Taking in Life Around Me: #CFFC: Where/What/When We Vacation

September 22, 2026

Taking in Life Around Me: #CFFC: Where/What/When We Vacation

A new favorite photo challenge hosted by Dan from No Facilities, called the #CFFC (Cees Fun Foto Challenge). Cee passed away and Dan has decided to carry on the challenge.

This weeks prompt part of a new series called "Where/What/When". This week is where/what/when we vacation. When our girls were young we mostly took one vacation a year, and that was to central Oregon. Then we would split it up and one year we'd visit family in Ohio and the next year we'd go to Sunriver (in Central Oregon). Sometimes we'd do short trips to the Oregon Coast, but money was tight and we didn't go too many other places. Now that our girls are grown, my hubby is making a higher salary, he and I have been able to travel a bit more. We love it.

I will never truly be able to pick a favorite vacation spot because there is something beautiful and amazing about every place I've been, and there are so many places yet to see. Central Oregon or the coast are favorite spots for truly a let down relax vacation...we've been there so many times it's not so much being "tourists" as a place we feel like "home" and we don't have agendas or big plans. When we visit destinations we may not get to again, we make sure to see and experience as much as possible. I don't really want to spend hours on a beach sunbathing if there are things to do and see...maybe an hour or two here and there, but not days on end.

I've tried to keep up a Trips Tab on the blog and you can check that out for more details about trips and places we've gone.

Aaagh! I couldn't decide, couldn't figure out how to do this. I cannot make decisions...haha. Started out with years, and then got confused....bear with me.

2019: Italy and Switzerland

Do we like to do touristy things? Sure, but we also like to find lesser touristy things....like this village in Switzerland that is one of the oldest and the way some of the buildings are built....how are they even still standing.

I would definitely love to go back to Italy! One of our stops was Como, and we drove through several villages around the lake and then took a ferry over to Bellagio which was beautiful.

While visiting Basel we went to the Dreilandereck, a monument where Switzerland, France and Germany meet in one exact spot in the middle of the Rhine River.

2020: Texas and the Oregon Coast

While visiting our daughter and son in law in Texas we took in the Fort Worth Stock yards and cattle drive. We also visited Magnolia Market in Waco (once in 2020 and again in 2021)

We hit the Oregon coast with friends to do some crabbing and hanging out.

2021: Central Oregon and San Juan Islands

We might have hit Central Oregon twice in 2021. It will forever be a favorite spot.

I have never been to the San Juan Islands before even though I have grown up in Washington. This was definitely a great trip and one I'd do again!

2022: NE States and Cabo

I LOVED visiting small, locally owned places...this Italian shop was a real treat. I could have spent forever just listening to the people talk.

These shells were on display all throughout Plymouth, and had I known that and had we had the time, I would have went and looked for all of them.

I never knew the Von Trapp family (Sound of Music), moved to Stowe, Vermont (it reminded them of home), and to help finances, they opened their home to skiers visiting the area and eventually expanded. It is still owned by the family today. Did you also know they were featured on a cooking show called Family Dinner?

Visited Cabo for the first time. My hubby and I have never stayed in an all inclusive resort...he kept saying "are you sure I don't have to pay for anything"..haha

2024: Leavenworth, Ohio, Anderson Island, Mt. Rainier and Olympic Peninsula, Canada.

In 2024 we took a few more trips locally. Leavenworth is almost a 4 hour drive, but definitely worth visiting.

The story behind the town is actually interesting. It was originally called Icicle Flats and the fronts are facades built to help bring increased tourism to the area when the timber and railroad were struggling.

I visited my aunt and uncles in October so I could help with the grape harvest. Such a cool experience.

We took a short drive north to Anderson Island, staying in a friends vacation home and just exploring..there is really not much to do on this island except enjoy nature and relax. The old ferry above has been abandoned for years. The owner bought it with high hopes, that never really panned out. It is called the Ocean City and was built in 1928. It made a 7,000 mile voyage in 1984, traveling through the carribean, the panama canal and to washington. It was meant to supplement local routes, but the county passed on the deal.

I spent quite a bit of time exploring the water for rocks and shells.

I've lost track of years.... oh my! I feel like I should just quit, but we'll continue and I just won't put years because I'm confusing myself. I really need to plan ahead for these posts. If you're still with me...thanks...haha.

Sometimes the simple trips are the best. A long weekend not far from home. My in-laws love the coast and the ocean. A short trip with almost everyone made for great memories.

Checked off the Butchart Gardens. I encourage you to stop and talk to locals wherever you go and take time to ask the workers questions. I can't remember how many of the flowers here are planted by hand several times a year....WHAT...and they also sell their seeds.

If you have time to do an Olympic Peninsula trip...do it. I would do this again as well.

On my bucket list has always been to see the Tree of Life on the Washington Coast in the Peninsula...It is so close to falling all the way, but wow, what a cool example of life in the midst of adverse circumstances.

Our trip to Colorado was epic, and a bucket list for me. I even saw my first moose ever.

I also took a work trip with my hubby to Tampa, and we did some sight seeing for a few days before his conference. We went to Ybor City, and to Ana Maria Island.