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| Redwood State Park-California |
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| Flying kites on the beach- Oregon |
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| Redwood State Park-California |
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| Oregon Beach |
She loved to travel. It did not really matter what the destination was, she just liked to get out and go. I also liked it so it was something we did as often as we could. After we had children they also liked to go on our magic trips. In fact our favorite ones seemed to get boring after the fourth, or seventh or whatever number was the last time was.The different one was Donnie. It did not matter how many times she went she always enjoyed it and always seemed to find something new to see and comment on.
One trip come to mind as I sit and reminisced the other night. It was a trip we took before my wife become dependent on a wheelchair. We left Utah and went to California, then up the coast to Oregon, Washington, North West Montana, down through Northern Idaho and back to Utah. We had several "High Spots" on that trip but it was really fun list listening to Donnie as she acted as the resident tour guide ---Oh look at that, Oh did you see that fern, Look at that eagle nest in that tree-- and it went on and on.
Donnie does not like the water. In fact she will not get in it if she thinks it will be over her ankles. So I was really surprised that she enjoyed the drive up the beach highways all the way from Northern California to the northern tip of Washington. We both enjoyed it and I know those days were some we enjoyed, as we talked a lot about it when we got home.
One night we stayed in Lincoln Beach, Oregon. Donnie did not care where we stayed as long as they had a deck where we could sit and watch the ocean. We wanted to spend some time there so we stopped early, got a nice room on the second floor with a deck facing the ocean, and we were all set.
We walked the beach for a while (or perhaps I should say I walked the beach,) as Donnie would not get anywhere near the waters edge. We watched people flying kites (not like the kites we had as kids, but BIG, COLORFUL kites. Some looked to be 12 to 15 feet long. I recall one was a dragon. Some had two lines, one to fly it and one to control it. Donnie made the comment that they were almost mesmerizing they were so graceful.
We found a big rock to sit on and had only been there a few minutes and Donnie heard some young kids laughing and playing behind us, so she went over to see what was going on. She only stayed a few minutes and when she came back she took my hand and said, "look I have found something beautiful for you," She gently lay a sand dollar into my hand. She said," isn't it beautiful? Then she looked at me and asked how in the world it got around?
That night we sit on the deck of our motel and watched the ships as they would rise and fall with the swells on the ocean. She was fascinated by the running lights on the ships as they rose as if they had been buried in the sea and then all at once there they were, only to do it over and over until they finally went out of sight as they traveled up and down the coastal waters.
We did not really talk much, we just watched and listened as the waves washed up on the shore. Once in a while we could hear a ship's horn. We stayed out on the deck pretty late and when we finally went in Donnie made the comment,"hasn't it been a magical night." And course I thought to myself, "wouldn't it be great to enjoy little things as much as she does."
The next morning we headed north on the coast highway out of Oregon and into Washington. In the northern part of Oregon we found a completely different coastline. Donnie said the ocean sounded angry when we got to Oregon. There were cliffs instead of sandy beaches, and the waves pounding on the cliffs sent water spraying in every direction and the beaches were covered with debris. Donnie said it was "fascinatingly beautiful." I would never described it like that but of course I did not always see the beauty in things like she did. I reminded her this was not like the calm rolling ocean that we were at when she lay a sand dollar in my hand.
When I was sitting and reminiscing, a song of my youth came to mind. "Little Things Mean A Lot," was popular way back when. It really is true and the older you get the more you realize that.
When we got to Port Angeles, Washington we decided to stay there so we could get up early in the morning and catch the ferry to Canada and see Butchart Gardens. We got to a motel early and did not have anything to do, and Port Angeles is not a really thrilling tourist town so we decided to walk down to the pier and look around.
There was a man catching crabs in the harbor. I got a lesson on crab catching that day. I am not sure if it is true and I do not know what he was using for bait, but he told me that you throw the bait out with a fishing pole and the crab grabs the bait and will not let go of it so you just reel them in. But this is not meant to be about catching crabs, it is about Donnie's new pass time. We were up on the pier and the crab fisher was down at the water line. It did not take Donnie long to realize that we could see the crabs in the water from where we were standing. She started hollering at the guy and telling him where to cast. Donnie got as excited as if she had been fishing herself. In fact she was more excited than our new found friend. He offered to give her a couple of crabs when he left but we graciously told him no.
Well as I mentioned in the beginning, this blog is supposed to be about reminiscing, and the older I get the more I reminisce about the good old days, and the thoughts seem to get better and longer and perhaps even embellished a little.
Over the years my wife could not travel as much because of debilitating diabetes. However we still took short trips, we still enjoyed nature, people, places and beautiful things in this old world.
She was always able to pick out the beauty around her and to have a kind word for everyone. As she got older our memories and dreams seemed to get better and longer, and as I said perhaps embellished a little.
One thing she never "converted me to do was to go in the "gyp joints" as we traveled and buy a souvenir to bring home as a remembrance. She brought home a lot of them and they still are around here I suppose. Thank heaven she never brought home a "Lava Lamp."
It seems strange how vivid this trip is in my mind when I start really thinking about it?
W.R. Baldwin
3 Jun 2016
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