@oldkarl

When we moved from the Willamette Valley over to central Oregon, our one regret is that the drive to the coast is much longer, so it's not a day trip anymore. Driving along the Oregon Coast, it's just one beautiful view after another.

We enjoyed our cross country road trip in the fall of 2015, when our daughter lived in NH. What a beautiful, diverse country we live in. The only bad thing about the trip was the pain in my feet.

Jim

@hazelblumberg @oldkarl Hazel, I've never lived in Florida, just visited there a couple of times, but I am with you. I would not be happy with the weather there. I too do loved the calming presence of the beach but you can't just spend all of your time there. I do love New England but as we age the snow is getting to be a pain in the neck, it's not like when we were young and snow meant skiing!

Karl, Oregon sounds great. A couple of years ago we did a west coast vacation with friends, starting with Vancouver, then Seattle, our friends went on to Portland but we had to visit my step son and his family in the SF area so did not get to spend time in Portland. Our friends loved it there.

If we ever leave this area it will probably be to go south somewhere but not further south than VA or NC.

JK

@jimhd Jim, what part of NH is she in? Have we had this discussion before? We live just outside of Manchester, in Bedford. It's a nice town.
JK

@blindeyepug I live in NH, as I have mentioned before. A few years back I was a manager in the Inn at Bedford Village Inn, a lovely place with miserable owners. I was always amazed at how many people came from distant locations like Texas to view the beautiful fall foliage. Up here they are referred to as "leaf peepers". It really is pretty. I have never done the train but there is one that is a day trip from North Conway I believe and now that I am thinking about it, it does sound like it could be fun.
JK

Our daughter lived in Salem, and worked at the Moore Center in Manchester, but they just sold their home there and moved to Alameda, CA. Her husband is in the Coast Guard, and was stationed at Boston. Her first winter was a classic, with a lot of snow. It damaged the roof, especially with the ice dams. Quite the experience for a native Oregonian.

She's enjoying the palm trees around the base housing.

Jim

@contentedandwell

We anticipate throngs of people this weekend - eclipse peekers. We're right in the total eclipse path.

Jim

How cool is that, Jim! We're hoping to see a fair amount of it as it dips southward before exiting the US. I'm afraid that we're supposed to have cloudy weather, though. Boo! Hiss!

Hazel

@contentandwell. Yes, I would gladly be a "leaf peeper"! The fall is my favorite time of year. I have decided to make plans to go this year. I'm not getting any younger or healthier!

@jimhd. Sure hope everyone is cautious wirh watching the eclipse. Sounds like fun, but hope people, especially kids, don't damage their eyes.