Thursday, April 18, 2013

One Fine Day

Hello Lovelies!
Hope you are all doing fabulous today...
Last week I received a call from my sweet Mama, and she let me know, that the Lilac's were blooming again!  For several years now,this has always been  such a joyous occasion,  and a wonderful reason for a road trip. So we set out for our adventure, last Saturday morning.

Whenever we travel to my home town, we usually start with a stop at Cascade Locks, to a great little drive through, called the East Wind Drive -Thru. It's a little town, in the Columbia River Gorge. A great little place for a quick lunch on the road.
 It's the only one in town, and it appears it will be the only one ever in town. The Gorge commission has banned any drive thru's from being allowed, as to preserve the natural history, and scenic preserve. Lucky for us, as they have to most wonderful milkshakes and the best BLT's,  I have ever ate. 

We always head down to the Marina, on the Columbia River, and have a little scenic lunchtime treat.


This day, they were have some type of races, or training in these little sailboats. It was fun to watch.


Yuuummmm......


I love that little aqua sailboat at the far right! How cute! 
As you can see, very stormy and low clouds... That's Oregon.



And a bronze cougar leaping from a mossy rock, we didn't share our lunch with him though.


Taken from the Highway, as we get closer, the clouds part and the big blue sky opens up. A very welcome sight. The Columbia River Gorge is such a beautiful place, and the new leaves are such a bright lime green. So nice to have life again. We have so many months of barren trees,low clouds, and rain. I love springtime!


We were also excited, this trip, because the cherries are in full bloom. 
We wanted to try and get some shots of these lovely trees and ended up finding some pretty great views, and miles and miles of blooming trees.


Ahhh... Aren't they beautiful? 
Bet there are a lot of Happy Bees!!!


We came across this old barn at the end of a dead end road, and of course my mind raced with the possibilities that could be created with all that wonderful aged wood. I had to remind myself, this was a sight seeing trip. 
lol!


Then as we circled the back, I saw it! 
This was painted on the door. I couldn't help but chuckle. 
Well, good for Gary and Curtis, we all need someone right?


Cherries have always been big business in town, there are so many of these tiny cottages out in the country, that were used for the migrant workers to stay in, and work,work,work. 

These of course, are not in working order anymore, but you could imagine what life must have been like, living in these type of conditions, when these were in their prime.

From the looks on the inside, not much more room,than a place to sleep and some small counter space for preparing a meal possibly? 
That chippy paint on those old planks had my mind wandering again with possibilities...



As we traveled on, we took a road that lead down into a valley, and this is what we saw...

Can you see it?


A hot pink barn! 
How adorable! 
Oh, the fun I could have in there!


I felt so blessed to take in all this beauty...  It was glorious.
I was hoping to get some photos of some horses, or cows, but they were all too far away, hanging out under the shade trees.
But...
As we headed back to town, for some treasure hunting at my favorite haunts, we drove past the church, and saw this guy all 
beautified up, for a wedding. As I stopped to snap a photo, turns out it, was our old friend's brother, that was getting married that day. That's the thing about growing up in a small town, you always come across someone that you know. :)



I had to take his sons photo too, how cute is he? 
He was the ring bearer for their ceremony.

Back to Mom's, to take her to dinner, and gather up a bag full of beautiful Lilacs to take home.



yummmm...


Hello.


Time for some food, and an Ice cold beer. Perfect... 
I took several of these home, and had them for dinner the next day,  with the soup we got to go. It's a most delicious seafood bisque. We sometimes drive 180 miles round trip just for this soup, and home made bread! So, it was a nice treat to have dinner already planned out after work the next day.







My sweet Mama. 

It was a nice visit, and a busy day indeed, but what a fine day it was....



The next day after work, I arranged all my lilacs, and unloaded my finds from the day.



My favorite find, was this fabulous aqua metal ironing board, that I plan to keep for Jewel.It was a steal @$1.99! And Halloween is just around the corner,right? So I had to get the Ouija Board. And this tray and coaster set, was absolutely adorable too!!! Oh OK,  I will probably hoard all the linens too, I am such a sucker for linens. Ha!

Hope you have a wonderful week, and don't forget to drop me a hello in the comments.

~Susan Xo








7 comments:

  1. Susan,
    I just read your post and had the best visit. Such a beautiful part of the country you live in and I'm thrilled that Spring has finally arrived! Here in CO, we're still having winter! So your post gave me hope that one day our trees will be budding and the bees will be buzzing!
    Love the photo of you with your beautiful smile and your Mom looks as if she was enjoying your visit, too.
    Great 'score' on your treasures. I have the Ouija Board in my attic!!! It works, too! :)
    Hot pink barn? Be still my heart!
    Happy weekend, Susan.
    Hugs
    Jan

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    1. Thank You Jan, It was a much needed getaway, and I certainly filled my day with many fond memories. It was glorious!Hope spring comes soon for you too, it's amazing how Springtime can give us such needed inspiration and new energy. Xo

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  2. WoW! What a fabulous trip! You live in a beautiful state! What a blessing to spend quality time with family on such a beautiful day.
    ~Donna~

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    1. Thank You My cup of tea! So happy you stopped by for a visit. Oregon has so many beautiful places. There is something rewarding from all the rain we get through the year, beautiful lush green forests and beautiful blooms!!! Have a Great Day! Xo

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  3. Replies
    1. Thank You Nike, always a pleasure to have you stop by for a visit. Thank You for leaving me a comment and sharing my adventure today :) Xo

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  4. Thanks for this post. I live in Myanmar (Burma) and was part of the Fly Tribe WOtY 2013 blog circle.

    It was lovely to read about your trip through the Gorge and stopping off at Cascade Locks. I grew up in the Wilamette Valley but now call Yakima home. When I'm home in Yakima and drive "home" to the Corvallis area, I always stop off in specific places across the Gorge, too. :)

    Yakima is filled with cherry trees - my favorite - and so your post filled my heart with offerings from home. Thank you so much. ;
    )

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