Sunny Days are Here Again!

So again from vacation. Our photo of the day are surfer dudes and probably some dudettes!
We headed into the big town today. Astoria. We have exhausted the food options at our local Safeway. Yesterday they ran out of deli turkey, which I seriously didn't know was possible, so we were forced to load up the wagon and hit the Oregon trail.

Astoria has a fancy new Safeway. They had turkey. Such a show off is Astoria. They also have organic food. We are eating well tonight.

Actually we are going out to dinner tonight. At least I hope we are. The restaurants down here have the most unusual times to be opened and closed. The cafe, closed on Tuesday. The bakery, closed on Sunday and Monday. All restaurants stop serving any food at all at 9:30. No ordering baked potatoes, rice, or pasta until after 3. I swear I will need to keep a small laminated card in my wallet for restaurant dining.

Plus, being near water and all, shrimp come on everything. Salad, toast, pancakes, oatmeal. It is a constant battle to not have those little disgusting pink things touch all of my food. The conversations always involve the words No! not on the side, No, not on a separate plate. Just No Shrimp Anywhere. It is a lot like trying to get your dressing on the side. It seems to not make sense down here. I actually prefer no dressing, but that is incomprehensible and so not worth the argument.

There are no light options except for the cottage cheese plate, which is just frightening to behold. Even asking for dry toast involves some sort of discussion. I am so stuck up about my food seems to be the thought that travels through every one's mind. I just feel with all the calories I'm saving on stupid things, like dressing and butter, I can have a cupcake instead. I adore cupcakes.

Our home is the turnaround point for the Coast Guard Helicopter. If you look closely in the picture, you should be able to see it. A few times a day, the big orange and white helicopter heads down the coast. It is keeping an eye on all things sea related. Over the years we have seen some rescues. A few boats broken down that needed help. One summer a baby whale swam into the cove area. This worried his mother to no end. She wouldn't enter the cove but the baby frolicked in the nice warm water without a care in the world. It also started to worry the town for if the mom entered she would be hard pressed to get back out. The helicopter flew over lower and lower but it didn't work, that baby was toasty warm and was in no mind to leave. Finally, the coast guard boat came into the picture and drove the baby back out to sea much to the relief of his mom. I'm sure there was some whale scolding that went on when that baby got home.

Well that is all the beach news for today. Tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

Oh Wild One!

So, the vacation is going fantastic. The weather was perfectly horrible when we arrived but now it is lovely, so we have forgiven Winter for being such a giant pain in the ass.
It is a different way of living down here and it is always such an adjustment when I first arrive. Things are very slow and since I move at a fast wicked pace, it takes time to sloooooow down. After a while, you can't move fast even if you wanted to. Your body becomes accustomed to a less frantic pace. You breathe deeper and find that you can daydream for longer periods of time.

The first few nights I don't sleep well. The city noises that soothe me, are not here. No city buses, or cars, no airplanes flying over, no house parties. Here it is the waves crashing on the beach and until morning, that is it. The morning is a different story altogether. Here the day wakes up alert and anxious to get a move on. The gulls start out by screaming their wishes that the catch of the day will be heavy. The cars and trucks carrying the surfers arrive and laughter about the size of the waves carry up to my bed. Parents on vacation take to the beach in search of shells and groggily follow behind happy, energized children. Happy voices ring out. Dogs bark at kelp, crabs and a multitude of birds.

I pour a cup of coffee and contemplate my day. The ocean is mesmerizing and soothing, back and forth, in and out, it goes. Always the same and yet, always different. I make a list and forget it. I sit on the back deck and think Jimmy Buffett songs in my head. I drink more coffee and watch the dog sleep in the sun. I watch him twitch and wiggle in a dream about the time he found a deer in his back yard. How he had wanted us to let him keep it but how we explained to him that he was not up to the arduous task of deer maintenance. His face registered disappointment when we opened up the back yard gate and it bounded away. He has never really forgiven us.

The ocean is beautiful, wild and oh so therapeutic. It restores me. Gives me faith, hope and peace. I like that.
We walk into town and shop the little shops. Eat lunch and enjoy each others company. I see the moment and am happy that I am here. Even with the bad stuff. Even with the uncertainty of the future. Even with the changes that are coming at me fast and furious. I feel blessed.

I feel sadness that the man I married threw all this away so easily. He didn't see the wonderful life we had built. But I did. And I do.

I think that being down here has reminded me how truly fortunate I am. Because when the wild, stormy weather hits, it makes you appreciate the sunny, calm days that will follow. Good and bad, it all flows together. I know good times are getting ready to flow my way. I will appreciate them all the more this time around.

My spring vacation

So tomorrow I head off for vacation. Hooray! I wish it was someplace exotic or warm or had cute pool boys holding fruity umbrella drinks, but alas, it is the Oregon Coast. Still it will be fun, sleeping in, watching the rain from a new vantage point, nice!

I may or may not be incognito for the next week. All the new things I get to do on my own will now include trying to find out how to join up to the Internet.

I love Seaside, don't get me wrong but we are not talking about a huge metropolitan city here. Businesses may or may not be there from one week to the next. I think our phone book is at least 8 years old, which is not a plus point in trying to locate help.

I am hopeful that since it will be a week day, some businesses will be open. This is not a foregone conclusion in Seaside. The local paper comes out once a week and still has a column that includes gossip about long time residents (no one I have ever known). We have a ice-cream social for the fourth of July which also includes a cake walk and bingo.

Our home is slightly famous. It was built in 1940 by the town's newspaper owner. At the time it was a long way from town and sometimes you couldn't go in or our depending on how far the river had risen. Now we have a bridge, no forging rivers for me. It is a lovely white cape cod home and I love it dearly. So do tourists who stop and take pictures of it.

Anyway, I believe the original man passed away and his widow remarried. Her new husband was the owner of the drug store/soda shop. He committed suicide in our home, on a porch that is no longer there.

When we first bought the house, 18 years ago, it was told to us in a throaty whisper with wide opened eyes, in case we believed in ghosts or spirits and thought our house was haunted.

We didn't. Still don't. But I do believe that this house, plain white, no bells or whistles, able to stand the test of time, seasons, and coastal storms without a flinch, has good vibes. It provides a good feeling when I walk in.

My kid learned to walk here, ride a bike here, has spent Birthday's, Christmas's, and most every Summer here. He has done summer camps and has played in the water until his lips turned blue. We have brought home enough sand in our shoes to build our own beach.

We have a garage sale here almost every year. It is one of the greatest things about small towns, garage sales ROCK! Ours is packed. Someone still comes up and tells the tale about the sordid past of our home. I let them talk, I let them walk through the house that has really remained unchanged since 1940. I listen politely and discard everything they say.

And at night when I tuck everyone in bed, I swear the house sighs quietly and is happy that another family loves it passionately.