A Whirl of Beaches and Bistros

Whee! The world is just spinning by and I'm having a grand time. Last Friday morning Betty and I headed for the Oregon Coast to spend retreat and recreational time with our home Bible study group at Oceanside. It is a lovely residential hamlet a few miles west of Tillamook and far enough off of Highway 101 that the insanity of tourist shops has not yet arrived.

We toured the area, did lunch in a neat little cafe, walked the beaches searching for agates, visited a lighthouse and the cheese factory, shared meal preparations, played card games, visited and relaxed, and ended the three days Sunday morning at the local Church of Christ. We have come to love and value these annual getaways for their refreshing and relaxing effect.

Tuesday I joined Patty and the twins on a railroad day trip. We were part of a large home school entourage on a "School-on-Trains" activity, and we rode a slick European-style Amtrak coach from Vancouver USA to Union Station in downtown Seattle. Then the greater crowd split up for several hours. Our bunch of eight walked to the ferry terminal and met up with Patty's friend arriving from Port Townsend and soon we were all at Pike Place Market. This unique collection of funky stores and artisan crafts booths and street vendors and entertainers, and specialty shoppes is a famous and fun place to stroll about searching for gifts, new experiences, enjoyable sights and sounds and smells, and special food treats, and memories. The kids always enjoy the huge fish stand where each purchase is hurled about from one monger to another until it sails over the display counter into the hands of the wrapper. When this is a fifteen pound salmon and there is a large number of closely packed onlookers, it is street theater at its best.

We split up for the last ninety minutes or so and Patty and Lori's bunch went to the amazing new Seattle Public Library. It is a ten story, block wide assending spiral of levels which is cantilevered away from the steep hill under it until it seems to float over the ground without support. Inside it is cavernous with halls and ramps and assenders/descenders that never appear quite vertical or horizontal. Public Art is everywhere.

I hopped a bus through the fareless zone and spent my last hour in the amazing Uwajimaya Emporium. It is a huge, multi-department Japanese complex. (Think Ikea from Tokyo.) Much of the central area is grocery of every oriental variety imaginable, including a wonderful food court and every possible type of food stuffs. I spent several minutes in the seafoods and produce sections, studying the veggies and fish I read about in my Japanese cookbooks. The rest of the time I cruised the aisles of household items with emphasis on the dishware and cookware counters. Such beautiful things.

After picking up a few items from the "ready to eat"counter, I rejoined the rest at the train station. We were quickly boarded in our own coach and soon rolling south again and snacking on Japanese fast-foods. This was a comfortable train with huge windows for viewing the passing scenery. Washington, outside of its cities, is truly a beautiful state. I had forgotten how much fun train travel is; quiet, restful, nicely paced, and there is so much to see.

I'm glad I was a kid again for this event. And it is always charming to catch a glimpse of new sights through the eyes of one's grandddaughters. I had a grand time and hope to be invited to "chaperone" again next year.

PS I am ready to begin shopping for a digital camera so I can post pretty pictures too. Can anyone recommend a good source for checking out pocketable cameras suitable to my casual use?