Staying Close to Home

                                            Central Oregon Coast Near Florence




On Monday I was talking to a new friend. We met in the coffee shop I attend almost every day. I was introduced by a friend of both of us a few weeks ago.

Anyway he started talking about his trip to Florence, Oregon last week. I am not sure if I have ever been there however it is on the Oregon coast. His name is Tom and he used to live in Oregon before moving to Gig Harbor about three years ago. He is remarried after losing his wife a few years ago.

We not only talked about Florence, Oregon and the area around it however he mentioned that he had told his wife that it is important to travel around this area. She wanted to travel to other parts of the world and he told her there are a lot of places in the United States to see including Washington and Oregon. I told him that I agreed with him.

 I have lived here in Washington all my life however there are some places that I haven’t seen before here either along with Oregon. There are some places that I haven’t seen for a while either. Both Washington and Oregon have beautiful coasts to spend time at. Spending short trips around the area is nice and less expensive than going to other countries along with the rest of the USA.

I told Tom that is good to go on long trips outside the USA but they would have to be special occasions. A lot depends how much time you have and what you can afford. Wherever you live I recommend short trips and then save money for the large trips.

A couple that have been friends of my mother for some time are planning one of those special trips in June taking a cruise to the Baltic. That sounds exciting however I am sure expensive as well.

My pastor and his wife are planning go to South Africa in September along with their three sons. This is a once in a life time type of trip for sure since the plane tickets themselves will be around ten thousand dollars. The reason they are going is that he is originally from South Africa and his parents who still live there haven’t ever met their grandchildren and without them going won’t ever meet the grandchildren. I remember meeting them several years ago however that was before pastor and his wife had the three boys and his parents are old where they can’t travel long distance any longer so the pastor and family have to go instead.

There are so many lovely places to visit around the world however seeing the sites in the local area is cheaper and can be as rewarding as well. Here in Washington I can go places that can be done on one day or over the weekend. It is good if you have friends or relatives living where you plan to go help keep down the cost. Of course invite them to visit you as well.

My sister will be coming for a visit this summer so likely we will visit my cousin Jennifer and her husband Holt in Astoria, Oregon. They moved their last year when Holt retired. Jennifer is still working however she can out of their home. I have an old classmate who lives in Long Beach, Washington which is real close to Astoria so I hope to meet with him and his wife as well. I am sure this will be the beginning of several trips down that way. It helps when you have a relative in the area. Have great travel wherever you go close or far.