Author Archives: amcandrew

We only decided to spend Labor Day weekend in Helena because we needed to delay ourselves a few days in order to end up in Yellowstone the weekend of the 12th. However, Helena was an absolutely delightful place to visit, and I am so glad we ended up here! Our Airbnb was located in aContinue reading “Helena”

After leaving the Hodge’s cabin, we drove across Eastern Washington and stopped in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho for lunch. We continued on to Victor, MT, which is about 40 minutes south of Missoula. Our friends, the Watson family, moved here last summer and have been busy fixing the property up since then. We met the WatsonsContinue reading “Watson Family Farm”

Our last stop in Washington – and the Pacific Northwest – was a cabin in Ronald, WA owned by the Hodge family. Tom and Sydney Hodge, and their children, were good friends of the McAndrew family when they lived in Redmond, WA 30 years ago. I am thankful that these friendships endured over the lastContinue reading “Hodge Lodge”

After Jim finished up some work, we left our beautiful AirBNB on Bainbridge Island and turned our car to the south and east for the first time in two months. We stopped at the REI in Tacoma for our much-needed sleeping bags and arrived at our campsite in Randle, WA around mid-afternoon. Randle is aContinue reading “Mount Rainier”

After our extended stay in Seaside, OR, we headed north to Olympic National Park. Our first stop was the Hoh River Rainforest. The area gets its name from the Hoh Indians who once populated the area. It is known for being one of the only temperate rainforests in North America and includes rare Blue SpruceContinue reading “Olympic Peninsula”

We enjoyed Short Sand Beach so much that we took Cappy and Grandma back to see it. The sun was shining the entire time; it was a beautiful time to be there. We rested that afternoon… …and tried out the fire pit in the backyard. We also hiked the 4-mile forest portion of the FortContinue reading “Last Week on the Oregon Coast”

Cappy and Grandma arrived the day after Nana left, so the kiddos were not without extra grandparent love for long. We enjoyed having dinner with them and showing them our beach fires. Almost as soon as we arrived to the beach, the kids soaked themselves in the ocean and had to experience chilly conditions forContinue reading “Say Cheese”

Our friend Jill Essex joined us for a few days, having first visited family in Salem, OR. Even though Jill is an experienced traveler, she had never been to Seaside/Cannon Beach. We enjoyed showing her around “our hood.” We hiked the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve, which was a so-so four-mile hike along some of EcolaContinue reading “Words with Jill”

We checked out the Seaside Estuary, which is where the Necanicum River and Neawanna Creek come together with the Pacific Ocean. It was a great shady place to play in sand and water (without big waves) and bird watch. A pair of bald eagles were hanging out in a tree across the river from us,Continue reading “Hold your breath”

I took Evie and Jack to the beach to boogie board in the ocean, even though the sea water temperature is an invigorating 52 degrees (note: I did not get in the water.). While enjoying the view and pondering God’s amazing care for His creatures, I looked down at my feet and found a perfectlyContinue reading “The earth proclaims His handiwork”