Seeing is Believing

We have arrived in Newport, Oregon!

The drive from Medford was beautiful. We drove through what seemed like endless tree farms. Miles and miles of pine trees of all kinds, shapes and colors lined the road on both sides. They reminded me of an honor guard welcoming home the weary travelers. They climbed up the mountains that surrounded us and traveled farther than the eye could see, some reached clear up to the heavens, and some leaned down to the earth. I saw majestic pines, skinny pines, pole pines, and even pine trees that looked like an artificial Christmas tree fresh from its box and in need of shaping.

We passed several fields that had bales of hay stacked in nice boxes, and one field where the rancher had used the bales to create abstract art. Then we passed the field where the hay had been put into rolls, and I could not resist. I burst into song, “Roll, roll, roll in the hay”, with the most wretched accent. Terri Garr would have poked me. Hehehe

For those of you who might have missed the movie, check out “Young Frankenstein” someday. Hahaha

We passed waves of wildflowers. I recognized the purple Lupine, and yellow mustard, but the prettiest wildflowers remain unknown to me—small white flowers with a sage green leaf. They covered many of the meadow areas we drove past.

Finally we reached the junction for Hwy. 20 and headed toward Corvallis. Once there we wound through and out of the town without any problems and pulled into a Shell station. Problem here—they were out of the gas we needed. hehehe So back to Corvallis we went. After winding around through the endless “one-way the other-way streets”, we pulled into a gas station with gas in their tanks and we filled our tank. The young man who did the honors (gee it’s nice to not have to pump the gas!) recommended a restaurant just 2 blocks away. So off we went, but we got stuck in a one-way turn that went the wrong way. Up 4 blocks we drove, and then over 3, and back down to 2nd street where we stumbled upon Michael’s Landing, a charming restaurant located in an old train depot. We enjoyed a lovely early dinner. I had fresh salmon and Mr. Retired enjoyed a chicken dish. If you are ever in Corvallis, do stop for a meal—you’ll be glad you did.

Once dinner was over, we headed back to Hwy. 20 and aimed our car westward toward the ocean. We drove through mountains, trees, valleys, around curves, and suddenly there it was in front of us—the Pacific Ocean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had arrived.

We headed to our hotel, checked in, unpacked and grabbed the maps and went sight-seeing, house looking and neighborhood checking. Well, dear reader, this is where I say “Seeing is Believing”.

Sometimes you imagine something and when you actually see it, it is everything you thought it would be, sometimes it is more than you imagined, and sometimes it is nothing at all like you imagined. That’s the case for us. Newport appears to be a lovely town, but it sure isn’t what we imagined or had in mind. Fortunately, there are plenty of towns around here, and our Realtor is ready to show us loads of homes in all the towns, plus take us “touring” so we can see with our own eyes all there is to see.

Will we settle in Newport? That remains to be seen. What we do know is that we plan on settling on the coast of Oregon, and when we find the right town and the right house we will know it, for ... “Seeing is Believing”.

Personal Note:
This evening Mr. Retired and I talked about our impressions of Newport. Then he asked me how I would share this in my blog. I told him that all day my mind had been thinking of 1 John 1:1-4:

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

So today I’ve shared that which I have seen (and believed) with my eyes, in the hopes that it brought you some joy. My prayer is that you might also believe and know the joy of fellowship with Jesus Christ.