe, a Vietnamese restuarant we ate lunch at. The food was wonderful and we hope to go back before we leave Newport. Watchin' the ships (well, boats) roll in, and I'll watch them roll away again..........sittin' on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away, sittin' on the dock of the bay, wastin' time................................................ :-)

Exploring and Sunsets

Jim finally got to explore the tidepools and I took pictures. I have more but don't want to bore you. ;-)
A no name beach area just south of Schooner Landing. I've never seen white moss on rocks till now.

Beautiful sunset view from our deck, the perfect ending to a beautiful sunny day.

We drove down to a beach south of Schooner landing to get more shots of the sunset. I'm afraid it will be our only chance to. The rest of our time here it is supposed to be cloudy, rainy and windy.

Beaches and Sea Lions

Seal Rock Beach, south of Newport
Cape Perpetua
Heceta Head Lighthouse
Sea Lions, just south of Heceta Head. It was fun watching several of them trying to "ride" the waves to push them up onto the rocks to "sun".

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day to drive the coast. The pictures do not even begin to convey how beautiful it is. I wish I could bottle it up and take it back home with me.

Newport, Oregon

The view from our deck.......

Jim was telling me I could climb the stairs of the lighthouse without him.

Saturday was a day of rest and relaxation. We visited Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. Within 12 to 15 feet of the shoreline are tidepools, unfortunately we went at high tide so Jim couldn't explore.

Day 6 - Driving down the Oregon Coast

Jim at Fort Stevens State park just south of Astoria, OR where we spent the previous night. Fort Stevens was the primary defensive installation for the mouth of the Columbia River from the Civil War until the close of World War II. We explored the batteries and the military museum. It was very interesting reading, especially a letter from World War II written by a mother to her son in the services. She talked about how fast information traveled. Boy would she be in awe today.

Last stop within the park was the wreck of the Peter Iredale. It ran aground in 1906 en route to pick up cargo in Portland, OR.

The rest of our trip down the coast to Newport, our destination for the next 7 days, was a nice relaxing drive with a stop in Cannon Beach for lunch. Of course our trip to Oregon would not be complete without a stop at Tillamook for licorice ice cream at the Tillamook County Creamery Visitor's center. Jim is the one who got licorice ice cream, I took a bite but didn't care for it. We finally got to watch the creamery in operation since it was a week day.

http://http//www.tillamookcheese.com/visitorscenter/

Final stop................Schooner Landing, Newport, OR, our home away from home for a little while.

Day 5 - Last look at the rain forest - Quinault

Ferns as big as shrubs

Beautiful waterfalls......... Merriman Falls

...........Bunch Falls

So very hard to go..........

Hand painted beams.......
Furniture so comfortable you don't want to get up out of

A fireplace to keep you warm.........

It was so very hard to leave. We wish we could have stayed longer but we had to move on down the road toward the Oregon Coast.

Lake Quinault Lodge - our stop for the night

Front of Lake Quinault Lodge

View from our room

Back of the Lodge

The website says step back in time and unwind..........that we did. The lodge, built in 1926, is such a beautiful place you don't want to leave. No TV, just peace and quiet. We did have internet access in our room though. But, who needs internet when you have all this to look at and enjoy.