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Three Month Retirement Honeymoon: Best of List

On our 9300 mile, three month trip this spring, we stayed a week in San Francisco, a week in Portland, and a week in Seattle. Each had their pleasures and unexpected satisfactions. The ride along the Pacific Coast Highway also brought unanticipated delights. Many of these experiences, with enough time and money, you could also enjoy.  Some experiences we can’t recall quite where they took place, or they were unreplicable interactions with locals.

But here is a list  of specific ”best of” experiences that you might also find wonderful:

 

Meal: The High Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria British Columbia. Second: McCormick and Kuletos, San Francisco

Best dessert: Chocolate cake, Space Needle.

Best brownie: Chef Suzie on the Square, Victoria, British Columbia

Best soup: Chilled Raspberry at the Sweetwater Restaurant, Jackson, WY

Pastry: Cinnamon Crown, Pearl Bakery in the Pearl District, Portland, OR

Best Tea: Jasmine Tea, San Francisco Japanese Garden Tea House

Best clam chowder: Scomas Restaurant, San Francisco; also best sourdough bread

View:  Space Needle, Seattle. Second: Pacific Heights, SF

Beach: Cannon Beach, Oregon:  tidal starfish, anemone, tufted puffins!

Transit system: Portland

Public art:  Sculpture Park, Seattle

Most interesting neighborhood: Houseboats on Lake Union, Seattle. Second: Canals in Venice, CA.

Most different than Midwestern architecture: Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico

City park:  San Francisco,  Yerba Buena Gardens

Best public musician: saxophonist at Sculpture park, Seattle, playing jazzy version of  ”Jesus Loves Me”.

Small art town: Port Townsend, WA

Day: San Francisco Saturday, Ferry Building, Farmer’s Market, and Art Fair

Fine craft gallery: Highlight Gallery, Mendocino. Second, Wild Hands, Jackson, WY

Best affordable glass artist: Rick Hunter

Weather: San Francisco

Best saying on a card, bumper sticker or other: “I love you every day. Except yesterday. I was little annoyed with you yesterday.”

Most unexpected sight: number of old Volkswagen vans on the west coast.

Most unexpected experience: young people in Portland giving their seats up for us old people.

Most unexpected nature event: clams shooting water out of the muck in Bodega Bay, CA

Best inland nature experience:  Redwoods on Avenue of the Giants in Northern California. Second: The Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic Penninsula, WA

Best music: Chinese stringed instrument played in the Chinese Garden Tea House, Portland

Best weekend art market: tie between  San Francisco and Portland

Best outdoor art fair:  Streetfest, University District, Seattle, May

Best public garden: Butchart Gardens. Second:  Japanese Garden in San Francisco

Best shopping: Montana and Oregon–no sales tax!

Weirdest law: Oregon–can’t pump your own gas

Best church: Seattle Vineyard

One area I’d seen on a previous trip, 21 years before, was better than I remembered. The gardens at the Barnyard Shopping Village in Carmel, California, continue to delight. Trumpet vine, bougainvillea, antique roses, Peruvian lilies, and many other perennials among hundreds of annuals flowed between the brick pathways.

How often is something that we thought wonderful the first time better than we remember?

Travelling for three months was in many ways like everyday life with it’s ups and downs. But the best moments were truly a taste of heaven. We’re very grateful.

Jesus, thank you for all those tastes of heaven you give us. Please give each one of us a small glimpse of heaven today.

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Looking for last-minute gift? My writing friend, Dianne Neal Matthews, offers two books of 365 devotionals. Here are you tube videos to give you an idea of their content: 


On This Day

 

One Year Women of the Bible 


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Can You Hear Me?

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27(NIV)

Do we know his voice? Some of
us struggle to believe his voice is the one we are hearing. Often we believe
what we’ve heard is just our own thoughts. How can we distinguish his words
from media voices, parental words, Satan’s input, and our own ruminations? A
friend recommended a helpful book, Can You Hear Me? by Brad Jersak.

Jersak, a Canadian pastor, writes
clearly on hearing Jesus’ voice. He talks about the simplicity of listening,
blocks to hearing, and the life of listening prayer. His simple instructions
offer practical guidelines. For example, he describes listening through
biblical stories by starting with picturing the details of a Bible story, after
asking God to bring to mind one that is meaningful to you. After you imagine
the characters and their behavior, he suggests, just in your imagination, to use
your senses of touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell to immerse yourself in
the narrative. Then, see where Jesus is and what he’s doing. Finally, as you
draw near to him, ask him what truth he wants to speak to you.

Following these instructions
with the Mary and Martha story, I got a clear sense of a personal word. I was
surprised, actually. I’ve often questioned whether I’m listening to his voice,
but the sentence that came to me spoke directly to a current need.

As Jersak points out, this
particular prayer strategy isn’t new, but he communicates it in a way I can grasp.
In addition to this engagement with scripture stories, Jersak teaches other ways
of hearing God. He also talks about intercession, justice, and inner healing,
among other topics. If you, too, are hungry to hear the shepard’s voice, this
book will feed you.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, we want to hear and obey
your voice.

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Jack Frost

I’ve just been made aware of the ministry of Jack and Trisha Frost.  A new friend sent me his teaching series on Restoring the Father’s Love and I’ve been listening to him this morning. He is a poweful teacher and knows a wonderful God. I hope you’ll check him out at: www.shilohplace.org . 

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