Yeah, oops. I didn’t meant to let so much time pass before doing a post. It just sort of happened. Sorry. Christmas came and went. We did our very best to see some friends, and we feel badly that we didn’t see everyone! Ah COVID…how we would like to see less of you! We did get to spend some time getting to know our new granddaughter😁 That was very, very good. We got over to Ellensburg and to Manson – those were both very good too. Although being in Manson involves buying wine – not a bad thing, just an expensive one! The one awful thing that did happen is that a 60-70 foot tall Hemlock pine located in our younger son’s backyard smashed down onto his house one stormy night in January. We are eternally grateful that all residents of the house emerged relatively unscathed – this includes previously mentioned new granddaughter. The only damage (other than perhaps to the household resident’s nerves) was to the house. With any luck they should be back in their house some time in June…and all tall trees in their yard have been removed! The Daughter has gotten settled in her own place (sucks when no one cleans up after you huh?). Um, what else am I missing?? Probably something super important. Oh well.
All through this time at home we kept watching for other countries to open and be safe enough to travel to. Early in March we began to hear rumblings that Iceland was going to open to vaccinated (we were both fortunate enough to have been vaccinated fairly early on) Americans. Well yippee!!! Iceland is somewhere that I have been very interested in going to but I did not want to deal with the crowds. So the watching and waiting game began. I will confess that we booked our travel on the very day that Iceland announced that it was open. We love home. We love our families. But, geez were we ready to go again. We did not give up our house and everything else so we could be in limbo❕❗
We began by spending a few days in the Pearl District in Portland, OR. We hadn’t been there in a few years, so it seemed like a good opportunity. We also had a few travel purchases to make and the thought of no sales tax was appealing. Our first night in town required dinner at Deschutes Public House! Always a favorite of ours.
After our few days in Portland we drove to Hood River. I would like to add that it was a lovely day when we made that drive…because I FINALLY got to stop at Multnomah Falls!
We spent the next few days getting to spend time with the Husband’s new sister and her family. Hood River is a fun place – definitely recommend!
One of the very fun things we did while there was go to the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum. We could have used another couple of hours in there – that place was so full of interesting planes and cars!
I could do an entire post on that place and have a bazillion photos…but, I’m woefully behind already. Ugh!!
We proceeded to Forest Grove to visit with another of the Husband’s sisters and one of my cousins and where we finally stayed at one of the McMenamins Hotels – The Grand Lodge. Highly recommended experience! Next stop on the tour was Albany to see my sister (I only have one of those. She might have liked it if I could have spread the terrorizing out amongst others, but to my delight I was able to focus on her😂😉😈).We took to calling our journey the Three Sisters (and a cousin) Tour of Oregon (in Oregon there are the Three Sisters Mountains). Very happy to have seen everyone!
After a frantic few days at home we were packed and ready to head out. First came the goodbyes. That is the most difficult part of this plan – the leaving. Deep breath and keep moving.
Our first destination was New Orleans to visit the Grandson who now lives there with his mom. Neither of us had been there before and we were looking forward to seeing it through the eyes of a native. Before I get much into New Orleans itself I must mention the restrooms at the airport. Yes, the restroom. Best restroom view…
We arrived during a pretty significant storm, so the first few days were quite rainy. We didn’t let that slow us down!
There are so many more photos I could share, but I am so far behind that I’m having to be brief! We absolutely enjoyed our time in Louisiana and look forward to our next visit in the fall. Grandson hugs are pretty awesome🥰
From Louisiana we went to New York – we can now say we have been to all three NY area airports, as we landed at La Guardia. Nope, not the cool, beautiful, new section. We were in the ugly section that helped earned LGA its numerous last place standings on many airport lists. Yeah. Moving on…we made the drive out of New York and across Connecticut to the oldest son’s house – although he was out with his sub. We finally made the time to go to the Mystic Aquarium – which, of course, meant a stop at Sift for lunch. Oh man…Sift. It was too busy for me to take photos, which is really too bad. Their displays are beautiful and the food is incredible.
We had a very calm week in Connecticut – funny how well we’ve gotten to know it there! Our son is being transferred next year though.
After just a few short days it was time to head back to New York. I did discover that there was an REI right along I-95 on our drive back! Yay! Touch of home, plus we had thought of a couple of things we might need for our next stop. Always an excuse to shop. Thanks to Dana (our Google Maps navigator) we managed to find our way to JFK in plenty of time.
Next up…what might be the most beautiful place I’ve ever been – Iceland!