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May 13, 2008
Long Beach Penninsula (Warning: Really Long Entry)
What a lovely weekend I had. As I explained to fellow faculty members yesterday, my only responsibilites for four days were making it to my dinner reservations and facial appointment on time. It was restful and freeing.
I felt a little bit like a leaf on a river. I just let the current carry me, bumping me up against people and images and opportunities I could choose to experience or choose to drift away from. It was all very gentle and fulfilling and peaceful and pleasant. And somewhere along the line, a soul-quake occurred, because it feels like I've been away for a year or two, or several months at the least, and I'm waiting to see what shifted and how.
This, by the way, is where I went. The Long Beach Penninsula, in western Washington.
During one of my phone calls with Dave, I remarked that I'd forgotten what green could be. There are lots of greens here, since it's spring right now, but they are nothing compared to what you find on the Washington/Oregon coastline. I got shots of exactly the sort of thing I mean on Saturday, when I took my camera to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and the lighthouse on Cape Disappointment.
Small Signs
Woodpecker Buffet
Signs of Life
Unfurling
White Vine Blossom
Salal Pink
Life Finds a Way
Dandelion Showered
Disappointment Purple
Wild Raspberry
The weather was pretty rough on Saturday, which is why I was glad I'd decided to leave the driving and the scheduled appointment stuff for then. I spent all day Friday on the beach. As in, I got up, had breakfast (apple-huckleberry pancakes with a cranberry orange sauce & creme fraiche, with a small side of scrambled eggs with watercress and bacon and this amazing walnut carrot bread), showered, put on sunscreen and my questionable weather gear and headed out the door. It took about 20 minutes to get to the beach itself, and once I was there, I turned north and started walking, stopping when I felt like it to look at things.
At one point, I had to give myself a mental shake to remind me I was on vacation. Because I found myself working really hard to be sure I wrung as much out of every moment of the walk as possible. So I wouldn't just look at some funky weathering on the beach, I would also make myself think about how it might have happened and then I would spend some time trying to figure out how I would draw or paint it and what I could do with a photograph (though I didn't have the camera with me) and then how I might be able to work it into a teaching experience. Seriously. And then I thought, "What the fuck? Sally, you're on vacation. Vacate. Walk when you feel like it, stop when you don't, pay attention to the things that interest you and fuck everything else." Things got better after that. Once I finally remembered to step out of very busy person mode.
The weather was lovely the whole day. I wore Tevas without my feet getting cold, and yet it was still cool enough that my shell & windbreaker were perfect choices for outer wear. And the sun shone the whole time. I walked along the beach up to Long Beach from Seaview (where my bed & breakfast was located) and wandered in and out of the businesses, including Marsh's Free Museum, which is quite the tourist trap, Campiche Studios (where I got a birthday present for Dave) and the Cottage Bakery where I had this thing called a Devil Dog that is heaven's answer to the chocolate eclair.
And then I wandered back down to the boardwalk and lingered. I spotted three or four California Gray Whales moving fairly quickly up the coast. That was nice. All I really saw were spouts and a bit of back, they were busy traveling, so no tails or spyhops. But it was lovely just to see bits of whale, like a present.
In fact, the entire weekend was like a present. I'd hoped it would be relaxing and enjoyable, but it really did seem like a gift. Moments and image like jewels. A series of surprises and enjoyments. The whole trip was just wonderful.
So I got my beach day on Friday, a long afternoon spent out of doors in the sun. I got tired about three or so, and toddled back to the B&B where I sat on the balcony (the private one that opened directly from my room) and did a little drawing and writing in this awesome new sketchbook I got before I left Moscow. It's 50 sheets of 6" x 12" 130lb paper and just begging to be used. And since I promised myself I'd try to do some art every day this summer, and since my legs were really tired, I sat in the sunshine and played with pencils and pastels and enjoyed the view into the garden.
View from My Balcony
I stayed at the Shelburne Inn in Seaview, WA, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The food was amazing. I've already described Friday's breakfast, Saturday I had a huge piece of potato and salmon frittata with the carrot walnut bread and Sunday I had huckleberry and ricotta stuffed french toast (a croissant) with a cranberry biscuit. The coffee was perfect, the juice was tasty and there were grapes and strawberries and pieces of melon on the plates as well. Plus, the staff were all tremendously friendly and helpful and the rooms were fabulous. My room wasn't big (as you can see from the photos below), but it was at the back of the house and really quiet and cozy.
From the Door to the Balcony
(The bathroom is on the other side of that glowing stained glass window.)
From the Bed
On Saturday, I had a facial at the Azure Salon & Spa in Ilwaco, and again, I cannot recommend them highly enough. At least, I cannot recommend their aesthetician, Judi, highly enough. She was fantastic, and gave me some very very helpful skincare advice. I went out into the stormy morning all dewy and fresh afterwards and wandered through the teeny artists market. On the way back to the hotel, I made a wrong turn and realized I was headed for Cape Disappointment. I had no plans, so I just kept going. Went through the interpretive center and then hiked to the lighthouse. And just in case you don't believe me about the weather...
Dead Man's Cove
Cormorants
Cape Disappointment Light
The wind was so high at the lighthouse that I had to use the chainlink fence as a tripod to get the cormorant picture. Even so, it's fuzzy because of the mist. I do not understand how it could be windy and misty at the same time, but it was.
Once I felt done there, I got in the car and drove almost to the other end of the penninsula, to Oysterville. It had been recommended to me as a place to visit, and I'm glad I did. It was so quiet, and I spent the afternoon wandering around taking pictures and then having coffee with one of the residents. I cannot even begin to describe the peace there. It's the sort of place we all need to be able to visit sometimes, I think, to remind us how to listen to ourselves. I also took what I think is the best picture of the entire weekend there.
Oysterille Fence
So that was my weekend. On the way back I did indeed get to visit Maryhill and see the Rodins. I don't know how I missed it before, but Sunday was the first time I realized how much effort there is in all of his sculptures. Every single piece of his that I can think of--save one--is full of the energy expended striving agains all odds to survive. That one exception? A sculpture I saw during a Rodin exhibition at the Boise Art Museum back in the early-mid 1990's. A female dancer, leaping free of earth. She looked so light and so free that it took my breath away. I just looked for it on line. I can't find an image of it.
Anyway, I'm home, my holiday was lovely, and now I need to figure out how to continue to be true to myself and my wants and needs and still get stuff done. Good luck with that, Sal.
Posted by sally at May 13, 2008 01:41 PM
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