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- Abi and Grams
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- Pacific Coast Highway
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- Porch wine at sunset
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- Nye Beach
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- Nye Beach
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- View of hotel from the beach
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- Abi and me
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- Lunch with an Astoria view
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- Astoria’s sea loins
Friday was the official end of the Walsh Reunion. We packed it in, cleaned it up, hauled it out. Many thanks to the host committee, Aunt Sue, Uncle Rog, Michelle and Eric plus the minions, Uncle Tom, Aunt Linda, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Ann and the remaining Chicago/Indiana Walshes, that swept up the remains of the 2015 Walsh Reunion.
And here are a few of my reunion takeaways…
1. Coffee, wine and chocolate equally important in huge quantities.
2. If you need something, Kevin will always know a guy… Maybe even that he just met.
3. Family is messy.
4. Be prepared to eat… A lot and with zest.
5. Get up early and stay up late… Don’t miss any of it.
6. The kids of all ages bring a playful energy.
7. If you’re out of wine and Uncle Tom says you can have a bottle of his, find out where his van keys are before he goes to sleep.
8. Uncle David will always blow everyone away with his mastery of leftovers… Mmmm asparagus soup
9. If you put out a tip jar at your coffee station, your family will stuff it with worthless tips
10. Cuz Michelle will toss around her signature ‘bless your heart’ and everything will be ‘precious’ to her. She’s a verbal tipper!
11. Always eavesdrop as the original Walsh siblings reminisce about their childhood.
12. Reunion shirts are nice but reunion hats are so much better… One size fits all!
13. Stay until the end! You might have to clean but you’ll be in on the preliminary planning for the next reunion. 🙂
And to quote my cuz Michelle who sums up the relational dynamic of reunion perfectly, “We’re not your friends, we’re your family.”
So, I bid farewell to my extended family and then got in the car with my immediate family.
The parents, Jenny, Abi and I headed up the pacific northwest highway on Friday. Our plan is to meander up the coast to fly out of Seattle on Sunday. And we’ve chosen the scenic route. The landscape is beautiful along the Pacific Ocean. It’s the best of both worlds, ocean and mountains. We stayed Friday night in Newport at Shilo Inn. Mom scored big on hotel selection right on Nye Beach. Fantastic view from the rooms and the restaurant! On Saturday, I was able to take an early morning, long beach walk… one of favorite kinds of walking is the beach stroll. The beach stroll proved vital in keeping my crankiness to a minimal over the long hours in the car. Still, I do love Oregon for its natural splendor.