Oh, the Places You'll Go

I live vicariously through people who make it a priority to travel. I love seeing photos and hearing about their adventures, even if they don’t wander far from home but have found a way to escape from their everyday life to places they love. Some people I know have been all over the world and when I talk to them, I can tell they are adventurous and traveling about and seeing new things really lights them up. Lots of people write travel blogs and I enjoy reading them and seeing their photographic captures of how they make the travel life work. This is not that.

Growing up we didn’t travel a lot because we lived on a working cattle ranch and getting time away wasn’t easy. But we did take a few special trips and they were always memorable. How in the world we ever packed five of us into a normal four-door car with all our luggage to spend a week away is beyond me now. One year we drove from Montana to Alaska over the Alcan highway. Much of it was a two lane dirt road and we spent what seemed like endless long days driving through Canada till we finally reached Anchorage. Again, I think about three girls crammed in the back seat of a car for numerous days and very few bathroom stops. But somehow that trip was still magical.

I could easily list off lots of places I would love to see and we might even make some of them happen. But there are a couple of special places that we always return to because of how they make us feel when we are there. Part of it may be the people we go with and the treasures we find, but mostly it’s just that they leave us in awe of nature and beauty and give us a feeling of rest and peace. I love going and doing and seeing new things, but the best vacations for me are those where I have time to relax and breathe. 

The Oregon Coast is almost like our home away from home. I left the mountains of Montana to attend university in Eugene, which is not far from the ocean. I met my husband there. When we got married, we honeymooned there. We took nearly annual trips to Cape Meares where friends gave us access to their beach house. Our kids experienced running along the waves, playing in tide pools, searching for shells and agates, and even body surfing in the freezing water. The Pacific Ocean is one of incredible power and beauty. The vistas are awe-inspiring. We still return often and never get tired of walking the beaches and lying in our camper at night listening to the sound of crashing waves. We’re still on the search for the world’s best clam chowder, but Rogue Brewery has the best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten. As soon as we come home from spending time on the Coast, we can’t wait to go back. 

Maui, Hawaii has become our other go-to happy place. It’s still the Pacific Ocean, but calm, warm waters, beaches with sand like sugar, palm trees, balmy breezes and amazing sunsets.  Friends invited us to visit there many years ago and we fell in love with staying right on the beach where we could soak up the sun and jump in the water and walk along the sand with gentle waves cooling our feet. We have watched the sun rise on a dormant volcano, splashed in waterfalls, hiked around lava rock black sand beaches, gotten up close with humpback whales and spinner dolphins, done early morning and sunset cruises. We’ve shared special trips with family and friends and have scrapbooks of memories. Thanks to recent travel restrictions and price increases, it’s been too long since we’ve been there. But soon. 

Where do you always want to return to? We’re chomping at the bit (horse term) to get back to Alberta and British Columbia, check out the Grand Canyon, and tour the northeast states to see the spectacular fall colors. But I have a feeling we will always return to Pacific City, Oregon and Kihei, Maui. We’ve left a little piece of ourselves there that we need to revisit.