Amazing Coastal Scenery, but…
Life lesson #372…or whatever number we are up to now. Sometimes you just gotta pet the whale!!
Forty years ago, give or take a few years, we made a family trip up the west coast. While my memories of the trip centered more around the being a pain in the neck teenager, I did vividly remember how spectacular the coastline is and how much there is to see along the way. So, when the opportunity came up for Gayla and I to drive down the coast from Seattle to San Francisco, count me in. I was also excited to share these amazing places with Gayla!! After plenty of research, I had a list of places to see and classic places to photograph.
While this blog is far more about the lessons learned, I do like to include photography to describe the journey.
The easy part of planning this trip is the route. Follow the Pacific Coast Highway and stop everywhere you can. The challenge is less about finding things to see but deciding which places to skip. There are no bad choices!
One of the places we spent some time was along the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, east of Portland. The south side of the river has dozens of spectacular waterfalls. This could be a trip all in it’s own.
And what could possibly go wrong with an amazing sunset on a Washington beach??
The rock cliffs, trees and how often do you see the lighthouse reflection on a perfectly smooth sandy beach glowing in the setting sun? Does it get any more romantic than this??
Or is this the point where I came to realize the camera is not-so-lovingly referred to as “the mistress”. I think you know where this is going!
This is where I learned the concept, “sometimes you just gotta pet the whale”. Now, I know you are wondering if I have lost my mind…put the shovel down, the hole I have dug is deep enough! 🙂
Before the lynching commences, I must explain this phrase has nothing to do with people or any person but rather a reminder to put the camera down and just enjoy the moment too. I picked the phrase up from a Nat Geo photo instruction video where the teacher described all these people standing around in small boats with cameras glued to their face as the whale swam gently up to the boat! It’s an effective reminder to me to share in the romance too!
Back to the road trip, with a little relational clarification, we came up with a solution…put boundaries on the camera time! Next stop, I had 10 minutes of camera time. It’s all about focus and concentration!!
If I had to do the trip all over again, I would allow more time for the trip or plan less distance to travel in four days. Far too much to see!
Life lesson #373: Have your wife proofread the post before you publish it! All spelling errors corrected now! 😉
Some helpful links to state and national parks:
https://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm
Looking forward to the next road trip!!
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