Good times are a blessing, not a guarantee

Oregon has so many opportunities to explore. Before moving to the South, my husband, dog and I lived there for 4 years.  The Coast, the caves, the trails, the food, the wine….shall I go on?  We had such a great opportunity to explore the beauty. We went to Bend, Eugene, Sisters, and then over to Whidbey Island off of Northwestern Washington. We visited so many surrounding towns to enjoy local food and drink.  We listened to some amazing music and enjoyed some outdoor festivals.  We were there during the breakout of Covid, so 2020 was a wash for doing anything. In spite of missing out on an entire year, we made so many memories that I will always cherish. We met great people and had a fantastic neighborhood to walk around and visit with fellow dog walkers. 

I love looking at the hundreds of pictures I have from our excursions, together, and the times friends and family came out. It reminds me how fortunate we were to experience that time in our lives.  Fun, adventures, laughter and great memories are not a guarantee in this life; they are a blessing.  They should be cherished and remembered during times that aren’t so great, or down right tragic.

I suggest getting a digital frame on which to upload your special memories. We have one that is exclusively for grandkids and one that is miscellaneous friends and family.  I love when the pictures pop up and I get to relive those special memories. 

From the pictures I posted, you can see Mt. Hood, at Timberline lodge, the Coast in Pacific City, Sisters Oregon, Silver Falls, Tualatin Valley Vineyards, Ponzi Vineyards, and various trails.  Our other favorite wineries are Willamette Valley Vineyards and Pike Road; a sister winery of Elk Cove.  Of course, you will see Sophie, my Lhasa-apso mix that passed away in August of this year. You will likely see her in several pictures. 

Oh! I didn’t mention the lavender fields and all of the fruit picking opportunities. We used to pick strawberries, blueberries, marionberries, huckleberries, raspberries, and peaches. One of the berry picking places near us is Hoffman Farms; we really enjoyed going there. We would come home loaded down with berries, and I would wash them all, freeze part of them and package up the rest for us to enjoy everyday. The berries were so amazing! For fun, I even made a berry martini; oh was it yummy.

How about you? What are some great memories of trips you have been on or places you’ve lived?  I have some great memories of The Grand Canyon too; one of my bucket list items was to do a rim to rim hike. Hmmm, that may be another post to talk about; bucket lists.