Back In Our “Happy Place” – Brookings, OR
“Oh Oregon, my Oregon, how I have missed thee…”
Those were the very first words I wrote on Instagram as we crossed the State Line. We both high-fived each other and breathed a huge sigh of relief. It had been a FAST drive North (at least by our standards), with two long days of driving and only a single over night stop (at the Eureka Elks Lodge #652). We’d zoomed through all of the Northern CA coast (apart from Fort Bragg, of course), so we undoubtedly missed a ton of stuff, but we were finally HERE!
I can’t exactly describe why we feel the way we do about Oregon, but we just do. Whenever we’re here it feels like wrapping ourselves in an old blanket. It’s cozy, well-worn and it fits us so perfectly well. It feels comforting. It feels like coming home.
For the next ~100 miles or so we’ll have nothing but wild-open coastline which is all OURS -> 100% public and 100% paw-friendly (the Oregon Beach Bill was iconic stuff, I tell you). These are all familiar roads to us, so we know many of curves and most of the beaches, but we also know that, like all of the Oregon Coast, they can never be completely captured. It’s just too raw and untamed out here, and that’s precisely what we love about it.
Of course not everyone feels the way we do about this place (if they did, the entire country would be RVing here!). I am fully conscious of the fact that we wear rose-colored glasses whenever we’re in Oregon, and honestly we never bother questioning them or taking them off. It’s an interesting psychological phenomenon which, intellectually, I completely understand. Your emotions are intricately tied to the experiences you’ve had in a place, and your mind can create beautiful things out of experiences and places (even people) that others “see” completely differently. Also, once you’ve seen something in a certain way, it’s hard to see it any other way.
If you’re a photographer you know exactly what I’m talking about. Take 10 photographers to the same place (at the same time) and you’ll get 100 completely different shots. This is not because the place presents itself differently to each person. In fact the physical and visual experience is very likely exactly the same. It’s simply because each photographer “sees” the place differently. One person might notice the way the ocean waves curl against the evening light, while another will be fascinated with the shells on the sand. And then there will always be a sub-set of folks who won’t see a single picture worth taking at all.
Some people would call these differences creative talent, but in my mind the “creative eye” is really nothing much more observing what’s in front of you and learning to see it in different ways. A small part of that may be inherent in a person, sure, but I believe the vast majority of it is something that can totally be learned, by anyone and everyone.
As someone who suffered many years of serious depression in my younger years, I’m perhaps even more acutely aware of this phenomenon than others. Your mind can be both an amazing and a terrible thing, either driving you to succeed feats beyond your wildest dreams, or throwing you into a blackness so deep it seems impenetrable. If you have a tendency towards the latter it’s a tough thing to live with. In my case it took years of mind-training (and therapy, and nutritional experimentation) to change the way I think and minimize that dark creature that inhabits my inner core.
But my depression was also deeply transformative.
Through that whole process I learned the importance of deliberate positive thinking and, just like exercising your body to keep it fit, it’s something I practice each and every day for the fitness of my own mind. The science side of me knows I’m creating new neural pathways and and (even) changing my body’s chemical make-up when I do this. The emotional side of me just knows that when I’m in nature I feel good, and subsequently I see things differently. What feeds the soul, feeds the mind, and when I’m in places I love I always see something interesting to photograph, no matter what the weather or circumstance.
Whoah….I’m getting kinda deep here, aren’t I? Sometimes my blog posts go off on totally random tangents that I don’t expect (at all) once I start writing (which is a whole other blog post in and of itself)!
All that to say that when we’ve gotten to our “happy place” and we’re not ashamed to admit it. We really have ZERO agenda for our next 2 weeks on the Oregon Coast. We’ve been here many times before and we’ve visited just about every touristy thing there is to see, so this time around we’re simply coming to veg-out. Basically we just plan to immerse ourselves in the nature we love so much, soaking in every frikkin’ minute we can before Paul flies home and we have to dive back into the practical details of life.
This also means you won’t be getting any “must see” info or lists on the blog for a little while. I’ll include related links to each place we visit at the bottom of my blog posts (including where we’ve parked), but I’ll not be writing my usual in-depth visitor guide. Instead you’ll simply be getting shots of my beloved Oregon Coast as I view this place through my photographic eye. Also you’ll very likely be loaded with a few more deep, philosophical rambles as I get swept away by the place I love so much.
This is nature-therapy to me, and since I’m the kind of the person who can only write what I experience as I experience it, that’s what I’ve got to express on the blog. Hopefully I’ll sweep you along with me, and you’ll get to see things a little differently too.
P.S. Although I’m taking a kind of break from my typical blog-writing, we will be a doing a few more videos over the next few weeks, including a few more campground reviews and maybe some other stuff. The last video we did on driving curvy roads clearly generated a lot of interest, so we have a few more ideas for follow-on from that.
Brookings-Related Blog Posts:
- Where to Stay -> Our top choice is Harris Beach State Park. See my full review HERE.
- Day-Trip #1 -> Lounging In The Banana Belt! Brookings, OR
- Day-Trip #2 -> A Walk Amongst Lighthouses & Giants – Crescent City, CA
You are such an inspiration! Thank you!
Bob
Oh, I can’t wait to visit Oregon! It’s on my agenda for the summer of ’17. You know – the agenda set in Jell-o! Keep the inspiration coming and enjoy your time in your beloved state!
Thanks for sharing. Just got back from a few weeks up 101 through Eureka to Newport. This included a stop at Cape Blanco and a tour of the lighthouse thanks to your blog. When the weather started getting cold and wet we headed inland and wound up at Likely Place Golf and RV resort as well. What a fantastic place! Thanks for that recommendation as well. Enjoy!
Nice route! And all of my fav spots too. So glad you enjoyed them!
Nina
You had us when you said, “Our Happy Place”. The Oregon tourism would benefit from you being on their board. We will be driving through in June and if your around Sam would enjoy a beach date with Polly. :-). Cheers, JeffDeb
We’ll be all the way north on the OR/WA border by June (I’m volunteer hosting at Cape Disappointment State Park that month). You’ve definitely got a doggie-date if you come by!
Nina
Waiting to see your terrific photos. They uplift my day.
Keep shooting.
Marilyn
Lovely pics : ) video too please lol
Welcome back guys. We like it so much in Oregon that we live here (in Sisters). 🙂 I just got back from my Whychus Creek hike.
We have a new state park that you need to check out: Cottonwood Canyon. It’s 8,000 acres along the lower John Day river, wild and natural. Largest herd of Bighorn Sheep in Oregon. Vicki and I are heading there Wednesday on our way to Boardman Marina and RV Park on the Columbia.
BTW, inspired by you, we spent last October volunteering as Lighthouse hosts at Cape Blanco – had a great time. We’re thinking of signing up again for September this year. Special place, I envy you being nearby in Brookings.
Cheers,
John
Oh Cottonwood Canyon sounds sublime! I’ll definitely look it up. And so very happy you enjoyed your volunteer stint at Cape Blanco. We keep wanting to come back to it, but our travels have just taken a different route recently.
Nina
As we get closer and closer to our ‘leave date,’ I love reading posts like these! Leaving the stress and anxiety behind, getting out into nature, finding the places that truly move us and make us happy….
We. Cannot. Wait!!!
Oregon is my happy place, too. Unfortunately, I married a died in the wool Minnesotan so I don’t get to Oregon nearly enough. So, please, send as many photos as you can and I’ll fake the ocean smell.
We LOVE Oregon as well! You describe it perfect! So different from Washington, where we live.
In Bookings, check out Alfred Loeb State Park. Might not get the Beast in there, but pretty aromatic Myrtle Wood Forest to walk through. 🙂
Thanks for your information. We are planning Oregon for 2017. Knew when we went there on a family vacation 20 years we’d like to retire there. Of course we didn’t “retire” to anywhere. :-). So looking very forward to seeing it again. I remember being on Ruby beach with our girls, we even bought a painting of it.
Question, have you ever been to Seal Rocks RV Cove in Seal Rock? I would really like your thoughts on it if possible. Either to stay or Workamp.
Enjoy your time in beautiful Oregon.
Honestly haven’t been to that RV Park and it’s actually around an area that we haven’t spent much time in (Waldport). I think it’s a pretty spot, but couldn’t say much more.
Nina
Your writing is so refreshing and beautiful. Thank you for those random tangents!! Your readers are truly blessed when you share your heart in this way. I know I am the richer for it.
Our kids live in Seattle, and we always head up there in July (from Houston, a GREAT heat escape, but we are not RV’ers, YET). The state of Washington affects me similarly to how Oregon does you.
Also, I would love to learn more from you about the nutritional aspect of the health of the mind.
After you are all rested up, though.
Thank you again for the wisdom in your words.
On nutrition side I would say there’s a few key things which helped me:
1/ Cutting sugar/carbs and switching to a whole foods diet -> my mood is very affected by sugar, and the more sugar I have, the more unstable my moods. Going low(ish) carb, cutting out processed foods and eating whole foods (plentiful veggies, meats, fish, whole fruit, greens, nuts etc.) has helped me tremendously.
2/ Eating sufficient fats -> this was also key. I need much more fat than most and upping my good fat intake (omegas, coconut oil, even butter etc.) was a critical benefit. In fact going low-fat (which I did when I was younger) was probably one of the very worst things I ever did for my mental health. I still take omega-3 supplements everyday. I believe most depressed people have a problem processing enough omega-3, or just need more overall.
3/ Stabilizing Vitamin D levels -> when I finally got myself tested I was chronically low on vitamin D. I think I just don’t convert it well in my skin, which is very likely linked to my moods. I worked to get it stabilized with supplementation and test myself periodically.
4/ Gut health -> there’s a definite, known link between gut health and the brain. Eliminating wheat from my diet (which I definitely react to) was incredibly helpful, and taking probiotics was also important. If you’ve never tried it, I recommend going gluten-free for a month to see if it changes how you feel. I try to do what I can to keep my gut healthy these days.
There’s lots more, and more supplements you can look at too (e.g. 5-HTP, B vitamins and chromium amongst others), plus some good links:
This is an easy place to start reading:
http://www.foodforthebrain.org/nutrition-solutions/depression/about-depression.aspx
And there are many more areas such as this:
http://www.foodforthebrain.org/media/231110/Depression___The_Nutrition_Connectin.pdf
And this:
http://chriskresser.com/depression/
Nina
You seem to have come to the same conclusions as I have regarding nutrition. For me, it wasn’t so much mental health as it was physical, but the search for answers resulted in the same nutrition goals.
FWIW, I’ve collected links to various sites that I’ve found to be helpful during my last six years of low carb high fat eating.
http://jeffgilbertson.wordpress.com/lchf
Wow!!!! Thank you, Nina! I have lost 53 pounds, slowly, over the last 16 months with Weight Watchers, and am eating pretty much in the fashion you describe! It is TRULY amazing what getting off the sugar alone will do for us. And enjoying fruits and vegetables!!
Thank you for taking the time to do this!
Happy trails.
Well done!!! That’s a fabulous achievement! Both Paul and I lost ~40 lbs each when we changed our diet and got off the sugar, so I know exactly how you feel. Continued good health to you!
Nina
Loved this post. I really needed the reminder about deliberate positive thinking today and your photographs are inspiring!
Looks wonderful. I would like to go back sometime, when we are not zooming through to get to the desert. It was beautiful.
Oh yes, it’s a place to longer when you get the chance!
Nina
Ramble on. We love it.
WONDERFUL Oregon … so happy you are in the happy place!
A grandmother lived in Brookings. Such awesome memories your words and photos bring back! It is indeed a special area. Thanks!
We stay here 2 times. Cost $12 per night.
May be it help you to find next spot to stay
https://goo.gl/maps/eVpR2mQvSCD2
Looks like a sweet little, hidden spot (here’s a link to the park itself for others looking: http://www.portofgoldbeach.com/HuntleyParkRates.htm).
We’re already up by Cape Blanco, but cheers for the idea.
Nina
I don’t think I have ever enjoyed your photographs as much as I enjoy the one in this blog post….
We hear you Nina……can’t wait to see Oregon through your eyes once more and can’t wait to see it through our own eyes very soon.
You and the doggies are going to go crazy here, just crazy 🙂
Nina
We’re currently on the Oregon Coast too, camp hosting at Sunset Bay State Park. Saturday we head to Port Orford to once again volunteer at the Lifeboat Museum…and we have you to thank for posting about an opening in your blog last year. We spent a month at Port Orford last year. This year we’re spending two months at the coast. It is the most beautiful part of Oregon! Wave to us if we pass on the road. We’re pulling an Airstream trailer.
Oh sweet! We’ll be driving north just as you guys drive south. So glad you found the volunteer spot here and enjoyed it! We’re currently spending a few days in Cape Blanco and I have to admit it’s super nostalgic. I still think this is my absolute favorite place on the coast. Have a great summer!
Nina
Been in Brookings once on our way to Lincoln city loved it looking forward to revisiting one day
Beautiful photos. Oregon is a different world. We had planned to be there along the coast about this time but had a change of plans one morning and now we are in Oceanside, CA. Enjoy your time and the cool air. The wind is really blowing here today.
All the wonderful places we find in our travels and the Oregon coast still calls to us. Brookings Harbor could definitely be a landing place for us some day, we love it so much. Glad you’re able to spend some time just “be-ing” back.
So beautifully expressed and photographed, Nina. Deliberate positive thinking and time in nature — and gratitude. These have also been and continue to be immensely healing for me. I certainly understand your love of Oregon — that’s why it’s been our chosen home for many years. And at the same time, we’re loving our traveling life because that’s what our souls are calling for now. It’s all such an amazing journey.
You are both people that understand how to feed your souls, and you share that with others through your volunteer efforts too. It’s a wonderful thing!
Nina
its our happy place too..its been a few years since we have been there though..
makes me miss it..enjoy the views..as always the Oregon Coast never disappoints!
Inspiring writing, as usual!
Are you currently staying at Harris Beach SP? It appears to be non-reserveable until late May, but then is mostly booked solid:( Is it first come first serve for now? OR parks are getting so you have to travel in the off-season, or book nine months ahead. Certainly takes the spontaneity out of ending out.
Paul
Yes we stayed at Harris. It’s first come first serve right now. As soon as bookings open it becomes pretty packed. We rolled in last week and picked up a site on arrival.
I have to agree that the State Parks in OR are becoming more and more popular. You used to be able to travel the whole summer without reservations, but it’s become more difficult now. There are still a *few* parks that don’t take reservations (e.g. Cape Blanco, Carl G.Washborne etc.), but the majority do. I don’t enjoy summer planning.
Nina
Nina,
Thanks for info on Harris.
Here’s an interesting link on a couple (and dog) travelling with an “alternative” style RV, aka “tiny house”.
http://www.treehugger.com/tiny-houses/couple-builds-tiny-house-wheels-30k-free-money-and-time-travel.html
Oh my, I can hardly wait! We may take some short trips this summer, but oh next year, full time RV’ers. I will stay connected. Lots to do! We have told our children we are going. Thanks again for your help. We will be traveling by a trailer as we don’t want to buy an Motorhome just now. This will be new for us so our money needs to be saved for gas and camping. Thanks for all your help. Do you know any RV bloggers over 60 you can reccomend? It would be nice to have help in that area. Thank you
Oh goodness I know TONS of older RV bloggers, both single and in couples. Have a look at my “links and resources” page (https://www.wheelingit.us/blog-links-resources/). I list quite a few of the folks I follow in there. You’ll have lots of great company out here, both young and young-at-heart.
Nina
I am so jealous! I too love Oregon and can’t wait to get back. I’m in Fresno, CA visiting my niece and had planned all winter to get to Yosemite this week. There’s been a cold snap and I’m afraid I’m a weather wuss. I couldn’t see myself lugging my tripod around in a “rain snow mix” so I’m going to the Mojave National Preserve instead. I plan on heading Northwest via Utah after a short stint at home in NM. Keep up the glowing reports! I really enjoy both your writing and especially your photography!
Nina, as has been said dozens of times above, your posts, and this one in particular, are inspiring. As you point out, attitude is everything. You can see the best in almost any situation. To hear that it was a learned response was significant to me. You prove daily, that the world and life can be awesome and inspiring. How you see it is a choice, and you are choosing very well. Congratulations on how well it is working for you.
Did you notice that your optimistic view towards everything around you is infectious? After reading the post, and the accompanying comments, you truly have an affect on all those you touch as well. You make people feel good. You can be aware, and maybe just a little proud, of how you bring out the best in all of us.
Keep on “paying it forward”. Your attitude is yielding dividends. Thank you for the info on Oregon, and the positive attitude that made my day! I’ll do my best to pass it on wherever I can.
Richard C.
Thank you for the lovely and heart-felt words.
It was a revelation to me, back in my darkest days, that positive thinking was a learned thing. I started with affirmations back when I thought such things were complete rubbish…and slowly, but surely they started to have an effect. I was amazed! I also noticed back then exactly what you said, that positive energy is infectious (which is true of negative energy too). Took me a loooong time to figure that out. I try to feed positive energy to myself (and the world around me) as much as I can. In fact that’s part of my whole purpose with this blog, which you totally guessed!
I can’t say I’m “cured” of depression, because I think it’s something you carry with you always, but I’m definitely a very different person from back then and the dark monster doesn’t rear his head nearly as often anymore. Life is good.
Nina
We love Oregon and Washington as well. We were lucky enough to live there for 13 years, and can’t wait to get back once we go full time. South Carolina just doesn’t have the same vibe…Enjoy
I am always happy to read your campground reviews and as Shelly and I are planning a trip to the northwest coast for late summer – I’ll be taking notes…thanks again!
Thanks for your post and pics. Enjoy the rejuvenation that is one of coastal Oregon’s greatest gifts!
Totally! My soul is being well-fed!
Nina
Nina, this was a beautiful post, thank you for sharing. I’ve been following you for some time, but first time I’ve written in. My husband and I are leaving on our full time adventure beginning in June. Your blog has been immensely helpful. Thanks again.
Congrats on your upcoming adventures! Very exciting stuff!
Nina
Sweep us away, Nina! 🙂
Awesome post Nina–as usual! Enjoy your time on the coast and post lots of photos!
Your description of finding your happy place and how people see things differently really hit home for me. It’s like you were reading my mind and eloquently putting it into words! This is how Colorado affects us. I couldn’t explain it. I loved reading your words!
And that’s a perfect point too. Everybody has a different happy place, and that place may even change…over time. The key is to find what feeds your soul and then to nurture it.
Nina
Love your thoughts today, Nina. I am so glad you are in your “happy place”. Your pictures are breathe taking as usual. Oregon is special, no doubt about it.
I so miss Oregon and will be hanging on your every word. Although I love each and every post you write Nina, your philosophical, heart-felt musings resonate with me most. Match those with your stunning photography and it is a blissful experience. Bring ’em on!
Welcome “home”, Nina! You are back in our happy place as well. You know how we love Harris Beach SP and all those views are as familiar to us as any. Still, your take on them is fabulous, beautiful, gorgeous. I do love your photographer’s eye. And your words. OK…good enough words that I had to copy one paragraph and keep it. The one about changing your neural pathways with positive thinking! I know that, but need to remember it! We just returned from family time at South Beach SP near Newport. Never has really been a favorite, but again, the place grows on your…and all those long miles south of leash free sand is wonderful. And the bike trail, and Newport is fun too!
You were the first person I thought of when we got to Harris. Is that too creepy LOL? In fact, I kinda wondered whether we would bump into you again there! Your exuberant posts about the area was one of the main reasons we went there several years ago.
Nina
We love Oregon too. I want to tell you a little story though that you are part of and that is one of the reasons we like RVing in OR so much. Two summers ago I took your recommendation on Nahalem State Park near Manzanita OR and booked a week there. We loved it. But also my wonderful dog Frazier got to run the beach off leash there. The first time we went we walked over the berm that goes from the campground to the beach and I took off his leash about half way over. We then walked a bit more and he could see some other dogs off in the distance. He looked up at me and when we got a little closer I told him, “go ahead and run”. He did and I could see the joy in his eyes just taking off. I took him to the beach every day after that as long as we were there.
Last summer (the year of the fires and smoke) we were lucky enough to get another stay at this beach campground. Dogs have a very good memory. Frazier got very excited when we walked to the beach over the same berm last summer for the first time. He obviously knew he had been there before. I took off his leash about the same spot and when we got to the place overlooking the beach he looked up at me and I gave him the go sign and he had the biggest look of doggie joy you can imagine. He literally bounced around the next few days greeting all kinds of other dogs that might be friends.
The fact that it is one of Frazier’s favorite places helps make it one of mine too.
Thanks.
Now that’s a story I can definitely relate to! Our doggie joy is also a huge part of our personal joy. Just like Frazier, Polly has a very keen memory of every place she’s been, and will actively pull us along on the leash to get to the beach whenever we are near one she knows. She’s currently re-sniffing all her favorite spots on the coast and I can tell she’s just soooo happy. In fact the first day we were in Cape Blanco she did such a huge “crazy run” on the beach she over-strained her back leg and we had to limit her activity for a few days. I’ve rarely seen such over-whelming doggie joy.
Nina
Hi Nina & Paul. Good to have you back in our lives, after our snafu with Word Press, where you were deleted, accidentally. Found you up again while reading other blogs from your friends, Technomads, and others in RV Village. Highly recommend RV Village, by the way – great resource!
After spending over 25 years living in Oregon, rving and traveling to most of the beautiful and wonderful places mentioned in your Blog, we wanted to share some of our special places with you, and your readers. Neskowin, Netarts, Pacific City, are all unique soft and quiet places, entirely different than the banana belt of the southern Oregon Coast, and the more populated towns, along the Oregon Coast. But then, we consider our native State a crown jewel, with so many places to see, limited only by time, and desire. Too much beauty to absorb – too little time!
Even though we’ve travelled the OR coast more than 6 times we’re still learning about new spots. We’ve yet to spend significant time in Pacific City, for example and some of the others you mentioned. There’s always more to discover here!
Nina
I love Oregon too! Beautiful thoughts and pictures. Thank you.
I felt the same way when we visited last year. I fell in love with Oregon. Now I am dreaming of when we can return and maybe even partially live there.
Nina, Your out door “Happy Place” hit me as to what I am going through right now! (Didn’t understand what was going on with me until I read your blog on this). It was said so perfectly to my mood. We are home for a few more weeks before we can travel again and it is affecting my mood and stress level. I feel less down, less moody, less crabby (just ask hubby) when we are traveling, I feel less depressed and much better overall traveling than being home for months at a time. We enjoy your blog and your videos very much and Thank YOU for taking the time to share them with us. We learn something all the time from them!
I love it when something I read triggers a new understanding of something I’ve been feeling (happens to me a lot). Sounds like you’re a wandering soul at heart. I can definitely relate to that!
Nina
We have plans of heading that way, however life keeps getting the way, now the VA wants to see me in June, so another month here in SD. Oh well the beach will still be there when we arrive. Thanks for the photo’s you have increased my urge to move on.
Have to agree 100% – even after hosting at Sunset Bay last November and Cape Blanco last December. We have loved the area so much we returned to Sunset Bay when they were short handed in March and we’ve signed up to return again for Oct/Nov. To counter the sea level and coastal hosting we’re destined for Flaming Gorge Aug/Sep.
If our paths should ever cross know there is a bottle of wine to share and I’m sure some stories to swap.
Wow…you did the big winter months and you STILL love it! That definitely shows something. Glad you enjoyed the hosting. You’re going to love Flaming Gorge this fall too!
Nina
You may find Gerry Frank’s Oregon a good resource to find some of those unique places we “natives” only share with family and friends. A good used copy of his book is probably available at Powell’s book store in downtown Portland (an experience in its self) or in Beaverton. Mr Frank also writes a column in the Sunday edition of The Oregonian.
Enjoy!
Jerry
Nice tip! Thank you!
Nina
Love reading your posts–always some bit that I connect to. Your info and your map have helped us as we roll along in our new full-time adventure. Thanks for being so dedicated.
We are slowly making our way through California heading toward Oregon. The Oregon Coast Trail through-hike is whispering our names. We’ll put our 5th wheel in storage and hoof it for a while. Can’t wait.
FYI Here’s a link to OCT info https://oregonstateparks.wordpress.com/tag/oregon-coast-trail/
The Oregon coast is my favorite spot to explore also… in fact, I am parked in Yachats typing this comment right now, about to wander into the Yachats brewery for a beer. Maybe my pups and I will pass you on 101…
Nice! Where do you typically park up there? It’s a part of the coast we haven’t explored much.
Nina
Nina, I love this post as you captured the same excitement I feel about the Oregon Coast. In 2004, I full timed in a 40ft motorhome and spent most of the summer on the Oregon Coast before I returned to “Boring Life” a year later. Oregon has stayed on my mine more than any other state and feel it is where I belong. I am about to embark on the full-time RV life again and my first destination from Florida is OREGON. All of your posts are wonderful, informative and I really enjoy your site.
You sound very much like us! I think if you love the PNW it’s hard to kick it out of your system. Happy travels to you!
Nina
I have read this post about a half dozen times over the past days. I have longed to go to Oregon ever since we started on the road 6 years ago. But then David’s illness made cross country extremely difficult. I just know Oregon is my place without even having been there. Any state who would do what I’ve always thought ALL states should do and that is make the coast lines PUBLIC property, is the place for me. I’d like to just walk into each and every one of your fantastic pictures.
You may feel your musings are “getting kind of deep” but I love them. Those are always among my favorites of your wonderful posts. It’s uncanny how you are able to express what I have so often thought and even written about in my journal. Can’t wait to see many many more posts from your happy place. Bring on the deep philosophical rambles. Nature is the only therapy that works for me.
This is *exactly* how we feel about the Black Hills of South Dakota. Whenever we get back there we feel like we have returned ‘home’. 8^)
I guess it helps that we use it as our legal domicile. But, still, to us it’s a wonderful place.
It’s great to have “that place”. Everyone should find their special one.
Oh, and I agree the Black Hills are gorgeous!
Nina