n

I had a couple of days to kill before heading to my son's at the coast so I decided to ride out near where my grandpa used to live. The old Hockinson store is mostly unchanged from when I was five years old, almost 70 years ago.

As a kid back then if you needed something special, you would have to go to Brush Prairie, or Battle Ground

This is the view of Mt. St. Helens from the south. Last year, Doug and I visited it from the north side which shows the giant crater that was blown out during its eruption.

Heading out to a waterfall that I saw on a road sign and came across this swimming hole complete with swimmers

This is Sunset Falls. Parking spaces come at a premium here on the 4th of July. I found one that some kids were trying to save using their innertubes. I let them know that wasn't allowed and pulled my bike along side the tubes, put my kickstand down and walked away. After making it a few feet away, I turned back to the kids, smiled, told them I just wanted a couple of pics and to yell Lanny when their car arrived. They did, I got my pics, they got their parking spot!

A couple of the pics that I got.

This kid jumped off of those rocks into the water and as soon as he got to the surface he yelled out, "This is COLD!!!"

Why do the forest seem so enchanted when the moss is hanging from the trees like this?

Hmmm, I don't know

Son of a gun, I mentioned Battle Ground earlier and here it is.

It is the 4th of July so I decided to have a traditional hot dog for lunch. So good, and as any chef knows, it's all in the presentation.

On my way to the coast and my sons I know I'm getting close when I see that marine layer. So refreshing to go from high 89's to low 60's

My son and his wife Kristi viewing the video my daughter made of her home in Alaska while in the kitchen of their new home that they are just moving into.

They have to meet with the building contractor, but we are stopping for lunch first.

 

These are a few pictures of the new house that my son and his wife just had built.

My son sketched it all out one evening, showed it to his wife, she liked it and they gave it to an architect that brought it to reality.

They are in the process of moving in now and will hopefully be living in it in a couple of more weeks.

An almost cathedral like living room

You can see the ocean from their bedroom window, but they brought the waves right to their dining room table with this light.

They can watch the neighbors as they soak

There is still the landscaping to do, but the summer has just begun

I like the view of the house from the road.

This will make for some good front porch sitting!

Kristi is getting her flowers ready

They have it set up so they can enjoy it on two different levels

The beach at Oceanside, OR

I had a nice fish sandwich and salad for lunch

My son pointed out to me the tunnel my friend Doug told me about. It leads to, wait for it, .......................Tunnel Beach.