Home from Rockaway

We returned home from Rockaway Beach this evening after a productive stay at the cabin and a trip to the valley to celebrate the life of my aunt.

With lots to do here at home in the coming days, I am going to post a bunch of photos I have just edited, with a bit of commentary, and cover the whole four days.

We went to the cabin to complete some projects that we had agreed on at our cabin meeting in October. It was a good thing that they were indoor projects, since we had to weather a series of storms, including gale force winds and heavy rain squalls. And yet, it seemed to settle down just in time for me to capture three lovely sunsets on the beach.

We spent the first day getting to the cabin, with stops to pick up project materials along the way. Wednesday morning we went shopping for the rest of what we needed, and in the afternoon, after a very stormy night and morning, I was able to get out on the beach while Tom began to get going on construction. 

The sun shone in and around the next storm clouds and lit up the rain around the edges. 

Is the pot of gold in our cabin?

 Nope. But maybe there are two pots somewhere. 

When a second toilet room was added last summer, we needed to add a hand washing sink nearby, but it had to be small. We found one, ordered it, and then had to engineer how to install it here. 

Here's how that turned out.

The first sun set.

We had to make another trip to the builders supply store the next morning, so we stopped at the Tillamook Bay jetty for a few minutes. There was an eagle sitting on the jetty, something we had never seen before.

While the sink was a longer project, waiting for the Verathane to dry, Tom got other projects done quickly: installing a new wall heater and adding grab bars in the bathrooms. While he worked on those I found places to clean and sort. 

Thursday's sunset was again wonderful.

Since we had to pass right by it and it was open on our way to the builder's supply in Tillamook, we just had to stop at the Bayfront Bakery in Garibaldi - both times. 

 Friday, with most of the work done, we took more time to play, spending time in antique stores in Wheeler.

As you can see, it was a lovely day.

After lunch at the cabin, we got ice cream in Rockaway Beach.

Friday's sunset was less dramatic without storm clouds, but still lovely.

Saturday we cleaned up, packed up, and drove over the coast range and into the Willamette Valley, where in the early afternoon we arrived at the little country church where my mother's family, my Hofstetter ancestors, were prominent pioneers in Clarkes, in the eastern foothills of the valley. This is also the church my Aunt Alma attended later in her life, coming home to her roots. It was here that we gathered to commemorate her life. 

 There was Mount Hood peeking up over the eastern horizon, gleaming in a fresh coat of snow. 

 We had a wonderful celebration of her life,

 and a wonderful gathering of family and friends. Here I am with my siblings and Hofstetter cousins.  Of this generation, only two were not here. Since we are spread from Montana to Oregon and Washington to California, that is a rare happening. My mother and my aunt would have loved it.