I took a trip last weekend to unwind and perhaps to unload some pressure in myself that had been building.  The separation, the stresses at work, general money and living stresses, all combined to set me a bit on edge, to put it gently.

I left here on Saturday morning headed south on I5 to Oregon.  My route was kind of up in the air till the last minute but eventually chose to go to Kelso, cross the Columbia into Oregon and head to Astoria, where I would pick up Hwy 101 south.  The trip was very relaxing, and the LSU mobile was in fine form with a fresh oil change.

I ate a quick lunch in Longview and crossed over, stopping to admire the Columbia river.

Hwy 30 to Astoria was a lovely trip, and I wish I had more time, as I saw some fascinating photo ops that I want to revisit soon.

I also found Astoria to be a lovely town, and next time I plan to find the Goonies house, just to say I did.

At Astoria I headed south on 101 and again as I have in the past, found 101 to be a wonderful way to see the countryside.  On the major interstates you whiz by many towns so fast you don’t see them but on hwy 101 you become a part of all the town.I saw so many communities that I would love to visit again, and will when time permits.

Mid afternoon I rolled into my destination, Lincoln City and met up with a good friend who had decided to put me up for a restful weekend.

I can’t thank them enough. 

For the next two days I relaxed.  Walking on  the beach at LC yielded some of the best pictures I have ever taken, one of which I will post below.

And I got to drop a few bucks in the casino there, the first time I have been to an ‘Indian’ casino.  I found that 5 bucks goes a long way on Penny slots.

And due to not having internet access, I was most incommunicado for those days.

Not being able to log in and do stuff felt weird.  I am way too used to Internet access.

And of course I went back up to Tillamook and visited the famed cheese factory.  Yes… I tried the squeaky cheese.  A block of special reserve cheddar and some earrings for my daughter and I was done shopping.

I also stopped at the Air Museum, and while it may seem small in comparison to some I have been to, it did have some planes in it I have never seen before. 

I could have stayed longer but Monday was a weird day for me.

It would have been my 18th wedding anniversary.  While I am OK with the separation, I decided to spend the day alone.

So I headed north at 7 am so that I could make a leisurely drive home.  No rushing.  My only deadline was to pick up my daughter after work, and not till 1030pm.

I stopped frequently to relax, take pictures and generally just look at another side of Washington I had never seen.

Twice I saw deer, once one crossed the road about 20 feet past the Deer Crossing warning sign.

Maybe they can read.

I also saw several Bald Eagles, a vulture of some sort and a few other animal critters.

But mostly I saw beautiful coastlines and small towns with a charm that cannot be captured on film, though I tried.

I have taken several trips along the west coastline, and I remain convinced it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

I followed 101 to 105 and ended up in Westport.  I stopped in at the old Westport Lighthouse, and then headed for home.

Heading home was an interesting trip in itself.  I saw along my way something that puzzled me until I got home, in which case it made me sad.

I saw two cooling towers for Nuclear plants.  I knew that the only operating plant was in Eastern Washington, and that Oregon’s Trojan plant was a) too far away and b) had been demolished.

So when I got home a quick search found that the towers were part of a plant never finished in Satsop.

How sad.  We have one reactor in Richland that supplied with no CO2 about 9% of our state’s power and here we let this one go to waste.  Wake up people, Nuclear power is a viable and profitable solution.

Instead this is now just a town’s oddity as they build a business park in its shadow.  Sad, really sad.

Coming into Olympia I abandoned my ‘keep to myself idea’ as I really needed someone to talk to so I called a good friend and arranged to meet her and her daughter for coffee and a chance to chat for a few.

It was worth the stop, because I really needed someone to help me understand my conflicted feelings.

And I needed the coffee.

Back on the road and with only a quick pit stop in Tukwilla to visit Guitar Center (so many guitars, so little time) I was home by 730pm.

So what did I learn?

• Nature makes pretty sunsets
• Deer can read.
• Cheese tastes the best at the cheese factory, but it doesn’t suck when you take it home.
• My childish love of aircraft, particularly vintage WW2 airplanes is undiminished. 
• I have now been inside two of the three blimp hangers on the West Coast Tillamook and Moffett).  Now to head to Tustin in Santa Ana.
• There is so much unspoken military heritage along the coast leftover from WW2.  It is scary how forgotten it is.
•  Coffee with a good friend beats lonely self indulgent contemplation.  You cannot have enough friends.

I also discovered that coming home is good even when no one took the trash out.

And in the end, I got the break I needed.

Final trip report:  success.

LSU

PS:  My daughter loved her earrings….

_{All pictures are the property of Leaning Straight Up and Celtic Wolf Productions.  Please do not distribute without permission.}