If you have followed my blog for very long, you know that fall, or more delicately called autumn, is my favorite season. I want to indulge my senses with the textures, aromas, foods and colors that feed my soul during this time of year. One of our favorite fall traditions is going to Green Bluff. Green Bluff is a community of farmers that cooperate and share their efforts to promote sustainable farming. There are approximately 30 member farms that are all owned and operated independently. These are their personal homes, but they open their farms to the public for you-picks and festivities throughout the year. Each has a unique offering of produce, food, gifts and things to do. A couple weeks ago, on a perfect sunny fall day, we jumped in the convertible and drove to Green Bluff to spend a leisurely afternoon.
Below is a map of the farms and produce stands at Green Bluff.
There is an abundance of fresh produce, with apples and pumpkins taking center stage.
First on the list was picking a few apples, just for the experience of it. We have access to my dad’s apple tree too, but you simply have to pick a few apples while you are there. Mr. U was happy because the plums were also ripe, so we got a few of those as well. We don’t typically buy any of their pumpkins, gourds or vegetables because Mr. U grows them in his garden, but it is still delightful to look at them. Of course I HAVE to have the fresh pumpkin doughnuts. I look forward to them all year long. Sorry, I did not get a picture of them because, well… you know. They had to be eaten quickly while they were still warm.
Each farm has its own unique flair.
Towards the end of the afternoon, the sun was getting low, and we were parched. Time for our final destination at Green Bluff… the Big Barn Brewery. It is a delightful little brewery with a low-key, relaxed vibe. They have a large yard where you can pull up a chair and listen to music while you sip their beer that is brewed on site.
Thanks for joining me on a beautiful autumn afternoon. Be sure to take the time to indulge in fall y’all! It is coming to an end all too quickly.
We try not to travel much in the summer for two reasons. First, everyone is traveling, so places are crowed. Secondly, we live in a beautiful area during the summer, and I want to stay home and enjoy it. Heck, people travel to be here in the summer months. But now, Labor Day is over, the kids are back in school, and it is the off season for many travel destinations. Sounds like the perfect time for two retirees to pack up their bags for a little mini vacation. (Mini means not too far away.) Oddly enough, we have never spent any time in Colorado, even though it is a short two-hour flight from our home. We have dropped down in Denver briefly many times, or spent a few nights there at conferences, but that is about it. We have never explored the Rocky Mountains. It was time for a little “Rocky Mountain High.” Warning: proceed with caution – photo bomb ahead.
As I mentioned in my previous post, it has been a busy summer, which seems to be continuing into the fall. Thus, we could only carve out four nights to be away. We dropped down in Denver early in the morning and jumped into our rental car. The first stop was Golden, Colorado. I did not even know it existed, but what a charming little town. It’s claim to fame is that Adolph Coors opened the first Coors brewery there. It is still a thriving brewery, so we had to stop in to see it and do a little test tasting. The town of Golden also has a festive main street with Clear Creek running through it.
We enjoyed the paved walking path along Clear Creek in Golden, Colorado.
If we had time, I definitely would have rented a tube and joined the float down the river (above). But we had reservations that night in Breckenridge, Colorado, so we headed over the (11,000 feet) pass to Breckenridge. What a lovely town tucked up in the Colorado Mountains with Breckenridge and Copper Mountain ski resorts close by. We found the rest we craved in this lovely town tucked in the Rocky Mountains. We stayed at the Lodge at Breckenridge for two nights. It is an older lodge, so the bathrooms were small, but it maintained the cozy wood beam, mountain lodge look and the views were amazing. Bonus that a hot breakfast and free parking were included.
The Lodge at Breckenridge sits up on the mountain with beautiful views.
Now this is my idea of having morning coffee (left). We had an amazing view of Breckenridge Ski Resort from our deck (right).
Breckenridge was probably our favorite town. It had a charming main street with lots of restaurants, shops and pubs. We stopped to visit the iconic troll – what a work of art! My grands would have loved this character.
My grands would have loved this troll in the woods.
We underestimated the change in altitude. After dinner that evening, we returned to our car, which was parked a couple blocks up hill, and we were both out of breath. It felt like COVID all over again. I know that I have not exercised as much as usual this summer, but it shocked me, until we realized that it was from the “thin air.”
To go even higher, the next day we traveled across Independence Pass (elevation 12,095 feet). I am not a fan of heights, so the drive was a little unnerving, to say the least. But the views! Amazing to see the Continental Divide from that vantage point. We are such small specs in the universe.
It was windy and chilly (not shorts weather) up over 12,000 feet overlooking the continental divide.
We headed over the pass for a short stop in Aspen, Colorado. Not impressed. The downtown was full of VERY expensive name brand shops and there wasn’t really a fun, downtown area otherwise. We walked around for about an hour and then headed to Vail, Colorado for the night. We expected Vail to be what Aspen was, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a Bavarian themed village with brick walks winding through it. We were fortunate to hit the last night of Oktoberfest, so we enjoyed a German beer and listened to the Polkanauts play. They describe their band as, “bringing Poka fear and destruction to the masses!” They play metal, rock, punk and surf songs with a decided polka twist. So different and fun to listen to. Afterwards, we meandered down the brick streets to Alpenrose for a German meal of sausage, a pretzel and fondue.
The Polkanauts (left). All of the streets, shops and restaurants had either a ski or Bavarian theme. Mr. U eating dinner at Alpenrose (left). Same restaurant with a night view (right). Vail had beautiful flowers and mood lighting everywhere. We enjoyed a soak in the hot tub at our hotel after a full day of sightseeing (right).
While Vail was overpriced, as expected (you pay about 1/3 more for everything,) it was worth it for the night. We stayed at Tivoli Lodge in Vail Village, so we were able to walk everywhere, although they have free bus/shuttle services available too. Our hotel provided a complimentary bottle of wine on arrival, and we took advantage of the hot tub before bed that night. They also had e-bikes to use, so we took a bike ride the next morning before checking out. Both of us had a little “holier-than-thou” attitude toward e-bikes, but I have to admit that we really enjoyed using them. Something we may consider… in the future. There was a lovely, paved bike/walking path along the river. What a great way to start the day, but we were excited to jump in the car and head through Rocky Mountain National Park.
Wow! The views in the park were amazing. I could hear John Denver quietly singing in my ear, “rocky mountain high.” We came across several herds of elk. Just for the record, a male elk with those big horns is a bull and not a buck. Won’t make that mistake again.
The elk in the park were undisturbed by the gawking humans.
There were quite a few glaciers near the summit in Rocky Mountain National Park.
We spent our final night in Estes Park and enjoyed a delicious, abundant BBQ dinner at Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ. The price was a welcome respite after Aspen and Vail.
Delicious BBQ dinner (no greens on this platter). Almost ran into this guy (literally) on our way home from dinner (right). Apparently, these are the street gangs that roam at night in Estes Park.
After our night in Estes Park we headed back through Boulder towards Denver to catch an evening flight home. It was a delightful mini get-a-way that gave me a new appreciation for the song “Rocky Mountain High.” Who needs mood altering drugs when you can get high on nature?
Guess who turned 97 years old last month? No, not me, but my dad did. Ever since my mom passed away two years ago, my sister, BIL, Mr. U and I take my dad on a trip for his birthday. Last year we celebrated his birthday by Heading to the Hills with him. The year before that we took him to the Oregon coast to fly kites on the beach. As part of his birthday gift this year, we took him on a trip to Hood River, Oregon. And being retired, we were able to do it during the week when it is not so crowded. Fair warning – this post has waaaay too many pictures.
Celebrating my dad’s 95th birthday at the Oregon Coast two years ago. It was his desire to fly kites on the beach.
Hood River is a small, eclectic city nestled in the Columbia River Gorge. It is home to lush vegetation, fishing, hiking trails and beautiful wineries. Hood River is also considered the wind surfing capital of the world. The wind pushes through the gorge creating perfect conditions for kite surfing. We propped our chairs up and observed the talented surfers, adorned in wet suits and helmets, do jumps and flips off of the chilly river waves.
Watching the kite surfers prep their gear (left) before taking off (right).
Between the river and the high winds, the area has excellent conditions for energy sources. There are numerous dams along the Columbia River and the high winds that run through the gorge are harnessed into energy through wind turbines. There are over 600 wind turbines throughout the gorge. While these wind turbines look like small windmills from a distance, they are actually quite massive in size. According to the office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy the average wingspan of one turbine is about 430 feet (longer than a football field) and stands over 400 feet tall.
Some of the massive wind turbines along the gorge.
We’ve stayed at two different places when we have been to Hood River. Both overlook the Columbia River but have two totally different vibes. Our first trip we stayed at the Historic Columbia Gorge Hotel & Spa. It was built in the early 1900’s and has maintained the historic appearance. While lovely, I felt like the rooms were a little austere and the windows were small that overlook the river. The last couple of times we stayed at the Westcliff Lodge. As the name indicates, it has a little more causal lodge feel. I would definitely recommend getting a river view room with a balcony so that you can sit outside and enjoy the views. They even have glamping tents for the hardier travelers. Both places have beautiful grounds. Western Oregon gets quite a bit of rain, which makes for gorgeous flowers, ferns and vegetation. Rhododendrons flourish in these weather conditions.
These are some of the flowers on the grounds at Westcliff Lodge. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the Lodge itself. (Me, who is accused of taking way too many pictures. Go figure.)This is the Columbia Gorge Hotel and some of their gorgeous grounds. (At least I did take pics of that when we were there.)
My dad loves nature and being outdoors, but at 97 he is not able to get out and walk far, so, we decided to take the Waterfall Trolley tour to do a little site seeing. The open-air trolley traverses along the historic Columbia River Highway, where you experience the lush vegetation and waterfalls, the most well-known being Multnomah Falls. We used to live in Portland and traveled past Multnomah Falls many times on our way to see family in Idaho. We would frequently stop to admire this amazing waterfall. One time, when we were much younger, we hiked up to the base of the waterfall and carefully worked our way over slippery rocks to stand under the ledge that the water drops off of. It was loud and you get soaked from all of the water spraying as it hit the rocks, cascading just past our noses. It certainly gives you a good perspective of the force of the water falling. A great experience… once.
You catch this cute trolley in Corbett, Oregon (left). One of the stops was Horsetail Falls (right). You can see how it got the name.
Beautiful Multnomah Falls.
We ended day two with a stop at Maryhill Winery. This family-owned winery sits on a hill overlooking the gorge. You can relax and enjoy the view while sipping wine in their outdoor tasting room. Notice how the lush greenery changes to dry, sage brush covered hills in the picture below. Hood River is nestled on the western side of the Columbia River Gorge, in the rain shadow of the Cascade mountains. Thus, it gets a lot of rain, while it is much drier as you travel just 30 miles east toward The Dalles.
Maryhill Winery
I am sure that Lewis & Clark were quite surprised (or maybe discouraged) to see Mount Hood rise in the distance as they traveled west through the Columbia River Gorge. Mount Hood is the tallest peak in Oregon. The weather was gorgeous for our trip, so we were able to get a breathtaking view of Mount Hood in the distance.
Mount Hood stands crisp against the blue, almost cloudless, sky.
My dad has been a wonderful father, as well as a very successful entrepreneur. He is an example of how to live a life of wisdom, faith, hard work and integrity to all of his kids, grandkids and even great grands. We have been blessed by this great man our entire lives, so it was such a gift to be able to take this trip with him to celebrate his 97th birthday. We do not take it for granted.
“The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you don’t celebrate those, they can pass you by.”
Did you know that April is national humor month? I guess it makes sense since the month starts with April Fool’s Day. Humor improves our overall well-being and enriches our lives. Yet, as we get older, we laugh less. We take ourselves too seriously. According to Psychology today, the average 4-year-old laughs 300 times a day, while the average 40-year-old only laughs 4 times a day. I wonder how often the average 64-year-old laughs a day? Not enough.
I think that most of us want to laugh more. I want to observe the funny side of life, because it is there…. buried under the responsibilities, commitments, worries and hardships of life. It is still there. Humor is healing. When people are grieving, they need moments of laughter to keep their world from crashing in.
For a large portion of my career, I worked as a nurse in an emergency department. You see some of life’s deepest heartbreak within those walls. You have to learn how to hold the hand of someone that is experiencing life’s worse nightmare and yet, not take it home with you. It is not your nightmare to carry. One way healthcare workers learn to cope is through laughter. Because, honestly, you see a lot of humorous stuff walk through those doors too. So, we learn to balance the pain with humor. Isn’t that the same as life in general? We need to balance the pain with humor. But if we don’t laugh enough, that balance gets tipped in the wrong direction.
Laughter is good for your health
The literature has identified numerous health benefits to laughter. Psychology Today claimed laughter and a sense of humor as one of the top 24 main signature strengths a person can possess. Research suggests that laughter has the potential to:
Improve your immune system. Positive thoughts release neuropeptides that help fight stress and illness. It is like laughter is the dimmer switch that you can turn up to increase the immune system response.
Relieve pain. When you laugh, your body releases endorphins, which help relieve pain and create a natural sense of well-being.
Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can help people cope with difficult situations. Since laughter is often shared, it also has the benefit of connection to others. The University of California, Berkeley did a study of long-term couples and discovered laughter to be one of the universal aspects that held their relationships together for so long.
Decrease stress. Laughter reduces cortisol, the hormone associated with stress and anxiety.
Improve cardiovascular health. Laughter increases blood flow and oxygen intake, both of which benefit your cardiovascular system.
Improve your mood. Laughter can help decrease stress, depression and anxiety and make you feel happier. When you laugh, your body releases serotonin (a natural antidepressant) and dopamine (the neurotransmitter that helps us feel pleasure).
“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.”
Lord Byron
How to laugh more
Just hang out with kids for a little while if you need a good laugh. They are the experts on this, obviously, since they laugh over 300 times a day. They approach life from a lighter side, and you never know what is going to come out of their mouths. When our boys were small and we were on a car trip, we passed a beautiful snowcapped mountain rising up to the sun. One of the boys, excited to share his knowledge with us, stammered, “I know what that mountain is. It is, it is, it’s… Mount 7-Up!” He was on the right track. It was Mount Shasta. Smile. If you are a boomer, you probably remember Art Linkletter’s show, Kids Say the Darndest Things. If you need to laugh, go watch a few reruns of it. Better yet, hang out with a child.
Being around pets is also a great way to get a few laughs. Bonus if they are your grand pets. They are like grandkids in that you get to enjoy them without all of the work and responsibility.
Son #4 has a cute golden retriever puppy that has given us quite a few smiles and laughs in the last few months.
Carefully choose what you look at and read. I get our local newspaper on-line and make a point to read the funnies every morning. Having raised four teenage boys, I can really appreciate the humor in the comic Zits, and the comic Pickles helps us see the humorous side of aging. Try following a comedian or two on social media. I follow Ellen Skrimetti’s IG site, justskrmetti. Choose funny sitcoms and movies to keep you positive and smiling. Personally, I do not watch the daily news because it is so depressing. (Don’t worry, the news still seems to find its way to me, so I am not totally in the dark.)
We have to be able to laugh at the changes aging brings. (Unfortunately, I do not know where I got the picture on the left so I cannot credit it…hopefully I don’t go to jail for that.)
Hang out with humorous people. We were in a commuter van recently. Like a true baby boomer, at first, I was skeptical of the young driver with a bandana and dread locks. We all chuckled cautiously at his first few jokes, but by the end of the ride, we were all smiling and sharing in his banter. He may have been working the tips, but he was positive, fun, knowledgeable and making the effort. We got off that bus in a much better mood than we started. Laughter and a positive attitude just might be more contagious than COVID. (And we did leave a bigger tip than we normally would.) It helps you laugh more if you are with others who are willing to laugh at life and themselves.
Seek out the humor in life. Sometimes it just takes being more cognizant of the humor around us. Being aware and noticing it. Once you start doing this, you will see more of it. Smiles and laughter will be closer to your lips. I seem to be more aware of humor when I travel. Maybe it is because I am not rushing with my head down plowing through my day.
The bike on the left is permanently parked in downtown Sarasota. We laughed when we went to Luckenbach and saw their population sign. Seriously???We made a detour to Jerome a couple weeks ago when we were in Arizona. It used to have a thriving copper mine but now claims to be a ghost town. Of course we had to eat at the Haunted Hamburger. Bonus that it had a good burger and a great view of the Verde Valley.
My take
If you have been reading my blog for very long, you have probably noticed that I try to keep it positive and light. I try to be optimistic and search out the joy and beauty in life. Why not? The alternative is to be a grumpy old person, and no one wants to be around that person, including myself. But being positive and upbeat is not the same as being humorous. It is not the same as having a good ole belly laugh or even a smile and a little chuckle. I need to laugh more.
We all have concerns. Things we worry about in the depths of night when we can’t sleep. No one gets away from life unscathed. Or, as they say, #$@% happens. It is all too easy to sit with a scowl and wait for the next shoe to drop. I have to constantly choose not to focus on these things. I believe that we should arm ourselves with joy so that when problems rear their ugly heads, and they will, we will be filled up and better able to deal with them. It is kind of like being prepared with a full tank of gas. So, I am making a commitment today to see the funnier side of life. It sure beats the alternative.
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”
If you had told me a few years ago, before I retired myself, that retirement life could be so busy that you don’t have enough time, I would have scoffed and mumbled under my breath, “right, you just don’t manage your time well.” Now that I am retired, I realize that the beauty of it is… I don’t have to manage my time well. Such as it has been these past couple weeks. When I started this blog, I committed to publish a post every week. I love to write. It helps me breathe. However, these past couple weeks have left me with little extra time to write a blog post. What could keep this retired person so busy? Well, quite a lot really.
Spring cleaning and decorating
The sunshine shows all of the dust and smudge prints that have accumulated over the long, dark winter, so it was time to do a little spring cleaning. Chores do not go away once you are retired, unless you hire out to have them done, which I have a hard time doing because, well…I am retired after all. Besides, it always feels good to take down the winter decorations and freshen the house up a bit for spring.
I found the beehive last year and decided to it was worth a little roadsidea decorating.
Grandkids
It is wonderful to have relaxed time to be a grandparent. When we were raising our own kids, it felt like I was always rushing or multitasking. Now I can enjoy uninterrupted time with my grands. I have been watching our new grandbaby for a few hours every week while my DIL returns to work. Precious time where I just focus on her.
Just a fun bundle of cuddles and play.
My other granddaughter turned eight last week. We celebrated with a grandma nana date. I took her out for a high tea. We both dressed up and enjoyed tea with cream and sugar, little tea sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and jam. We learned a little bit about the history of high tea. Precious uninterrupted time together.
Of course, we had to try on every hat at the tearoom but settled on the ones we brought with us. We practiced drinking tea with our pinkie finger extended.
We have been able to attend several of my grandson’s wrestling matches, which can be all-day events. I am glad we have the time to do this – we missed too many when we spent the month of February in Florida. It is so fun to watch him enjoy and compete at the same sport his dad excelled at.
He is a beast on the wrestling mat but has a heart of gold and still gives hugs to grandma.
Travel
The weather has been sketchy at home and Scottsdale promised to be sunny and in the 80’s last week. We are retired, so why not make a quick trip down there to enjoy the sunshine? On a last-minute whim we packed up and made the short 2 1/2-hour flight. So glad we did. We have been hiking, riding bikes, enjoying the sunshine and pool all week. I spent a few hours in a bookstore, just nosing around the stacks without an agenda. This is a pretty cheap trip for us because we stayed at my son’s condo, since it was available for the week, and we used our free fly miles to travel back and forth. Our biggest expense was a car rental, which we got for a surprising $18.00/day.
This hike nearly killed us, but it was worth the view.
“Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for.”
Filling the Jars
So, there you have it. Life has been too chock full of fun stuff to write a real blog post this week. I had to settle for this quick recap of the last few weeks in the life of a retiree. I hope that you are able to NOT manage some of your time this week as well. It opens doors for the fun stuff.
Lover of flip flops, waking up without an alarm, fireside chats, street tacos, waves lapping up on shore, creativity, family, the cork and all things garlic.
