Eastward Ho ~ June 18-19, 2014

After breakfast in Seaside we head south on Hwy 101 to pick up Hwy 26 east. But first a side trip to Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park to see the Tillamook Lighthouse. 

Ecola State Park looking south

Tillamook Lighthouse from Ecola overlook

Cannon Beach

The lighthouse is only 20 miles south of the Columbia River, an area known for foul weather and dangerous seas. Research on it's history proved to be quite illuminating, if you'll excuse the pun. The following was excerpted from several sources:

In 1878 the US Congress appropriated funds for a lighthouse on Tillamook Head. After a survey it was determined the light would be obscured by fog, so Tillamook Rock, just off shore was chosen as the alternate site. In May 1880 the Corp of Engineers began the project by blasting off the top of the rock to create a level area for foundations. Transportation to and from the rock, for men and materials, involved the use of a derrick and breeches buoy. Construction took 500 days and was completed in 1881. Violent storms played havoc with the lighthouse on a continuing basis and in 1957 it was finally decommissioned. 

Can you imagine?

It's strange afterlife began in 1959 when it was turned into the "Eternity at Sea Columbarium" by a group of investors from Nevada. There is a delightful article in the October 24, 2007 NY Times that tells the story. It's entitled "Terrible Tillie, Where the Departed Rest Not Quite in Peace". It's worth a read. 

After walks at Ecola State Park and Cannon Beach we head northeast to pick up Hwy 26, off to spend a couple of days with friends Art and Deb in Hillsboro. Just east of Elsie, we run into a major traffic jam. The Department of Transportation has decided to work on three major road repairs at one time, delaying travelers 45-90 minutes in both directions. Fortunately the weather is pleasant and we're in the shade. After an extended period with no traffic going either way we start to see cars coming west. We lost count at 150. There are only 7 cars ahead of us and we're thinking when the east dam is released it'd be a good time to get off the road for a bit. 

The travel gods are smiling on us. In a mile or so we see Camp 18 Restaurant and Logging Museum on our right so we pulled in and parked. Just under 200 cars, that had been stacked up behind us, made their way east. Good call to be off the road. 

After lunch we strolled around part of the grounds. We waited to get back in the car until the westbound traffic began to move. No one would be heading east for at least 30 minutes, so we made a break for it. We only saw part of the collections so we made a note to come back. There is a lot of great history here. 

We arrive at Art and Deb's in the late afternoon, settle in, and adjourn to the deck to enjoy the weather and catch up. 

It's always a treat to be at Chateau Hertz: good company, fine food, cribbage, dining on the deck and walking in the woods. Like us, they rarely come down off their hill unless it's absolutely necessary. Deb decided we'd be her guinea pigs tonight, one of our favorite assignments. She wanted to try a Moroccan Pastilla because she liked the photo in her cookbook (Cooking A to Z Complete Culinary Reference Tool by Jane Horn). Our kind of chef ~ fearless.

The Pastilla was simply amazing. After dinner it was King's Cribbage and Rummy Cubes until we couldn't keep our eyes open. We have a hard day of relaxing ahead of us tomorrow so it's off time bed for some shuteye. 

June 19th

After breakfast we took a walk down their wooded driveway and up the road to visit the neighbor's Alpaca's. They had just been shaved for summer, all but their heads. So they looked a little like Disney characters, all with very different personalities. Only one of my photos turned out, but you can kinda of get the idea. This is the surfer dude. 

After our 2.5 mile walk, Deb grilled chicken sausages for lunch. Rod loved the fact he wasn't cooking for a change and all Deb would me do is set the table. Oh darn!

Afternoon dedicated to visiting, reading and napping on the deck. BBQ quail for dinner and a quiet evening of jazz and cribbage. Tomorrow we head down the hill to Canby for a few days to visit family. This has been a great time out from our time out. 

Ethereal Beauty ~ Oct 25, 2012

We just got back from a short jaunt up to Butte County to see my Aunt Betty and her husband Bob. They are 93 and 95 respectively and delightful company. We went up to tag along when they met with an attorney to update their trust.

The four of us are heading out for a more entertaining adventure on November 5th. They're taking the Land of Legends, Wild, Wild West bus tour through historic sites in Arizona and we're going to meet up to spend a couple of days exploring and looking into family history.

The trip took us through Lake County via Hwy 20 and we saw a lot of the damage caused by recent lightning fires. The ground and brush are burned away, and though the trees are burned their leaves remain. It created a rather other worldly vision in the changing light of a passing storm, an ethereal beauty hard to describe.

Dustis Bunnitus ~ Sept 5, 2012

I've always been one to eschew housecleaning. Life is too short to be fussing about a little dust, webs, pasture detritous or the small posse of food particles that gather under the kitchen center island. 

We live in the country ~ you could spit shine the house, seal the doors and windows and leave for a week and stuff would still magically appear where it always does. We invite company over a couple of times a year to force us into some sort of deep cleaning mode.

It's September which means our local Renaissance Faire "Much Ado About Sebastopol" is only a couple of weeks away (September 22-23 at Ives Park). I've been pulling out costumes and all the drapes, flowers and props we use to take our set up back to Elizabethan England. I haven't been able to locate the material that drapes around the top of our canopy so I tore apart the storage above the closets and under the beds. My organization goddess kicked into high gear and the world was at my mercy.

In the storage area above the closets I found items that haven't seen the light of day in years because we no longer use them: 2 down sleeping bags, 2 back packs, 2 foam pads, 4 extra blankets, 3 down vests, 4 heavy shirts, and 3 sets of winter gloves. I called the Sonoma County Task Force for the Homeless and made arrangements to deliver all of the above yesterday. They were delighted and I now have space. We also found an artist's proof of a print that we purchased in Four Corners on Rod's 55th birthday trip. Considering he turns 65 this month, we thought it might be time to get it framed. We just received a coupon for 60% off custom framing at a local shop so once again timing is everything.  

Under the beds: an extra glass shelf for the TV stand, a leaf for dining room table, one emergency kit, one bolt of material (wrong stuff) and three 2' x 3' plastic boxes with emergency gifts, wrapping paper and ribbon. The boxes of ribbon and paper went up into new space over the closet, the emergency kit is within easy reach in the closet, the glass shelf and table leaf went down to the barn and the emergency gift selection was donated to Forgotten Felines.

Dust Bunnies

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Then the grand discovery: herds of dust bunnies the likes of which I've never seen. If you store things under beds you tend not to adventure there with any sort of cleaning implement. And having carpet instead of hardwood floors makes it really easy to overlook.

Got to end that bad habit now, so no more stuff stored under the beds. We hauled out the big gun vacuum and wrangled those varmits into the cyclone, humming Ghostbusters the whole time. The amount of sh** we removed was astounding. Maybe I'll ask Santa for a once a month housecleaner. There comes a time in life when you hire a professional, right?

The Neighborhood ~ April 6, 2012

Daylight savings and a change of season often bring minor league chaos for a week or two. The weather's been cold and wet and we've all been inside for far too long ~ cabin fever is afoot.

Cabin Fever

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Not ones to squander time we got creative while awaiting the warm. We read and scheduled playdays that weren't weather dependent. I volunteered time at a local non profit and learned how to do collage. Rod got his shop cleaned up and gear organized for bass fishing. But be that as it may we were still chomping at the bit to get outside, get our hands dirty garden and open up the house to some fresh air.

We live near the end of a lane that's far enough in the country to be quiet, but close enough to town we can walk the mile or so to the theater, a park or a restaurant. We've lived on this little piece of paradise for 24 years, but the real magic is that we have the best neighbors in the world.

We watch out for each other, take turns feeding critters or watering when one is out of town. Over the proverbial back fence or on the driveway we often share home grown produce, conversation and goodies from fresh fish to cut flowers, from homemade pies to soup. We've known the resident kidlets since they were born. We share friends and laughter at BBQ's, birthday parties and spur of the moment gatherings.

Dahlia

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Our four families hadn't seen each other for almost a week but today was the quintessential day to exhale winter and breathe in the spring. At the first hint of warmth the bears emerged from their lairs. We got the barn organized and talked dahlias over the back fence. We toured the garden with the moms and kids to harvest fresh greens and got caught up standing in the sun on the driveway. I suspect that all of us, at one time or another during the day, stretched out like lizards on a rock to soak up some warm. We are so lucky to live where we do and to share this bond of friendship.

Planet Shared

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Do you know your neighbors? Have you ever spoken to them? Maybe it's time to go next door and say hello with some fresh baked cookies? Get to know the kindred spirits that share your little corner of the world. You might be surprised.