Journal from August 12, 2000

August 12, 2000

"Four days in Lincoln City, Oregon.

"That's what it took to relax my tense face, free up my mind, unwind my nerves.

I'm on day two of my escape--lying on the beach on Kim's little red blanket with her toes near the book I'm writing in. She is also writing. She's good, too. I think someday she'll show me up, but she doesn't think so. Jason also shows signs of surpassing me in writing and literature, but he's off down the beach. I don't know how to encourage him.

"I love this place. Maybe it's the perfect weather. Sunny, just right-warm, a cool breeze, uncrowded beach, a room in a little motel off the road sitting on a cliff overlooking the sea with rocks and tidepools 50 yards away. Jason and Kim are getting along. I love the slow pace, the salty air, the smell.

"Last night we ate at Mo's, a famous Pacific northwest-coast seafood place. Fun atmosphere! We sat at picnic bench tables near a window, next to an odd-looking couple. The girl was a "normal looking" teen with a pleasant face, no makeup, and rather stringy brown hair. Her companion was a handsome young boy with a short haircut, nicely dressed...with a large spike protruding from his lower lip. I wonder if they kiss? Does it hurt?

Later...

"The sand is so soft under my toes it feels like satin. Hard to imagine this is pulverized rock over centuries. Yet one of these tiny, insignificant pieces of sand can wreak havoc in an eyeball. What a concept.

"After dinner, Kim and I took a walk on the beach in time to see the orange ball of sun sink below the horizon. We watched until the last of its fiery rim slipped into a watery grave. We saw the foamy, sparkly ledges of orange-tinted, ripply waves as they crested, seemingly infused with light as if from underneath. It was eerily beautiful.

"As purplish dusk settled, we stood on the smoothed-over piles of rocks and watched the paths of waves as they followed the worn-smooth curves and channels. A little farther down the beach we heard a strange, high-pitched sound and in the growing dusk saw a flock of shorebirds on a rock, silhouetted against a pale tangerine sky and a few strips of fading, violet clouds.

"From our room the view is fabulous. It's the first thing we saw when we came in burdened with duffle bags and backpacks...a late summer expanse of green and blue ocean. Jason and Kim and I slept with the window open and listened to the sound of the sea crashing on sand. I slept so deep and woke so refreshed, I nearly thought it was the third day of vacation and time to go home.

"Last night bonfires dotted the beach in a haphazard line, and the fragrance of driftwood mingled with the salty night air. Beachgoers lit fireworks into the inky sky just as the moon crested the eastern horizon. The moon, like a creamy magnolia blossom, slowly sailed over Spanish Head to the south in full bloom.

"During this time away we also went to the Oregon aquarium in Newport to see "Passages of the Deep." Three sections portrayed three aspects of the sea with acrylic walls each and a ceiling tunnel with a long, oval window set in the floor. Each section is about 20 feet long but all around, above and beneath are ocean critters.

"I liked seeing the sharks and manta rays best. In another exhibit there are myriad jellyfish--very impressive. Jason and Kim loved it.

"Later that evening when Jason and Kim and I took a walk, we found washed-up pieces of jellyfish. One had a long tentacle still attached. Kim wrapped it up in her sock and took it to show Jason. He fingered it for a few seconds and Kim very quietly said, "BZZZZZZZ."

"Jason jumped back at least a foot and flung his hand away--it was hilarious! He's much better now at taking a joke than he used to be. We had a really good laugh. I couldn't stop giggling.

"Today was spent mostly shopping. I dropped Jason off at the skateboard park then Kim and I went to a little gift shop where she bought her friends a few trinkets. I got some shells for a bathroom basket at home.

"After we picked Jason up, we went school clothes shopping. Lunch at a cute little sub shop. More skating for Jason; Kim and I headed to the beach.

"The sun is warm, the tide is going out. There aren't too many people now, and I like it that way. Some kites are still aloft like so many butterflies. A nearby kite shop has several on display. There is one like a huge, spinning kaleidescope tunnel with fringe, another like a parachute, and long, skinny kites like an army of worms. Kim laughs when I tell her what I see.

"It looks to me like Lincoln City is the place to be in August. No fog, no clouds, perfect everything.

"Except that I hate mirrors. I wish I was skinny."