Road Trip! Part 2

We love our homes, don’t we?  It’s a comfortable place to be; a place where we are familiar.  When we do make trip somewhere, it is common to come back from being away and say, “It was great to get away, but there’s no place like home!”  But…it comes down to the fact that, we NEED to get away sometimes.  Why?  When we are at home, there is always something to do.  There are dishes to wash, and laundry to do, cleaning the house, the yard work that never ends, kids to keep an eye on, or repairs that need to be made.  It can be never-ending and so we don’t always get the chance to kick back and REALLY relax.  I have found for me, that getting away is a time of total refreshment because I don’t have to do all the things I would at home.  In fact, I don’t even have to think about all of that when I am gone.  Yes!!!  I’m free to enjoy what is around me.  With that in mind, I wanted to continue my story about the Road Trip in Part 2.  Here we are going up the hill again from Diablo Dam.

We get back up to the top and drive further to the top of the pass.  The mountain ranges in this area are absolutely fantastic and we stopped to get some shots of those mountains and waterfalls.

 

 

I felt the urge to leave my mark in the snow that was there.   

Love this beautiful water falls above and then the one below.  So fun to see so many of them!  It solidified my desire to have a waterfall in my back yard.

We were able to experience the waterfalls of all sizes and pussy willows that were out, as well as, wild dogwood too in the pictures below.

The photo below reminded me of waves in the snowy mountains.  But it’s amazing what the eye sees and the camera can’t quite catch.  But it looked like waves of snow as it stretched along the mountain side.  The mountain below was so interesting too with its side swiped ridges in it.  It had kind of like wind-swept lines in the rock.  The colors were quite vibrant also.  It was very striking.

Isn’t that just the most beautiful mountain range against the blue sky?  It was amazing!  You can also see what elevation we were at during these shots.  There was a lot to look at!

Amazing to stand in one place and see so much beauty!

Looking at these mountains and the winding roads, it just makes me think about our perspective on our lives.  From the top, we can see where the road leads us, however, while we are in the bends of our life, we can’t see anything but steep mountains around us.  We can find beauty in the valleys and eventually as we climb our way to the top of the those mountains in our lives, we can see things a bit more clearly.  That’s what these trips are about for us; getting away to let God lead us and give us direction.  When we give ourselves a chance for quiet, we can hear His voice.  This photo is a great illustration of that.  The photo below is looking the other direction.

We got back in the car and enjoyed a little snack as we looked around at beautiful scenery and views that are free for the looking.  What a view we had for lunch!  Anxious to see what was around the next corner for my camera lens to see, we took off down the mountain.  We are pretty excited now because we know our next stop is Winthrop, Washington.  I haven’t been there since I was a young adult and my sweetheart has never been there.  So we anticipate the miles between the mountain and Winthrop.  As Winthrop comes in to sight, we decide we are going to park and walk the town.  Now if you

know Winthrop, it isn’t that big, but there are so many fun shops to walk through and the one place you HAVE to go first, is the ice cream, candy and bakery shop.  It is right on the corner at the stop sign when you drive in to town and it will be on your right side.  We parked the car and headed straight for something cold; well, at least I got cold; Terry got coffee.  

This little shop had all kinds of treasures in it.  I walked by the chocolate, and I will have you know, I didn’t even buy any!  It was so fun!   Out on the porch you will find a couple little side shops that serve ice cream, and the other hot dogs and coffee or Italian sodas.  Ah…Raspberry Italian soda was my choice.  It tasted so good on a warm day.

I took the picture of the candy jar because I knew my grandson would love to see it.  First thing he said when he saw the photos was, “I want to buy that jar of candy!”  So, we wandered around the shop and then pulled up a seat to finish our coffee and Italian soda.  What do you think of these seats?  Getty up!!

The street you see above is the corner where you drive into Winthrop from the pass.  We sat for quite a while people watching and picked up a couple of brochures and had fun walking downtown!

Walked down the street a piece and found this delightful building!!  I would bank with them just so I could tell everyone this building was where I banked!  Love it!!

As we walked down the street on the other side, we saw a glass shop where you could watch him design his glass ware items, and then further down found this gas station and shop.  So fun!!!  Reminds me of places we would shop when I was a child.

We explored inside almost all of the shops but we soon were ready to give our legs a break.  We scouted out the map and my phone to find out where our little cottage room was for our night’s stay.  It sounded delightful and I was ready to settle in for the night.  So… I will leave you here in Winthrop as we go find our resting spot.

It really is such a wonderful experience to explore and go to new places; much more fun than sitting at home and wishing we did something like this!  I was glad to be able to share some of the trip by my phone with Facebook, but getting away from those things are also healthy and good for us too.  Time to communicate with each other, relax from responsibilities, make memories, seek new places and dream a little.  As Terry and I walked around town holding hands and enjoying the sights together, we were once again reminded that life is short and we need to do things we talk about.  Make it a priority in our lives and follow through.  Give up something, don’t buy something, whatever it takes to make these times possible.  You won’t regret a minute of it or the sacrifices it takes to do them.  If you have children, they will have so many great memories.  It doesn’t have to be a big trip that costs you tons of money.  It’s the being together and giving each other the attention you need.  What’s keeping you from your next little trip?

I’m headed for the room!  Thank you for walking the journey with ME this time!  See you in Part 3!!