I’ve personally known Cheryl & Pam for at
least 44 years … and even longer if seeing them on school grounds counts ;-) Cheryl
is the oldest (2 yrs older than I am), Pam is the middle one, and I am
the ‘baby’ of our friendship circle. We are old friends – yet we are new
friends.
This afternoon we had a “girl’s day out”. I
picked the girls up at their homes and ferried them to our first destination in
our car (Bob/my car, which is now solely mine): Pam first, then Cheryl. Though
I had been to Cheryl’s house with Bob, I had never driven here myself; I could
mentally picture the location, the general area, and her looooong gravel
driveway … but I was not entirely sure how to get there. So, before I
left our (my) carport, I punched in Cheryl’s address on the car’s GPS, picked
Pam up at her house along the way & set out to collect Cheryl; on a hope
and a prayer :-D
The GPS pranked me twice; the last “you have
reached your destination” announcement causing Pam & I to dissolve into
laughter because the destination reached clearly was NOT the destination we aimed
for. But we eventually reached Cheryl’s accurate location: and off we
went on our planned adventure.
First stop was ‘The Little Crane’ country diner
in Vader. I like Vader; it’s a sleepy rural town that lives on despite shutting
the school down a few years ago because it was so out of the way, there weren’t
enough young families ensconced in the sleepy community to warrant keeping the
school open. Our adventure was kind of a ‘going home’ moment: both Cheryl &
Pam lived in Vader while growing up and before their parents moved their families
to the Elochoman Valley area of Wahkiakum County, where I met them in Cathlamet
decades ago as we were starting our young families – Cheryl was married to Bob’s
brother Ralph then, & they had a 3 year old daughter, and Cheryl & I
were pregnant together in 1975 … and Pam was visiting Cheryl a lot with her infant
son, Spenser – Pam is Cheryl’s cousin.
Anyway, we all like Vader and The Little Crane
diner. Lunch & companionship was good. We had a fun time, and I enjoyed
hearing about their childhoods in Vader. I enjoy getting into the country
countryside. We are thinking of making today’s diner date an annual ‘thing’.
Something old; something new.
Cheryl’s husband, Mike was mushroom picking; so,
after our leisurely lunch, we went back to Cheryl’s place to see if he had
returned yet – he hadn’t, so Cheryl suggested we hop in her car and drive over the backroads to the little County Park in Toledo: sounded good to me!
This day was turning into a day-tripping adventure; I am always up for that ;-)
Bob & I had been to Toledo & Toledo’s
County Park many times, but he always drove; I, as passenger, watched the
landscape and didn’t pay too much attention as to how we got there. But now
… I WANT to KNOW. So, while Cheryl drove, I took notes on how to get there so I
can make the drive on my own whenever the mood strikes me: it’s a nice country
drive, and the Park is small and country serene.
Though Bob & I had been to this Park many times
with & without our granddaughter on hot summer days to swim, we had no
inkling there was a walking trail – this was news to me today. And I liked
finding that out: I like walking, and I like getting out of Longview to do that
;-)
I think I will be driving back to revisit these
trails periodically; I like day-tripping. I like Toledo – Bob & I would
often pass through Toledo on our way to the backroads of Jackson Highway. It
will be fun to do that again.
Bittersweet.
But fun.
A specific direction for a day I need solace.
Another ‘something old – something new’ …
Trail walking at Toledo County Park with Cheryl & Pam.
Apparently the trail makes a loop - we kept it short and walked the left fork. LOL
Cheryl. She claims there is a sturgeon in the Lake. I will have to revisit and see for myself ;-)
We had a good walk in the Fall sunshine and my
lungs did okay. I like fallen leaves, but sometimes their sharp & crisp decaying odors play
hell with my asthmatic lungs. I am not noticing anything concerning tonight, so
I am thanking Elohim for keeping me safe while I enjoyed my outing with the
girls.
It is good to get away from home for a few hours.
It is good to enjoy living life without the heavy
pall of grief.
For a few hours.
When we got back to Cheryl’s, we chatted a little
more. And Mike came home with his mushroom gleanings. Before I left, they sent
a pint of canned Chanterelles & some bagged fresh Chanterelles home with me
… as well as 2 Cauliflower mushrooms. I said I had never heard of such things as cauliflower mushrooms; so Mike showed me a page in his book of mushroom descriptions, and I read it.
And I brought those 2 weird looking things home
with me – I trust Mike when it comes to mushrooms; he has been picking and
eating them a long time. Tomorrow, I will clean and stash these mushrooms; I
may even sample a chunk before putting the rest in the freezer for future usage. I don't use doctors, but very sparingly - I believe in 'medicinal foods'; mushrooms is one of those medicinal foods:
The benefits of eating Chanterelles
CAULIFLOWER MUSHROOMS: they look more like blobs of congealed egg noodles. Interesting. The benefits of eating Cauliflower mushrooms
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