Castles in the Sand

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Hi everyone,

Well we did not exactly find the sun but we did come across the Pacific Ocean. We are spending the night in Florence, Oregon right on the beach. The ocean is so beautiful. It's weird to think that we live so close to the Atlantic and right now I am writing to you steps from the Pacific Ocean. We have decided to stay another night here in Florence so that we can have a slight respite from setting up and breaking down our gear. We are ahead of schedule so we are taking our time throughout Oregon. The weather has been really rainy and damp but we are making the best of it. It seems like the sun is trying to break out so we will walk down to the beach just to relax and the sky will open up and start pouring rain. The forecast doesn’t look good for the next couple of days but it is the Pacific Northwest after all. We managed to stay semi dry last night and hopefully our stuff is drying out now. Our campground has a rec room that we are hanging out in, staying out of the rain so I figured I would update. I hope that you enjoy the pictures but they do not do it justice, the ocean here is gorgeous.

We spent the day in Florence, Oregon a small coastal community in Central Oregon. The town has a quaint old town section where we did a little shopping and walked around during a lull in the otherwise rainy Oregon weather.
It really feels like I am back home on the cape, with the beach, the dunes, and the small towns. Oregon as a whole really reminds me of New England. Where we are now with the sand dunes and ocean is so much like Nantucket, it makes me miss home a little. If it was beach weather I would be in my glory but there will be plenty of time for that later on in the summer (Sasha get ready for Auntie to come back home-no matter what that bad Papa promises you).

Directly behind the beach and the dunes there are rolling hills with dense, dark green forests on them. There are coastal mountains behind them that really remind of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. I am really excited to head further north on the 101, the coast will even rockier. It is so beautiful and has always reminded me of the Maine Coast. It really feels like it is the East Coast but on the Pacific Ocean. I could see myself with a little log cabin on the beach here after retirement (only about 40 years away).

After this we are planning on heading to Portland, Oregon and then over to Mount Hood along the Columbia River Gorge, which has a tremendous amount of waterfalls and scenic vistas. Pray for sun!

I hope all is well back home and don't forget to leave comments!

Love Laura

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Photos

Driftwood Shores
I have never seen so many huge pieces of driftwood at the beach

Oregon Dunes National Forest
The Oregon coast reminds me of the cape

Oregon Dunes
Once again the clouds are rolling in on us at the beach. There will be no working on my tan today!

Comments

[Jen C., not to be confused with Jen B.]

Everything looks so beautiful. I cannot believe that you are so far into your trip. What is next? I really look forward to your blog posts. Love, Jen

[Michelle]

Hey, can you find me a little house while you are there? It would save Mick and I a lot of time. We don't think we can wait 40 years.

[jennyfromtheblock42]

a magical comment.
dear travel journal... why is it still raining??? why are we staying in a PWT campground?? love, jenny and laura.