Raney Day Trippin’ 2

ByDeborah Raney
18 Comments

As I sorted through photos to prepare this second installment, there are just too many things I want to show you to put in one post! So this time, I’ll share a couple of our favorite outings while we’ve been here in the Seattle area at our oldest son’s house. (We’ve been house- and dog-sitting while he’s in Europe for work.)

The first place I want to tell you about is our trip to the stunning Seattle Japanese Garden.

Fall was in full swing at the Seattle Japanese Garden and it literally took our breaths away! Beauty everywhere we turned! I truly think this might be a little bit what heaven looks like!

A few days later, we drove a couple of hours to Mount St. Helens, where a volcanic eruption in May 1980 created something like a mini version of the Grand Canyon in just a few hours. It is incredible how things have grown back since the tragic event almost 40 years ago.

We stopped in the charming town of Castle Rock where there is a visitor center that tells the Mount St. Helens story from a creation point-of-view. We loved our time there as well as having lunch and sight-seeing in the area before driving up to the lookout and museum at the mountain.

As much as we’ve enjoyed the sightseeing, some of our favorite times have just been experiencing life in our son’s neighborhood, attending his church, shopping at new grocery stores (like Trader Joe’s!), and walking Socks each evening.

Our son is home from his travels now, and as you’re reading this, we are on our way home…by way of the Pacific Coast Highway (traveling north to south this time. You might remember that we traveled the PCH south to north in April). Next time I’ll tell you about our trip home.

Socks sure was happy to see his master! The next night Tarl took us out to eat at a wonderful Taiwanese restaurant, Din Tai Fung. We came home to walk Socks one last time. I’m going to miss that dog…and our son, too! (Thankfully, we’ll see him at Christmas.)

My new book released on October 22 (which happened to be Tarl’s birthday!) and our Missouri granddaughters are showing it off since I wasn’t home to get my author copies. It’s exciting to have Chasing Dreams, the second book in the Chandler Sisters Novels series, out into the world. And I’m working hard toward a December 1 deadline to have the third book on my editor’s desk. You can get the book at your favorite bookstore or online here.

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DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a four-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

18 Comments

  3. Such gorgeous photos, Deb! I had the chance to visit Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC back in May when I took my daughter to her summer internship in Bellingham, WA. So gorgeous! The pacific northwest is such fertile ground for gardens and wildlife.

    And I love seeing your granddaughters testing out your new release. 🙂 They are bound to be voracious readers.

    1. Oh, Ken and I were kicking ourselves that we didn’t think to bring our passports and make a trip up to Victoria! I’ve heard it’s just gorgeous there. I picture it something like the Japanese garden we visited.

    1. Haha! You wouldn’t have loved it quite so much last night, Becky! 19 degrees and the power went out (after running our battery down!) But God took care of us in an almost miraculous way!

  6. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. The colors (especially the reds) are gorgeous! That’s so nice you were able to house- and dog-sit for your son. Prayers for your safe trip home!

    1. Thanks, Donna. We really had fun “playing house” at our son’s. It was good to get to know his neighbors and neighborhood and get a little taste of what his life in Seattle is like.

  8. Love the mini-version here of the adventures of Meriwether. You’re inspiring all the road trips I look forward to when hubby retires very soon. I’m taking notes. I’ve only visited ten or less states in my life. Love following you on the road!

    1. Thanks so much, Rebecca! So far, God has really watched out for us, and we have no doubt he’ll continue to do the same. But we so appreciate all the prayers and good wishes.

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