“I hear the waves, sun beating down on my shoulders, it’s a near perfect day….” Zac Brown band.

We camp often at the Oregon coast and it is always a bit of a game of chance. Our mercurial weather and many micro-climates can create a damp, chilly July or a crystal clear Winter day. You bring your raingear and hope for the best.

Since our acquisition of Tequila camper we have been taking great advantage of the off season camping options, relishing the open stretches of beach and near empty campgrounds. We’ve been extremely lucky with the weather cooperating being mostly clear, albeit chilly.

Last weekend, however was nearly perfect. Vibrant blue skies showcasing an occasional fluffy white cloud, zero wind and temperatures hovering around 70degrees. Jim & I both agreed the only thing better would have been to have beach boys bringing us cocktails!

We’d ended up at Nehalem Bay State Park, one of our favorite spots. It’s a large campground with nice facilities, but what draws us each time is the 4mile long beach, miles of bike trails, and short walk to the charming community of Manzanita.

Upon arrival we set up camp and headed right to the beach to catch a glimpse of sunset before a fantastic dinner around the campfire.

Saturday morning dawned bright and we hiked for miles that day, biked for more miles and Maddy even got in some swimming.

Hours of lounging on the sand caused unexpected early season sunburns, but we found ourselves unwilling to leave the gorgeous day and finally succumbed late in the afternoon, very happy campers.

As the day turned into night we got our gin & tonic sundowners and headed back to the dunes. The sky turned glorious shades of gold and pink and red. Sitting together in silence we drank in the evening and reflected on a fantastic day.

Maddy, uncharacteristically cuddly, moved in close to Jim and I snapped one last shot, completely content.

Back at camp we shared a bottle of Shiraz over dinner around the fire and all I could think was…..