Hermiston The City of Watermelons
The fuss about Hermiston Watermelons
Remember how I said that I really do not like watermelons? I have to say Hermiston might have changed my mind about that! The watermelons here are really sweet and the city’s tagline is correct! Yes, they are sweet, and they have actually started to grow on me.
Travel Nursing in Hermiston, Oregon
Lynda has really enjoyed this travel nursing assignment in Hermiston. The home health agency she’s working with here is very organized and was really helpful in providing her with the training she needed to get up to speed.
The experience she is having here is very different from the one she had in San Rafael, and she’s definitely enjoying the change!
Joining the Hermiston Rotary Club
As for me, I have plugged into Hermiston via the Rotary Club. They have been very welcoming and are even allowing me to be a visiting Rotarian for 3 months. This means I was able to get involved with their ShelterBox training during our time in Hermiston. ShelterBox is an amazing emergency disaster relief program that helps families who’ve lost their homes due to catastrophic events. The program provides shelter supplies and education which enables victims of disaster to build temporary shelters so they can start putting their lives back together. You can read more about the program here.
The Hermiston Rotary Club is one of 3 training sites in the USA.
I helped by being a role player in their training! I have to say this was a very fun thing to do, but also really brought home the issues that arise after the boxes are deployed.
And it turned into a great opportunity to channel some of the situations we faced while traveling around the world. It was great material to use as a character actor during the training programs. And I have to say, that acting role I played in high school, might’ve been helpful, too!
A Summer Road Tripping the PNW with Matthew
Besides eating watermelons and acting, and travel nursing, what else have we done?
We went on road trips. Lot of them – with Matthew!
Our son Matthew stayed with us for the summer, and this will probably be the last one for a while.
From here on out, he’ll likely spend his summers interning with companies that will complement his Mechanical Engineering degree.
So, Mom wanted to spend the summer with her little boy, who’s now all grown up, and about to become part of the working class…sigh!
So what else to do but head off into the great PNW yonder!
But, where to?
1. Glacier National Park, Montana (a bit outside of the PNW)
2. Vancouver Island, Canada
3. Enterprise, Oregon
4. Jasper, Oregon
5. Northern Washington, including Mount Baker
6. Tri-Cities: Kennewick, Pasco, Richland.
7. Walla Walla
Yes, we did it all within the 3 months of summer. It was almost like traveling around the world again, but in our own country instead.
What Hermiston, Oregon means to us
Beyond Lynda’s great experience with her 2nd travel nursing job of 2022 and my Shelter Box training with the local Rotary Club, Hermiston will always hold special memories for our family. This is where our son turned 21! It’s where the three of us traveled together and saw places we’ve never seen before, right here in Oregon and Northern Washington. And we can probably say we’ve now seen more of Washington and Oregon than most people who live there.
What a great summer it’s been!
Now off to Southern California!! As the journey continues…..