This is lovely, Deborah. I love how you included the history of the area. Road's End sounds so idyllic. I kind of have a crush on California and would love to drive the coast from Washington to Baja. My aunt moved there from Vancouver in the early 60's and my cousins returned every summer to me grandmother's so I got to know them. I spent some time in LA, Santa Clarita and Newport Beach when I was visiting. I can't believe how many parallels we have. My husband worked as a contractor and I took the kids camping myself at a large park on the beach every summer. We live beside it now. I too collect all the glass, rocks and interesting pieces of wood and leave them around for my granddaughters. Sage, who was 6 studied a leaf shaped plate of rocks, glass, wood and feathers for a few minutes and said, "That sure is a nice collection, Grammie!" LOL. I'm a bit of an enabler.
I love imagining the coast before it became so developed. Being able to live on the beach in a van or hut. If I were younger...
Dear Rosemary, I am so sorry I didn't see this until now! What an honor to know you read this! A positive story of home! I think the one that finally got us to move is called "Welcome Home" (I poured out our testimony).
I loved writing this story of home and researching Roads End a bit more. We sure do have some parallels! And I LOVE that you collect the beach things too and leave them around for grandchildren to admire! It's my favorite thing to see them wander through the garden and look at things. My happy place with all the memories of collecting with their parents. I love that you camped as well. We were much tougher than our kids are today! There certainly is something so magical about the west coast beaches. We drove our VW Bus all up and down this coast and camped in it too. I can't imagine what Roads End was like all those years ago. It was truly a special place when we got to go and stay summers at my parent's home. Always tourists and visitors but nothing too crazy. Since all the annexing it's a bit sad we can't even afford to stay there. The airbnb's are unaffordable and the majority of the homes now :( The beach is always special and not too crowded and I feel like everyone should experience it - but it's a bit sad it all changed at the same time from a true living place to a rental enclave now. Thank you again for reading this. Hope you're doing well and I hope your daughter is still with you and doing better. Praying. oxox
Memories of our days living on both the Atlantic and Pacific come floating up as I feel your joy and see it in the photos.. your fabulous photographs, Deb! The ocean is magical… and you capture it so well! These stories and pictures will indeed be for your children and grandchildren… what a treasure you give them! ❤️And I love how your mom and brother read and support you so lovingly… a gift for your mom seeing this one… just wow. What a dream they built and lived for you all to cherish! The pic of you with your parents touches my heart… I know you miss your dad 😔A beautiful piece today, my friend…the way your words flow and weave together… just wow! 😍🤗🙌
Thank you so much for reading all of that Joan! It was so wonderful to be there again (our summer tradition for a day and to run the dogs along the beach!) and to write that story last year - and do more investigative work over the area. I knew a lot from mum and dad's stories but needed it to come together. It was a similar dream to you and your husband. They just went for it and we got to benefit off the glorious days. It was sad John couldn't come a lot but something we just had to deal with. Life of a business owner. I'm always telling the man who owns a little Mexican restaurant near us to go on vacation. He tells me he's been out "one day" in 30 years :(. and his little daughter and son help him. Business owners.
I do miss my dad but now after these last few years, I have locked away the beautiful memories and love to re-live them with happiness in my heart. Grief is such a process, isn't it? We have to mourn and then remember and thank God for this community and the ability to write our stories and our way to the joy that grief deserves to feel. Guess I can write about that... another story! Love you and happy weekend. Thank you for your compliments too!
So wonderfully evocative. Such feeling of space to dream. Gorgeous photos. I always get from your photos your love of freedom. It somehow comes through, the way you capture open skies, the vastness of landscape. ❤️
Dear Julie, I am so excited you read this! It means so much to me :) Thank you for your kind compliment about my photos. You're right. I have a very deep sense of freedom within my gut and although I am very polite and have a respectful nature (which I think you do as well and feel the same about freedom) - I will fight tooth and nail for the right to be free and for "truth." I do love the wide open spaces in images and the lines that carry on forever :)
Is seaglass not the best? I have a necklace made with seaglass and silver :) oxox
Thank you for taking the time to read this story Alexander! I thought you might appreciate it! We are so blessed to have this place etched in our memories.
Thank you also for such a huge compliment and inspiration! I would love to write a book. ox
I loved reading this article, perfect for morning and setting the good mood. Such a beautiful and rich family story, I also love how you write, you’d be a great novelist.
Oh gosh Linda, thank you for always taking the precious time to read my stories. I often have no idea if anyone is reading, except for a few. It was hard to do this place justice - but because my parents were unique, in the way they made dreams come true, with an average hard working life, it truly was remarkable! They had this time together, made it work, budgeted.. and then they moved to a Christmas tree farming town of 3000 people! At this point they both felt the remote beach area was not so good for older age problems. Hospitals are few and far between and Hwy 1 is very congested for emergencies. Not long after they moved inland, (where an incredible hospital and health facility was 5 min away in the next town over) - dad got cancer. He bought 17 more years because of the care he got. Just incredible timing and only of God. Mom is still there and the small town country life has been a dream as well, in terms of God's surrounding beauty. Photographing these places never, ever gets old. If you ever get out to the PNW again, you must see the Oregon coastline! Thank you again. Much love always. oxox
Since My brother lies in Poulsbo Washington I plan to visit as often as possible, maybe one day our trips will coincide! He took me to Oregon once and It was beautiful but it wasn't the coast. It was somewhere that had something like Stonehenge? I will request a shoreline trip next time for sure! oxoxoxo
Most definitely see part of the Oregon coast! My dad used to say (without any stops) "you can drive it in 8 hours!" the whole thing 🤔 But definitely HAVE to stop!!! Go from Washington over the bridge to Astoria and maybe down to Canon Beach. The BEST!! oxox
I could read this a hundred times over and still not tire of the many memories it keeps unearthing in my mind. Truly a special place and time that no amount of money could buy or replace. Even the eventual tearing down of this magical piece of history will not wipe out it's story or it's legend. It will always be there for those of us lucky enough to have experienced the unique gift of the old Roads End Pea Farm.
Thank you mama for reading it in the first place! I know it's so hard on your eyes :( I must podcast more! I had 100 more memories as I finished the story too! I'm sure you have so many more than us! You and dad had tons of days together there and it truly was a dream and a slice of heaven - then you found another slice of heaven in another unique small-town! Every time we hit that beach our memories are ours and they are treasures. Love you and thank you for this gift! oxox
Thank you for taking the time to read it Adam! It took a lot of picture hunting and making sure I had the overall history straight! Thank you for helping on the pics! Once again, feeling pretty good I got it down for my family :) It was truly a storybook season and we will never forget it. Mom and dad set the bar for "dreaming on a budget" and look what they did!!! An absolute blessing! oxox
This is lovely, Deborah. I love how you included the history of the area. Road's End sounds so idyllic. I kind of have a crush on California and would love to drive the coast from Washington to Baja. My aunt moved there from Vancouver in the early 60's and my cousins returned every summer to me grandmother's so I got to know them. I spent some time in LA, Santa Clarita and Newport Beach when I was visiting. I can't believe how many parallels we have. My husband worked as a contractor and I took the kids camping myself at a large park on the beach every summer. We live beside it now. I too collect all the glass, rocks and interesting pieces of wood and leave them around for my granddaughters. Sage, who was 6 studied a leaf shaped plate of rocks, glass, wood and feathers for a few minutes and said, "That sure is a nice collection, Grammie!" LOL. I'm a bit of an enabler.
I love imagining the coast before it became so developed. Being able to live on the beach in a van or hut. If I were younger...
Dear Rosemary, I am so sorry I didn't see this until now! What an honor to know you read this! A positive story of home! I think the one that finally got us to move is called "Welcome Home" (I poured out our testimony).
I loved writing this story of home and researching Roads End a bit more. We sure do have some parallels! And I LOVE that you collect the beach things too and leave them around for grandchildren to admire! It's my favorite thing to see them wander through the garden and look at things. My happy place with all the memories of collecting with their parents. I love that you camped as well. We were much tougher than our kids are today! There certainly is something so magical about the west coast beaches. We drove our VW Bus all up and down this coast and camped in it too. I can't imagine what Roads End was like all those years ago. It was truly a special place when we got to go and stay summers at my parent's home. Always tourists and visitors but nothing too crazy. Since all the annexing it's a bit sad we can't even afford to stay there. The airbnb's are unaffordable and the majority of the homes now :( The beach is always special and not too crowded and I feel like everyone should experience it - but it's a bit sad it all changed at the same time from a true living place to a rental enclave now. Thank you again for reading this. Hope you're doing well and I hope your daughter is still with you and doing better. Praying. oxox
How lovely! What wonderful memories. What an enchanted place. Thank you, Deb. It’s on my bucket list now!
It’s such a gorgeous beach! A fantastic painting! ox
It would make a lovely painting! Your photos do it good justice ❤️
Thank you so much Jenn. Happy weekend to you all. I love your art and your writing so much. ox
And I love yours ❤️. Hope all is well over there
Awe, thank you Jenn. We are doing so much better and took mom out for a belated birthday lunch at a winery. It was a real blessing! ox
That sounds wonderful ❤️. I’m glad things turned a corner!
Loved your story. Enjoyed your pictures. Wonderful read. Thanks Deborah.
Thank you Charles! It means so much you read it :). A special place indeed! ox
Memories of our days living on both the Atlantic and Pacific come floating up as I feel your joy and see it in the photos.. your fabulous photographs, Deb! The ocean is magical… and you capture it so well! These stories and pictures will indeed be for your children and grandchildren… what a treasure you give them! ❤️And I love how your mom and brother read and support you so lovingly… a gift for your mom seeing this one… just wow. What a dream they built and lived for you all to cherish! The pic of you with your parents touches my heart… I know you miss your dad 😔A beautiful piece today, my friend…the way your words flow and weave together… just wow! 😍🤗🙌
Thank you so much for reading all of that Joan! It was so wonderful to be there again (our summer tradition for a day and to run the dogs along the beach!) and to write that story last year - and do more investigative work over the area. I knew a lot from mum and dad's stories but needed it to come together. It was a similar dream to you and your husband. They just went for it and we got to benefit off the glorious days. It was sad John couldn't come a lot but something we just had to deal with. Life of a business owner. I'm always telling the man who owns a little Mexican restaurant near us to go on vacation. He tells me he's been out "one day" in 30 years :(. and his little daughter and son help him. Business owners.
I do miss my dad but now after these last few years, I have locked away the beautiful memories and love to re-live them with happiness in my heart. Grief is such a process, isn't it? We have to mourn and then remember and thank God for this community and the ability to write our stories and our way to the joy that grief deserves to feel. Guess I can write about that... another story! Love you and happy weekend. Thank you for your compliments too!
oxox
So wonderfully evocative. Such feeling of space to dream. Gorgeous photos. I always get from your photos your love of freedom. It somehow comes through, the way you capture open skies, the vastness of landscape. ❤️
I love seaglass too!
Dear Julie, I am so excited you read this! It means so much to me :) Thank you for your kind compliment about my photos. You're right. I have a very deep sense of freedom within my gut and although I am very polite and have a respectful nature (which I think you do as well and feel the same about freedom) - I will fight tooth and nail for the right to be free and for "truth." I do love the wide open spaces in images and the lines that carry on forever :)
Is seaglass not the best? I have a necklace made with seaglass and silver :) oxox
@Alexander Semenyuk
Thank you for taking the time to read this story Alexander! I thought you might appreciate it! We are so blessed to have this place etched in our memories.
Thank you also for such a huge compliment and inspiration! I would love to write a book. ox
I loved reading this article, perfect for morning and setting the good mood. Such a beautiful and rich family story, I also love how you write, you’d be a great novelist.
Beautiful Deb! I love this. Such special memories! Your gift of words transported me there although I have never been anywhere close to it! Thank you!
Oh gosh Linda, thank you for always taking the precious time to read my stories. I often have no idea if anyone is reading, except for a few. It was hard to do this place justice - but because my parents were unique, in the way they made dreams come true, with an average hard working life, it truly was remarkable! They had this time together, made it work, budgeted.. and then they moved to a Christmas tree farming town of 3000 people! At this point they both felt the remote beach area was not so good for older age problems. Hospitals are few and far between and Hwy 1 is very congested for emergencies. Not long after they moved inland, (where an incredible hospital and health facility was 5 min away in the next town over) - dad got cancer. He bought 17 more years because of the care he got. Just incredible timing and only of God. Mom is still there and the small town country life has been a dream as well, in terms of God's surrounding beauty. Photographing these places never, ever gets old. If you ever get out to the PNW again, you must see the Oregon coastline! Thank you again. Much love always. oxox
Since My brother lies in Poulsbo Washington I plan to visit as often as possible, maybe one day our trips will coincide! He took me to Oregon once and It was beautiful but it wasn't the coast. It was somewhere that had something like Stonehenge? I will request a shoreline trip next time for sure! oxoxoxo
Most definitely see part of the Oregon coast! My dad used to say (without any stops) "you can drive it in 8 hours!" the whole thing 🤔 But definitely HAVE to stop!!! Go from Washington over the bridge to Astoria and maybe down to Canon Beach. The BEST!! oxox
I could read this a hundred times over and still not tire of the many memories it keeps unearthing in my mind. Truly a special place and time that no amount of money could buy or replace. Even the eventual tearing down of this magical piece of history will not wipe out it's story or it's legend. It will always be there for those of us lucky enough to have experienced the unique gift of the old Roads End Pea Farm.
Thank you mama for reading it in the first place! I know it's so hard on your eyes :( I must podcast more! I had 100 more memories as I finished the story too! I'm sure you have so many more than us! You and dad had tons of days together there and it truly was a dream and a slice of heaven - then you found another slice of heaven in another unique small-town! Every time we hit that beach our memories are ours and they are treasures. Love you and thank you for this gift! oxox
This just gave me a big smile to read! So many cherished memories at this wonderful place with more to come ❤
That home was truly something out of a storybook. Mum & Dad brought so much life back to it. What a blessing for all of us to experience.
Thank you for taking the time to read it Adam! It took a lot of picture hunting and making sure I had the overall history straight! Thank you for helping on the pics! Once again, feeling pretty good I got it down for my family :) It was truly a storybook season and we will never forget it. Mom and dad set the bar for "dreaming on a budget" and look what they did!!! An absolute blessing! oxox