The Coast

I woke around 7:30am to yet another beautiful, sunny morning. After a quick round of exercise, a little writing, and a hot cup of coffee I tuned into the weather forecast to insure that I would be dressed in the proper attire for my morning run. It was still below freezing and the winds, especially in the gorge, were still whipping about. Today I would push my distance marginally further along the waterfront. I made my turnaround at Beaches & McMenamin’s. I was gone for 50+ minutes. My guess is that the run was somewhere close to six miles. Upon my return, everyone was awake. After some discussion, we decided the day’s plans would include a visit to the coast. I had been to the coast on two prior visits, but none as it turned out, would be as pleasant as this one. Before heading to the coast, we stopped at the Vancouver Farmer’s Market to get breakfast. The Farmer’s Market adjoins Esther Short Park. Tom & I both ordered fresh Philly steak sandwiches. Mindy and Glenn ordered breakfast entrée’s. After our brunch, we were coast bound. The temperature was much warmer than the day prior and for that we were thankful. The drive to the coast took us through the coastal range, which provided some beautiful views. Our primary destination was Oswald West State Park, but we also planned to stop at Cannon Beach. Just before the State Park we stopped at the first scenic overlook and snapped some pics. If you’re like me, when encountering the ocean after not seeing for a while, it leaves one in complete awe of its expansiveness and splendor. And this portion of the pacific coast offers up some breath taking, rocky vistas. After our scenic view we headed directly to the park. It’s only a few miles down the road. The hike from the parking area to the ocean shore was rather short, probably no further than a ½ mile. Some of the old growth conifers in the forest are 10’ wide at the base giving a total circumference of 30+ feet. We spent the next hour on the coast in a small bay that appeared to be a favorite surfing spot for locals. Of course with the weather being what it was and the water temperatures being so cold, they all wore thick neoprene dry suits. During our stroll back to the car, Ashley called on her cell to ask if she could use the hot tub. While we had her on the phone, Glenn ,Mindy and I sang happy birthday to her. After our Oswald adventure we drove back north to Cannon Beach, a seaside vacation town. Here we strolled onto the beautiful beach and walked along the shore looking to recover sand dollars. And just off the beach was the infamous Haystack Rock. It’s one of the largest, as I understand it, of its type in the world. It stands 235’ tall. We took several photos of the sun setting behind it. Spectacular! On our stroll back, Mindy got a little careless with the tide while trying to recover a sand dollar still intact. Before she knew it, she was in water well above her ankles. All of this, just to get Jimmy a sand dollar. We made our way back to the car after an hour on the beach. Our next planned stop was to a local pub/restaurant. We found Bill’s Tavern & Brew House, a local seaside brewpub. Mindy’s first order of business was to remove her wet shoes. I took them and placed them under the wood burning stove at table side. We stayed there munching and drinking for about an hour. Soon we were headed back home. The night sky was crystal clear and there were more stars shining than I’ve seen since last summer at cousin Dodie’s. We made it home by 8:30am. Mindy went right to bed wanting to be well rested for our ski adventure the following morning. Glenn, Tom, and I watched Office Space. Come 10:30 or so, I went to bed too.