Down the Oregon Coast

We found our beach last December after a few summers away from our old beach.  Part of living on the East Coast is vacationing to the shore.  For us, it was always and will forever be Ocean City, MD.  I miss the soft shell crabs, rainbow umbrellas, and late night boardwalk brawls.  I knew we needed to find two important locations for K when we moved here: our bar and our beach.  The first was crossed off the list within months and now the beach is officially ours.

The day after Christmas, in between unwrapping presents and packing moving boxes, we made our first trip to Lincoln City, Oregon.  It was a trip planned way before we knew we would have to move or experience the frustration of trying to find a new place.  The trip was bad timing but it was just what we needed.   This time around, we brought our family and the dogs came along again because they did so well in the car in December.  

My dad mentioned a few times the suitable beaches we were passing on our way down.  But getting there is half the fun, I reminded myself.  It took a few hours to get to Ocean City, we should expect just as much in our new beach.

This beach does not have a boardwalk and I doubt there are soft shell crabs near by.  But it has soft, warm sand and steady waves, so it will just have to do.

We stayed for only a few days but managed to pack in some special memories.  My dad and I took the yellow pup to the beach the first night and captured the only sunset of the trip.  I joined my mom twice in the ocean, the second time we sat down on the shore letting the waves cover us.  After quite awhile on the shore, the yellow pup of mine came bounding up to us and it felt like we had bumped into a friend for a few seconds.  K and I got away and fit in an afternoon date at the local driving range. His surgically repaired wrist is doing quite well according to his golf swing.  We all slept, lounged, got sand everywhere, and took it all in.

The morning of the last day, I woke early and ventured down to the beach myself.  I dreaded the walk back up the hill but kept walking along the beach.  It was foggy, with a light drizzle, and nearly empty on the sand.  In the distance stood tall, dark rocks with promises of full tide pools.  I kept walking, knowing the distance and effort usually produced exciting results.  A local woman pointed out hidden star fish, pink and orange, clinging to the mussel laden rocks.  And as always, I was glad I walked a little farther.

We've been back a few days.  The weekend was heavy with Mike's funeral and without the constant hum of the ocean around us.  But we will be back, beach.