Matt and Mary Louise visited

We recently were visited by Matt and Mary Louise.  We love them both!

We spent much of the day exploring parts of our region to the north starting with the bridge that connects Oregon to Washington state pictured to the right.  We wanted to try a seafood restaurant which specializes in exotic foods and it was a real treat.




We began our trip by visiting Fort Stevens State Park which features on old shipwreck...the Peter Ireland.  It was blown off course when the captain was trying to get the crew to make it to port early when the ship was not loaded.  It ran aground at the ocean.

This is what it looks like today. Most of the ship has been cut up for salvage, but they left the bow for tourists to view.


While we were at Fort Stevens state park, Matt and Mary Louise went exploring next to the Columbia River.  For those of you who haven't seen, this Columbia River is very wide at this point and the view is fantastic.  It gives the appearance of looking into the ocean, but it is still the river.



We encountered these blue berries while were we touring the nature preserve at the state park.

From there, we visited the Lewis and Clark National Park and saw the recreation of Fort Clapsop where Lewis and Clark wintered during the four months.  President Jefferson had sent them on a mission in 1804 to discover "the west".  It took them two years. They traveled with an Native American woman and her French Canadian husband (and child!).  They crossed the Rocky Mountains and discovered the Columbia River gorge.  The group of 33 travelers lost only one man despite several encounters with Native Americans, but it turns out that already had experience with bartering from their exposure to ship captains from the coast.



This is what the fort looked like inside.  They had ample supplies of fresh water (there is a nearby river).  Sacajawea and her husband and child had their own quarters.  Meantime, about 10 miles down the road, three men set up a 24/7 system for producing salt which used five kettles to boil down the salt from the ocean.  They did this on the beach.

This is an example of the boats Lewis and Clark and their expeditionary group would have used.


From there, we ate lunch and returned home!

Shanghaied in Astoria

We saw a very funny musical last night in nearby Astoria.  It is called "Shanghaied in Astoria" and features a young (and not so young) cast with a lot of exuberance.  The premise is that a young man (a very sweet and innocent young man) is kidnapped to a local ship in Astoria harbor.  Apparently this actually happened in the days of the sailing ships.  There is an appropriate villain and he is pure evil.
We have heard stories about Fells Point in Baltimore, Maryland where the sailors were kidnapped off the streets (due to their drunken stupor) and were forced to work on various sailing vessels. Apparently, it wasn't very unusual.

The host of the show is a character and they serve lots and lots of popcorn including throwing a lot of it on the stage.  This is the 32nd anniversary of "Shanghaied in Astoria" and who knows how many years it will continue to run?  It was written by T.E. Phillips and "the entire production is performed and created by the Histrionic Citizens of the Lower Columbia River Community."  The host claims it is the longest running show in America.  Not sure about that.  Between the 2nd and 3rd act, they have "Raffle Goddesses", Judith Niland and Ashley Mundel, who raffle off several gift baskets to help support the Astor Street Opry Company.

There's a ton of ads in the program which is part of the fun.  The sponsor is "Music First 94.9 FM  The Bridge".  Not sure what that means, it is sounds nice. Finally, the program note: "Shanghaied in Astoria is probably the only show of its kind in the U.S.  It is the living image of Astoria's cultural heritage (lots of references to the Scandinavians) and its colorful history presented in the theatrical styles of its time....  It has been awarded the decreed "Treasure of the State of Oregon by the Governor's office."

July 4th in Seaside and Gearhart

Seaside, Oregon takes great pride in their civic events.  Gearhart, the sister town immediately to the north, also takes pride in their activities.  That's why it is a big deal when Seaside throws a July 4th celebration.  The Seaside Police started the parade and the Boy Scouts shortly followed.  Then came a bevy of beauties ranging from Miss Clatsop County to Miss Oregon.  They were all there.

There were marching bands and floats of all description.  There was even a character that looked like Sasquatch riding a tricycle.  Some of the more interesting groups were a group of young unicyclists including a couple of young (I mean really young) ladies who were sitting atop some very tall unicycles.  Their fathers helped them to get up, but after that, they were on their own.

There was a theatrical group from Astoria (about 11 miles to the north) who were promoting their current production called "Shanghaied".  Looks like fun and we want to go to it.








Meantime, on the beach, thousands of people had gathered to play volleyball (eight courts!) and some had dragged their propane grills to do their cooking.  There was a separation from the family-friendly no-fireworks zone and the less restriction zone that allowed fireworks.


In the evening, we went to a park in Gearhart and discovered an astonishing amount of fireworks already going on.  These people know how to throw a party.  To the south, we also saw the Seaside fireworks underway.  Next year, we have resolved to go down to the beach to get the full experience.

Scandinavian Festival

It turns out that Astoria has a "midsummer Scandinavian Festival" on the third week of June and Barb and I decided to go.  Barb describes it as the Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees, but without the trees. We want to give you a little taste of it.  The first thing you see is the Scandinavian clothing.  There is a long tradition of Scandinavian people settling in the Pacific Northwest because it is similar to their climate at home.

The event is held at the Clatsop Fairgrounds, about four miles south of Astoria.  There is a large building, similar to the Timonium Cow Palace, but smaller. You can see some of the inside of the building in the picture at the above left.






There are lots of vendors and music is non-stop. Here is Barb selecting which wine cork she wants to purchase.  One of the craftsmen is a specialist in "turning" various types of wood on his spindle.




This is one of the many food outlets at Festival. It was a direct steal from IKEA!  Meatballs, potatoes, red cabbage, and I had lingenberry jam.  Oh, so good.






A huge part of the festival is the music and these guys are really good.  They play multiple instruments, including the accordion, which was a favorite instrument.



Finally, we have to tell you about this Viking boat.  It actually began its life as a US Navy vessel, but over the years it has added a mast, a custom-built trailer, a sail, and various emblems on it's side to show it's Scandinavian roots.  There are multiple carvings that have been added to add to its authenticity. It is going on tour across the United States to sail on various lakes, but it hopes to dip its toes in the Atlantic Ocean.

We moved!

So much has happened since we last blogged, but I will get to "lede" of the story:  we moved to Gearhart, Oregon on the Pacific coast.

We love it here. We moved about two months ago and we have a quiet street that we are living at 1324 Wild Rose Lane.  It is only one block long.  This is the house we selected.  It has three bedrooms, two baths, and a two car garage.  Just the right size for us now.

After spending many years learning about the East Coast, we decided it was time for us to learn about the West Coast and that is what we are doing.  Also, the fact that both of our sons (and their fiances) have moved to the West Coast is a contributing factor! The house has been fully remodeled.

We have already been to one of Rob's musicals: "Little Shop of Horrors".  He has been a great help shuttling us back and forth between Portland and Gearhart and we are really grateful for his service to us.  Vera Alcorn, Rob's fiance, continues with her studies and her music, which we have been privileged to hear on several occasions.

Matt and Mary Louise are coming at the end of July and we are also looking forward to their visit.

The nearby communities of Cannon Beach,  Seaside, and Gearhart are full of surprises because this is where the Lewis and Clark Expedition came out.  This is a picture of the Seaside "salt works" which was constructed over the winter of 1805-06.  It is a reproduction but you can get the gist of it.  They used five buckets to constantly keep the water boiling. There was a fire underneath. They actually stayed at Fort Clatsop ten miles to the north on the coast.

We already have visited the famous Tillamook Cheese factory which is 44 miles south of us and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the lunch that we had.  Grilled cheese sandwiches, of course! Part of the charm of this area is the rugged Pacific coast line, so different from the Atlantic Coast.  While it does have places you can enjoy the beach, a great deal of it is jagged rocks and boulders that stick up out of nowhere.  It was part of the fun to drive those roads.


Finally, we have already visited Ft. Stevens State Park and explored the wreck of the Peter Ireland.  Folks love their RVs up in this part of the country and they drive them everywhere including the state parks.  We aren't ready to make the investment yet...

Bye for now, Ed

Ocean City Labor Day weekend 2015

It has been awhile since I wrote anything in my blog.  It was a combination of things. Partly, I was sad following the death of my mother. Partly, it was the confluence of things to keep me busy.  Time to get back in the saddle again!

It is a recent tradition for Barb and me to travel to Ocean City for the Labor Day weekend and the following week.  It is still warm enough (sometimes even hot!) and we find the water to be delightful. This week was not an exception.



When we arrive Friday afternoon, it is typical that the beach has a few people on it.  I immediately went down and got in the water.  It was calm and warm, but that was about to change.

 Saturday and Sunday were another story.  The surf was very rough and there was a sharp undertow.  Also, the beach had suffered a strong erosion and a steep drop-off.  The beach-goers were staying very close to the shore and, although it was very warm (94 degrees), folks were reticent to get in the water.

But that didn't stop people from going to the beach.  Look at the crowds!   Everyone was trying to soak up the last sun of the summer.  The other thing we noticed was how many teenagers and young people were down at the beach.  Although the schools had already gone back into session, it was a big weekend for Ocean City, Maryland.

By Tuesday, it was a different story.  The beach was nearly deserted.  There were a few young families enjoying themselves, but mostly it was the "geezers" who owned the beaches now. And, of course, that was us!  We stayed until Thursday afternoon when we had another batch of rain (we needed it) and Barb headed to her Epworth Book Club at Bethany Beach and I headed home.  It was another great week at the beach.

Dorothy Graybeal Fishel...died May 7, 2015

Video of Mom's funeral can be seen at https://vimeo.com/127776027.

Our Mom died on May 7, 2015.  She was an extraordinary person. Mom’s story begins on September 30, 1922.

She was born to Cora Wells Graybeal and Glenn Graybeal of Rising Sun and she was raised on a farm in Cecil County, Maryland.

She was preceded by a sister…Vivian…and a brother…Paul.

Later, her birth would be followed by Edward, Ruby, and John. They were an extraordinary family.

Mom was a compassionate, caring soul which led to her chosen career:  nursing. 

She graduated from the Maryland General Hospital School of Nursing in 1944 and married a former elementary school teacher named Edward Merton Fishel on March 14, 1945. Nineteen months later, I came along. 

My parents were living in an upstairs apartment on 33^rd Street near Wyman Park.  Incredibly, I still have memories of those days…particularly a steam engine ride to Wilmington, Delaware to visit her sister, Vivian. When I was born, Dad had already been called into the military where he served in the Phillippines and contracted malaria. He would not return home until after I was born…so Mom raised me by herself.

A few years later, Pegg came along and soon Mom and Dad were building a house in Arbutus with help from my grandfather , Uncle Ed, and Uncle John. I can still remember Uncle Ed helping to put down the oak flooring.

Mom started her nursing career at Maryland General but when they moved to Arbutus, she found a job as a floor nurse St. Agnes Hospital. She was eventually promoted to night supervisor where she patrolled the halls insisting that all nursing care be up to the highest standards.

We heard stories at the viewing that some nurses were scared of her but they knew that she always had their back. Her proud career at St. Agnes spanned more than 30 years.I can still remember her carefully starching and ironing her nursing uniform in our kitchen in Arbutus and then polishing her white nurses’ shoes. She took a nap in the evening after first preparing us dinner. Long after we were in bed, she would head out into the night, returning in time to make us breakfast the next morning. She loved being a nurse!

Dad, meantime, had taken a position with Calvert Fire Insurance Company in which he was a claims adjuster. But the US Army wasn’t done with him yet.  He was re-called to help fight the “Korean Conflict” and Mom was left home to have her third child…Sue…without support from her husband. Somehow, Mom got it all done.

Among the many highlights of our childhood was the annual two week trip to Ocean City to stay at the Seaview Hotel. We made the pilgrimage with six other families and it was “heaven” for us children as we got to play on the beach and ride bikes on the boardwalk. For a few years, our little apartment didn't even have a refrigerator but somehow Mom managed to keep us fed using only a large cooler with a chunk of ice to "refrigerate" perishables.

Eventually, each of us children went away to college and Mom and Dad had the freedom to travel all over the world, even back to the Philippines to find the orphanage that Dad helped establish. 

They spent much of their final years together traveling…taking cruises…and visiting their family and friends. I will never forget our final cruise with Mom and Dad.  We sailed from New York to Nova Scotia in the remnants of a small hurricane. Before Dad died in 2002, Mom devoted herself to making his final days as comfortable as possible.  This was no easy thing!

After Dad’s passing, Mom's final chapter spanned almost exactly 13 years. She moved to Charlestown Retirement Community and embarked on a new set of cruises.  She always enjoyed traveling with someone. Barb and I were privileged to go on a cruise with her and Mary Noble to the Panama Canal.  It was a dream we could only hope for.

It was noted by Mom's first daughter, Pegg Melfa, that a change occurred in Mom when she had her third grandchild.  She never knew her own grandparents because they died too young.  Mom had always been a very serious person; perhaps even a driven person.  But when her grandchildren started to arrive, she seemed to realize that these young people were something to enjoy and cherish and she loved them all.