Suddenly in early August, the summer turns busy for me.

My son Paul asks me to drive with him from our home in Grand Rapids to Orono, Maine to pick up a new vehicle (see below) to be returned to Michigan. This is a trip of 1000 miles each way through Canada and rural Maine. I agree to accompany him provided that I can enjoy a fresh Maine lobster and spend a few hours in Acadia National Park. Paul shakes on the “deal” and we’re off.

Our drive takes us through eastern Michigan, over the St Clair River Bridge into Canada, past London, Toronto and Montreal where we stop for a late lunch. Then eastward towards the Canada-USA border and finally south to Orono. After sixteen hours in the car, we arrive in Orono and settle down in the hotel for some sleep.

The next morning we are up early and conduct and conclude our vehicle purchase. By noon we point the car towards the resort town of Bar Harbor on the Atlantic Ocean and also the gateway to Acadia. Here’s where the lobster part of the “deal” is satisfied.

picturesque church in rural Quebec close to the Canadian-USA border

 

Acadia is largely situated on a few islands along the rugged Atlantic coastline. Visitors often spend weeks exploring the vastly different environments of the park. But now, I have only a few hours to satisfy my scenic cravings for this gorgeous part of the USA. To move this story along here’s the outcome:

Promise 1: our chef preparing a Maine lobster

Promise 2: a few hours at Acadia National Park

 
I stuff myself with lobster and stuff in a few hours of picture taking on the Atlantic.

Fast forward a few weeks (it’s still the busy month of August) and we’re visiting our daughter and grandkids in Oregon City, but only for a short 2 days. We decide to take a day trip over the coastal mountain range to Seaside and Ft Stevens on the Pacific Ocean. Again I am able to stuff a little more picturetaking into the visit.

the grandkids playing on banks of the Columbia River with Grandma

fishermen hoping for the big salmon catches

huge freighter entering the Columbia River from the Atlantic Ocean

clouds at sunset over the coastal range

 
While the purpose for being on both coasts has nothing to do with photography, I am able to walk away with some fun and interesting shots. As is often the case when traveling, when you’re pressed for time, it is still possible to squeeze in those pictures. Travel is one of my passions, but I also enjoy recalling the pleasures of travel through photos.

 

This is the vehicle that we picked up in Maine – a full service kitchen on wheels. We’re looking forward to some quality food.

Two weeks ago, my wife, myself and two grandchildren in tow, visited one of our daughters and her family in the Portland, Oregon area. With excellent weather, it was a great time and place to vacation. Oregon is an “outdoor” state and we were determined to enjoy its beautiful natural resources.

On one of our vacation days, we took a two hour drive across the coastal mountain range to experience the Pacific Ocean and Columbia River. Our destination was the northwest corner of Oregon where Woody, my father-in-law, had served during World War II.

Woody tells us that his assignment back then was to observe the Columbia River looking for Japanese submarines that might enter the river from the Pacific Ocean. His station was Ft Stevens Army Base. While this area is no longer an army base, there is a museum in Ft Stevens State Park in tribute to the men and women who served there.

In particular, I recall Woody telling us two of his memories of his service at Ft. Stevens: the 6″ guns and the great width of the river where it meets the Pacific Ocean.

So we were interested to see how Woody’s memory has held up over nearly 70 years since his service.

The Columbia River is indeed very wide here. I took this picture standing at a point close to where the Columbia pours into the Pacific Ocean. You can see that it’s a few miles across the river to Washington state at this location.

This is one of the guns that was used during World War II. The gun has a six inch diameter.

The gun sits atop a fortress. However you can see that the gun is not visible from outside of the fortress – it is shielded by the cement wall. When readied for use, the gun carriage is raised so that the barrel is above the cement wall. The guns were known as “disappearing”

This is one of the mines that was used to protect the Columbia River from Japanese submarines. The mines were lined along critical areas near the entranceway to the estuary.

This is one of the many vehicles used during the 1940’s.

We brought back dozens of photographs from our visit to Ft Stevens so that Woody could relive more of his memories from his service during World War II. This was a day well spent on our trip to Oregon.

By the way, although not very well known, Ft Stevens was the only place in the continental US to be bombarded by the enemy fire during World War II. In mid-1942, a Japanese submarine fired 17 shells at the fortification during the night. Luckily, no one was injured.