The plan was to take Shirley to attend a Sunday Mass at the small Catholic Church on Rockaway Beach where she’d been a regular parishioner when she’d lived on the coast and also where they had the funeral for Sharon’s Dad; and, then to proceed back into Tillamook and have breakfast at the Pancake House. We’d all eaten there before and enjoyed its homey small town atmosphere. There was the option of going to the first mass at 8:30 and follow that with breakfast; or, to eat first and then attend the second service. We got up early enough to go with the first option. It was a bit of a drive to get out to the church, and already people were arriving at the church; still, we were able to get a primo parking space ... read more

Our Alaskan Adventure begins with a belated Mother’s Day Weekend on the coast of Oregon. Our neighbor showed up to pick us up, a few minutes early; but, just as we’d brought our bags to the curb. She had warned us that she’d taken the “Multi-Gen” room in her house as her room, both because the master bedroom was much too big to suit her (reading between the lines means it was much too big of a job to clean to suit her) and besides, her room at the front of the house allows her to be the Mrs. Kravitz of the neighborhood. She’d called just after our alarm awoke us and I answered asking if this was our Uber driver confirming our pickup. We got to the airport, quickly dropped off our checked bags breezed ... read more

Although we faced dreadful heat and humidity, and our timeshare had no air conditioning, after four nights here it makes perfect sense. Only that first day and night was a problem, and we later learned that the timeshare owners preferred to keep their maintenance costs low and not have heating or air conditioning, knowing that it might cause some comfort issues three or four days per year. How lucky we were to hit one of those days! The normal trade winds keep things pleasant year-round. On the way to dinner the night before we got to see some of the surrounding area, very rural and very laid back. We crossed a one-lane bridge, and the sign advised that five to seven cars should cross in one direction, before changing for cars to go the other way, ... read more

Despite all of the advanced scheduling that went into planning “My Big Day”, it actually began with a very, very lazy morning, waking up to the chilling hum of the overhead fan and hoping that I’d had the foresight to pack something green. Originally the trip had been planned so that it would include both Sharon’s birthday and mine as well. We’d hoped for a sunset dinner cruise; but, managed a last-minute catamaran whale watch outing that was scheduled to last two-hours. At this point in our vacation we didn’t want to risk anymore “three-hour-tours”. I searched on-line but couldn’t find any restaurants showing that they served “fish-and-chips”. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be a bummer having “My Big Day” fall on a Friday during Lent! We’d seen plenty of restaurants in the concierge’s ... read more

We’d set our alarm for six in the morning. Sharon had moved the last of our laundry from the dryer at midnight; but, I was asleep long before that. I showered, folded my laundry and packed everything into cubes, and from there fit everything into my suitcase and carryon. My suitcase now was two pounds heavier; but, at 45 pounds I was still golden. Sharon must have rearranged her luggage because she came in at 46 pounds; but, still under the 50 pound limit. We filled up the tank on our way to the airport. Check-in was really easy at the Fox rental car; and, to make things better the van was already there and we were on our way without a hitch. With all of the trouble and ordeals, and lengthy process or renting the ... read more