Happy New Year!!! We spent our long weekend camping at the Oregon Coast. Crazy you ask? Well, perhaps, or, as our friend Ron says… we’re freaks! Our 4 nights proved to be exactly what we expected for the coast in late December; just a little bit of everything.
We arrived Friday night to find a nearly empty campground and our choice of spots. It was overcast and cold and we barely made it to the beach for a quick watch and sundowner.
winter moss
Saturday morning dawned crystal clear and really crisp with the temperature hovering around 34degrees. We pulled on long underwear and layers of clothes before heading out for our normal morning beach walk. A lazy day ensued, with the overcast and the temperatures cold, we took long walks fueled by adult beverages. The San Dune Pub in Manzanita was showing the Alamo Bowl featuring our own Oregon State Beavers and proved a festive spot to spend a few hours rooting for the home team.
Sunday turned out to be nearly perfect, albeit chilly. We hung out on the beach, did some crabbing off the dock in the pretty little town of Garibaldi, and took in an absolutely amazing sunset. Playing gin, watching movies, and drinking some hot toddy’s kept us happy into the night when our firewood proved too wet to burn properly and the cold forced us inside.
As happens any time of year at the Oregon coast, the weather is mercurial and Monday brought us another reversal in the weather. After brilliant sunshine Sunday, Monday was very overcast with rain off and on and frigid winds sweeping off the ocean. We checked out Ecola State Park where, strangely enough, neither Jim nor I had ever visited. An extremely windy, narrow roads leads from downtown Cannon Beach to a gorgeous viewpoint with views of town as well as the deactivated Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. As often happens, a dreary day turned into a magical sunset over the ocean and it was well worth the cold trek for our final sundowner of 2012. We had a nearly perfect New Years Eve.Dinner was a hot and spicy Thai Tom Yum soup with pineapple and shrimp and a spinach citrus salad, some bubbly, and good company. As the wind and waves crashed outside we were safe, we were cozy and we were together.
Tuesday took it’s example from Sunday, another absolutely brilliantly clear, very cold day. With ice on the puddles and a brisk wind, we took our first walk of 2013 on the beach, starting off the new year with one of our very favorite activities. I began re-reading a book my mom gave me years ago called Simple Abundance and the quote for the day was There are years that ask questions and years that answer – Zora Neale Hurston. What will this year become for you?
Final sundowner of 2013
Wishing all those we love all around the world a new year that features a leap of faith. Believe in yourself. Believe there is a loving sources just waiting to help make your dreams come true. Happy 2013 to all!