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Thoughts on Winter Travel

Our wintertime trip continues to be an adventure. One of the best things of retirement is being able to adjust our schedule on the fly. Our 2-week trip turned into a 3½-week trip. We spent an extra day in South Dakota helping Mother-in-Law find a new apartment. That mission was a success. We will likely take another winter trip to help with the move.

We spent a couple extra days with my parents in Texas when I took Mom to see her granddaughter in her high school version of The Wizard of Oz. Granddaughter was Glinda, the good witch, and she had a couple of solos. She sings beautifully and it was a blessing to watch and hear the sweet voice in her last high school play production. No photos were allowed but I can assure you that the colors and pageantry were great!

After that we moved on to Daughter’s home where we prepare to make the final push back to Boise. It’s hard to leave here so we will spend a couple of extra days here as well. That will make our originally planned 2-week trip into an almost 3-week trip. Ah, retirement!

When we were at Daughter’s, our son called and asked for babysitting services with Grandson. Of course, we could not turn that opportunity down. Three days of driving took us from Texas to Oregon that included an overnight stay at home to wash and repack. We spent the weekend with our grandson while his father and mother attended to business best done without a 2-year old tagging along.

After our babysitting stint, we spent two days at the Oregon coast enjoying the warm weather and Pacific Ocean. Few things are more relaxing than watching the waves break, then reaching out to touch your feet on the sand. Or in my case, drench my shoes and feet in a foot of water because I was too far out and couldn’t outrun the wave.

I’m not an architect but unusual architecture fascinates me. The craftsmanship of the past is beautiful. So whenever we are traveling, I like to take photos of buildings that I find very interesting. I am sharing a few with you that I took on our trip. And a photo of a quilt Mom is handquilting . And then a funny sign I saw along the way. Hubby loves funny signs and I included one I found to share with him.

The prettiest and most interesting building we saw along Hwy. 83. In Shamrock, Texas, it’s an old art deco design Conoco station along Route 66 that is now a visitor center. We were there on Sunday so it was closed, but I’d love to go back and go inside. Fabulous architecture! And how wonderful that it’s been preserved.
The prettiest and most interesting building we saw along Hwy. 83. In Shamrock, Texas, it’s an old art deco design Conoco station along Route 66 that is now a visitor center. We were there on Sunday so it was closed, but I’d love to go back and go inside. Fabulous architecture! And how wonderful that it’s been preserved.
On the left is the Weatherford, Texas courthouse. My granddad used to drive us past magnificent building on our way to Six Flags. Its architecture has always amazed me. At one time, the courthouse was the center of town and the traffic circled around it. It has a very modern traffic circle around it still so traffic still circles the old building. Granddad grew up in a house on the courthouse square by his father’s blacksmith shop. Down the street is an old stone Presbyterian Church where he went. Weatherford is a special place because of its ties to our family and Granddad’s stories. On the right is the courthouse in Baker City, Oregon, a beautiful art deco style building in the middle of the Blue Mountains. We found it by accident when we took the wrong exit off the interstate. Downtown Baker City has amazing architecture as well. We’d like to go back sometime to find out the history of the place.
On the left is the Weatherford, Texas courthouse. My granddad used to drive us past magnificent building on our way to Six Flags. Its architecture has always amazed me. At one time, the courthouse was the center of town and the traffic circled around it. It has a very modern traffic circle around it still so traffic still circles the old building. Granddad grew up in a house on the courthouse square by his father’s blacksmith shop. Down the street is an old stone Presbyterian Church where he went. Weatherford is a special place because of its ties to our family and Granddad’s stories. On the right is the courthouse in Baker City, Oregon, a beautiful art deco style building in the middle of the Blue Mountains. We found it by accident when we took the wrong exit off the interstate. Downtown Baker City has amazing architecture as well. We’d like to go back sometime to find out the history of the place.
Quilt architecture. This quilt was hand-sewn by my great-grandmother using scraps from clothes that Mom, Dad, and I used to wear way back when. She probably did it in the late 1950s so it’s been waiting a long long time to be quilted. I helped Mom put it in the frame so she can hand-quilt it on winter evenings.
Quilt architecture. This quilt was hand-sewn by my great-grandmother using scraps from clothes that Mom, Dad, and I used to wear way back when. She probably did it in the late 1950s so it’s been waiting a long long time to be quilted. I helped Mom put it in the frame so she can hand-quilt it on winter evenings.
God’s architecture is the greatest of all. The top two photos are on the beach at Seaside, Oregon. The bottom photo is Mount Hood as seen from Portland on a clear day.
God’s architecture is the greatest of all. The top two photos are on the beach at Seaside, Oregon. The bottom photo is Mount Hood as seen from Portland on a clear day.
Makes you want to eat there, right?
Makes you want to eat there, right?

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