On the Oregon Coast

On May 10th, Dave's mom, Margaret, celebrated her 90th birthday! But since all of us couldn't be in Denver, Colorado on that day, we made plans to meet in June to enjoy honoring mom.

Arriving last night from Colorado, Oregon, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, the four original Patty kids and their spouses, along with mom and dad, came to stay in Newport at the house of friends.

With a lovely view to the Oregon coast out our window, we are here for four days of food, fun and fellowship!

After a leisurely breakfast, and lots of happy conversation and catch-ups with each other, we headed around the point from where we're staying to see the Yaquina Head lighthouse.

If you happen to know us, you know that we can be a funny bunch of people when we're together, never passing up the moment for a good laugh!

Taken at the visitor center, they make it possible for you to dress up in clothes from the time when the lighthouse was in full use. Oh how we laughed at ourselves while taking this photo!

From there, it's a bit of a walk to the lighthouse so we headed out to catch our first glimpse of the coastline.

We were not disappointed!!

I've been coming to the Oregon coast since I was a tiny girl. I've seen it in all types of weather, and while it's beautiful no matter what, it is never more so than when it is this clear, warm, sunny and magnificent. So thankful to the Lord for giving us such a day!

We started having family reunions shortly after Dave and I were married in 1987; but this is the first time that we've had one with only the original kids, spouses and mom and dad. We always loved having our kids with us when they were growing up, but this is super fun too!

Since it was low tide, we wandered down to the tidal pools on the beach.

And enjoyed all the amazing sea life in those pools. Can you believe how creative the Lord was with all those different colors, shapes and sizes of sea life?!!

I didn't want to touch the sea anemone, but Josh convinced me to do it, and I'm glad I did, if even for a second!!

There is truly nothing like the sights, sounds and smells of the Oregon coast.

After lunch back at the house, we headed over to the lighthouse once again in time for our reserved tour time (it's free if you ever want to do it!)

The guide took us "back in time" and gave an excellent tour of various rooms in the lighthouse, and then had us follow him all the way up 93 feet, all 114 winding iron-cast stair steps!

At the top, you can climb a few more steps and look into the lighthouse that is still in use today!

The light at Yaquina Head has burned through its Paris-made Fresnal lens for 145 years, since 1873!

That lighthouse has, no doubt, saved many a ship from crashing on these rocks for years.

In all my years of coming to Newport, I'd never been here so it was fun to experience this with my Patty family!

Speaking of Patty family, this is dad with his kids!

Mom was back at the house so we'll have to get another picture of her and dad with their kids.

But here we all are later in the day in Depoe Bay!

Known as a whale watching town, our patience was rewarded by a couple of them showing off for the crowds!

I found out that approximately 20,000 whales migrate southward past Depoe Bay from mid December to the end of January each year. And there are approximately 2500 unique whale individuals observed from the Depoe Bay center each year. According to shopkeepers, there are two that live permanently around the bay and we saw them!

Heading back down to Newport, we took the old road along the coast, giving us some great scenic views.

And great picture taking opportunities for a son with his mom!

The day continued to be spectacularly beautiful as we meandered our way back to the house.

Of course a meander wouldn't be complete without a little sign reading along the way! Dave has done this all the years I've known him, wherever we are. Now I know that he comes by this skill honestly!

Back home we enjoyed a yummy Thai take-out meal and time around the table - a good Patty family tradition.

And then hurried out to the end of the lane, through the bushes and out to the edge of the cliff for a spectacular evening sunset!

There are not enough different ways in our vocabularly of saying "Wow" to express how gorgeous it was to sit there and watch God paint the sky!

A neighbor, out for a walk with his dog, kindly snapped that shot of us as the sun was setting on the day.

And this one? This may be my favorite photo of the day!

So thankful to be here with our Patty family for these days of enjoying each other and celebrating mom!