Finding History, Family and (maybe) The Beach

Yaquina Light House
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Today is the day we got to see Donielle, Tim, Matthew and Nicholas. The boys, of course, got along like old buddies - Sam being the "old gent" in this group. It was wonderful to see Donielle again. My only regret is that our visit was so short. I kick myself, kick myself, KICK myself that I didn't get more or better pictures. Tim: those photos you promised me better be in my mailbox when I get home. And please send me a decent snap of the whole family via email so I can show you off.

View from the top of the lighthouse
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Earlier that day, we found ourselves in McMinnville, Oregon at the Evergreeen Aviation Museum, the home of the Spruce Goose. I'd never seen the plane before, so thought it would be fun. Did you know the plane was really a flying boat? And that it was made primarily of birch, not spruce?  Sam really enjoyed himself. All the planes, helicopters and even old army jeeps. They had flight simulators for kids. Lots of things to see and do. There was a extremely detailed model of both the plane and the warehouse where it was built. This model was used in making the movie "The Aviator" and depicted the construction of the plane. And the town of McMinnville was really delightful. We all agreed that Oregon is a very pretty, very appealing state.

I kick myself, kick myself, KICK myself

Yaquina lighthouse fresnel lens
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The next day we headed down Hwy 101, pulling over to see the beautiful Oregon coast. One place we stopped was the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, lighthouses every 40 to 50 miles dotted the coast from Canada to California. Being a lighthouse keeper was a very serious occupation. It must have been a lonely job, even with a family. There was a family for a time at Yaquina Head and it was fun to see the pictures of the kids and imagine the daily life on the rugged coastline.

Heceta Head Lighthouse
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Busy couple of days. Back on the road heading south. More soon. Much love to all, pdb

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