February Beach Day

Hey Everyone!

I love going to the beach. Lately though, I haven’t gone as much as I used to, as work and the pandemic have put dampers on travel.

I had been able to get to the beach once last spring, and then it would be almost another year before going again.

I had been wanting to go to the beach so bad, I was keeping an eye on the weather forecast on my days off, and there were a few days last month that it was just too nice not to go.

It had turned out to be a perfect beach day. It was mostly sunny, not too cold and hardly anyone around. Other than going into the resturant and leaving, nobody needed a mask.

Every time I go to the beach, my allergies go away, and I always feel better.

St Patrick’s Day Beach Trip

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I finally got to go to the Beach yesterday! It had been a good year and a half since my last trip to the beach! First having had Bell’s Palsy, then the Pandemic and everything shutting down! it felt so good to be back!

I went to Lincoln City, since I figured it would be the most “open” of the places I normally go.

My first stop in town was to get Salt Water Taffy from Read’s.

I grabbed some burger king drive thru for lunch since restaurant dine in was still closed.

I then had to go to the actual beach and go get my feet wet.

That was the best part and the whole point of being there. I did spend some time there before heading for home.

Heading home, I hit traffic, and ended up stopping at Target in Salem, to use the bathroom and grab snacks.

I got home way later than I was planning on, but it was totally worth it. It was an amazing day.

Working On My Tan Lines

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Yesterday, my parents and I went to the beach for the day. Beings that I didn’t have to work this morning, we got to stay a bit longer at the beach (I typically start work at 5 am on days that I work, so I have to go to bed super early the night before).

I absolutely love being at the beach, it is definitely one of the few places where I feel at home, and can’t get enough of.

I had applied some sunscreen before we left this morning, and I took it along with me, so I could reapply it before going down on the beach, then ended up not reapplying it like my inner pasty white kid brain told me to. So now I have the beginnings of tan lines on my feet, and a sunburn on the parts of my upper body that were exposed to the sun. I definitely should have reapplied my sunscreen.

We had gone to why has become my favorite spot at the beach, that a friend of mine had introduced me to five years ago. It’s crazy to think that it has been years already that I have been going to that spot. At the same time it feels like I have known about it forever.

It was absolutely Chaos!!!!

Hey Everyone!

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to finally write this post! It’s been a week and a half since I went to the beach.

Some long time friends of my mom’s, from Canada were in town, so they, my mom and I went to the beach while they were in town.

The beach is one of my absolute favorite places so I couldn’t say no to going.

We had gone to Tillamook and went through the remodeled cheese factory there in Tillamook. It had just reopened within the month prior (possibly within two weeks prior to when we went) and it was crazy busy. That crazy busy is not my thing but it is good for business and really good for the economy there. Everyone I was with got to get free samples and then bought ice cream cones. I had to abstain since I can’t eat dairy.

We then went up to my favorite spot in Rockaway Beach, to go down on the beach. I absolutely love this spot. On the drive, as we were coming into the south end Rockaway, as we had driven north from Tillamook, through the town of Garibaldi we saw the OCSR Steam Engine pulling into town.

We were on the beach a good hour or two. From there we headed north to Cannon Beach to get dinner at Mo’s. I had this really delicious grilled salmon. We were able to eat out on the patio, and it was a beautiful evening.

While we were in Cannon Beach, someone was having a campfire on the beach. The smell of a campfire mixed with the ocean air is one of my favorite smells ever.

Having a Healthy Respect for the Ocean

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The unfortunate has happened again, just yesterday. A young man was boogie boarding in the ocean on the Oregon Coast, and got swept out. His dad went in after him and unfortunately died trying to rescue his son.

These unfortunate tragedies happen every year. I don’t know if people underestimate their swimming ability or what, but the ocean is a force that is not to be messed with.

That is one thing I have heard my whole life is to never underestimate the power of the ocean, because it can kill you if you aren’t careful. While we don’t have sharks or anything like that really off the Oregon Coast, besides the typical ocean current, which is powerful in and of itself, we also get rip currents which are hazardous to swimmers if you get in one. Even if everything looks calm, and it’s a beautiful day with blue skies and little wind, they can still be there under the surface.

For the average beach goers who just wants to go wading a little bit and get their feet wet, really have nothing to worry about. It’s when you start getting out deeper, swimming, surfing, boogie boarding, etc when problems tend to arise and people need the coast guard to come rescue them, if they even survive.

Having grown up in Oregon, and having been going to the beach here in Oregon since I was a baby, I was taught all about rip currents and how powerful the ocean is and how important it is to have a healthy respect for it. I have been to the beach in Florida and Hawaii as well, and the mindset I was raised with, that the ocean is not a swimming pool, and it needs to be respected.

Being one with the Beach

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This past weekend I had gone to the beach, and was able to spend 2 nights there.

The past couple weeks have been crazy preparing for the weekend away. It got even crazier this past Wednesday when I started getting things together and putting my gifts together for the other ladies.

Friday morning before I left, I had mixed up a batch of gluten free, dairy free, egg free, cranberry orange pecan muffins to take with me.

I had managed to get out f the house by about 11:00 am Friday morning, from where I headed out to Astoria. I spent a few hours there, where I got lunch and went exploring. I stopped at Fort Clatsop, and walked around a bit.

Once I was done exploring Astoria and the forts, I headed south, stopping in Rockaway to go for a walk on the beach.

I absolutely love the beach. The beach is one place I never get tired of seeing or being at. I have been going to the beach since I was a baby, and while I have a healthy respect for the ocean and its power, I love it. On some level I guess I take it for granted like I do the Mountains, but I am still in awe of the mountains and the ocean every time I see them. The part the I guess I take for granted is the fact that I know they aren’t going anywhere, and that they will always be there any time I want to go see them and visit.

Saturday afternoon, myself and some of the other ladies went down to the beach to go for a walk. We walked at least 2 miles.

I was kind of sad Sunday knowing that I was going to have to leave and return to the City life. While I was ready to be back to having my own room, I wasn’t ready to leave the beach.

I still miss the beach very much.

Last Beach Trip of my 20’s

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Over the course of the past few days the weather forecast had been showing a stretch of dry and warmer (for this time of year anyway), weather. So I had decided to keep my eye on the forecast for the northern coast. For the majority of the week it was showing sunny and upper 50’s for highs along the northern coast. I decided yesterday that I would go to the beach today, beings that I had only gone 3 other times this year.

Beings that this month is my birthday month, as well as the good weather and the fact that this month is only going to get crazier, today was the perfect day to take off and go to the beach one more time this year and while I am still in my 20’s.

I, of course took Tigger and Pooh with me, as they have become my little adventure buddies over the course of the last six and a half years. I got them just before I went to New York when I was 23, and they have gone on many adventures with me since then.

Summer Beach Day

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It was so good to be back at the beach today. I have missed it so much, you all have no idea. 

There is one particular area of the North Coast, which has felt like home for the past few years. 

Today I had gone to Rockaway Beach for part of the day. It was a beautiful day. It was pretty windy but beautiful. There is a state park near there that I absolutely love. 

Before coming back to the city, I stopped in Seaside, to grab some food. I had found a parking spot a little bit of a walk from the main drag that goes down to the beach. I am super glad I had parked where I did beings that there was so much traffic and not a park to be found along the main strip. Seaside is pretty much my least favorite town along the Oregon Coast. It is so touristy and has lost the character that many of the other smaller towns on the Oregon Coast have. Seaside has definitely turned into the top coastal tourist destination and has been trying to imitate the Southern California and East Coast beach towns that have all the attractions and shops. It also has a huge to do over spring break. For those of you who have watched Gilmore Girls in season 4, when Rory, Paris and some of the other Yaleies go to Florida for spring break, Seaside is where you are going to get as close to that kind of spring break as you will get here in Oregon. 

I definitely prefer a beach that is relatively empty and fairly clean. I definitely prefer being able to get out and walk along the beach, and be able to stay somewhere (whether I am camping or staying at a house) where I can have a campfire in the evening, and relax and drink some tea and maybe make some s’mores. 

I have loved the ocean for as long as I can remember. Whether it is a beautiful sunny day like today or whether it is pouring down rain and the seas are super rough, or even the rare occasion when it snows on the beach. I love it all. 

Beach Day!

Hey Everyone!

Today, I went with my parents, as well as my aunt and uncle to the beach. 

My aunt and uncle live up in northern British Columbia. My aunt had grown up here in the states and moved up to Canada when she married my uncle. 

They come down to visit annually, and one of the things they like to do is go to the beach while they are here. 

Today was the day we went to the beach. It was overcast the whole day, and tried to rain a few times, but didn’t really start to rain until we were back in the valley. 

While this part of the coast isn’t where I typically go when I get to choose, it still was fun, and it was still the beach. 

My favorite smell is the smell of a campfire mixed with the ocean air, and I definitely smelled that today. 

#campingbrain

Hey Everyone!

I had finished up a pair of wool socks today. After I had washed them, I put them on their blockers, and had taken them outside to the deck to attach the blockers to the line, to give them some time outside to dry, and help keep the wet sheep smell out of the house. I don’t mind the wet sheep smell, but others that I live with don’t particularly care for it – they are city folk through and through.

As I was out on the deck rigging a system to attach my sock blockers (with the wet wool socks on them), I noticed that someone in the neighborhood was having a fire – I could smell it. I love the smell of a camp fire or fire in the fireplace. That smell really made me want to get out and go camping, and be able to sit around a campfire after a long day hiking, or doing some sort of outdoor activity, and relaxing while smelling the smell of the fire, and warming up while listening to the crackle and pop of the fire.

A campfire is inviting and comforting. It brings people together. There is something about sitting around a fire in the evening, after all the work and the activity of the day is done, and having a warm drink (like tea or hot chocolate), and winding down. The smell of the campfire, always makes me want to be outside, and spending time outdoors adventuring and exploring.

For me, there is more to life than sitting inside all the time, at a desk, and spending my life confined to the indoors, all the time. I don’t mind wintering indoors, but at the same time, even in the winter, we still get some really nice, cold but clear days, and on days like those I love being outside, enjoying the winter day.

I would love to have a career, where I have some versatility and flexibility, where I don’t have to spend 40+ hours cooped up in an office. I am the kind of person who would be willing to do a certain amount of indoor, office-y stuff that would have to go along with the being outside stuff.

Back to smelling the fire someone was having – it made me long to be out camping, and sleeping out under the stars, away from the hustle and the bustle of city life.

While the smell of a campfire is one of my top five smells, I think my #1 smell, that I absolutely love is the scent of a camp fire mixed with the salty sea air of the beach (particularly those in Oregon).