Sunday, August 03, 2008

"Do I Have To?": My Last Hurrah of Summer, Part I

Okay, I know that summer is NOT over. However, when August rolls around, I get that itch about getting back into school combined with a "Do I Have To..." attitude. So this past weekend was like the "last hurrah" for me. My husband and I made plans to go to the coast. Hunting agate and sea glass was part of the agenda. The weather was iffy.



Annie and me


But first, I visited with my blogging friend, Annie, up from California. We were to meet in her town as we were traveling home earlier in July. I, unfortunately, was in need of a "chuck-a-bucket" ( my granddaughter's word for her car sick container). Needless to say, we cancelled. Thankfully she was due to visit her son and daughter-in-law, so we were able to connect. I am not sure where the 2 hours went but they flew. Rumor is that Annie and her husband will retire here. Oh, yay!

Saturday morning my husband and I loaded up the car and within 90 minutes we were at the coast. Surprise! The weather was nothing like Portland! Sunny! Beautiful! Warm! Breezy!




At Road's End, Lincoln City, OR Walking the pooches


We walked for almost 90 minutes as the tide was out and very low. Rusty and Sophie were tuckered needless to say.


Agate Beach, Oregon

Okay so I learned something about agate and beach glass hunting. See that lovely sand? A mini sand dune (and btw, Annie thinks that sand here is softer, finer). Well, that sand acts like a blanket in the summer! Which means that all the lovely agates and/or beach glass are hiding underneath. I found a few specimens but I will need to wait until the winter storms which will scour out the sand, telling the agates, "It is your time to shine!" Humph!

We thought dinner would be at the Nye Beach Hotel Newport, unfortunately all that was there when we drove by was a vacant lot. Fire? Falling Down? Well, we had to find out as it was a place we frequented in the early days of our courtship. Apparently, the person who bought it, had to tear it down as it was structurally unfit. And it had such a great restaurant overlooking the beach. We found and had a fabulous meal over looking the ocean at Georgie's instead. Fresh halibut with pineapple salsa and fresh marion berry crisp. Yum!

We hit the beach after dinner but unfortunately the wind had picked up and our two little four legged pals suffered a bit from the blowing wind. So we returned to the Agate Beach Motel, a small place with great units and a private beach area.

We all fell into bed, asleep in minutes, except me wondering, "Do I really have to return to school?"

For more on the prompt, "Do I have to?" visit Sunday Scribblings. I will post "My Last Hurrah, Part II, in which I am brave soon.

5 comments:

Annie Jeffries said...

Your weekend get-away looks in all ways perfect (even the wind, but then I'm wind girl). That two hours really DID fly. I don't think I'll be able to wait a full year to get back up there. Hugs, Annie

Anonymous said...

I hated returning to teaching after our summer vacations got over. But one has to!

Liberate yourself

Tanya Gwen Minnick said...

your trip sounded great, and the pictures are beautiful...I too feel the sadness when august hits, does carry the sense of loss of those hot summer days when school and responsibility are far away.
great post

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Photography! This is the first time I have ever commented on a blog, hope this is the way to do it. Here are some tips about agate and beach glass hunting...all the lovely agates and/or beach glass on Agate Beach are hiding underneath 20 feet of sand that unfortunately can't be removed due to coastal development over the years. However the area around Newport has been great this year for exposing treasures of all kinds! You were truly lucky to find a few specimens during this time of year on agate beach, yes you will need to wait until the winter storms which will scour out the sand, exposing the gravel bars like we had earlier this last year which also exposed the ancient ship wrecks, etc.. Check out my blog to see some of the latest treasures that have been brought in lately. Actually I have many that need to be put up that I haven't had time to put up this last month. Stay safe and happy hunting!

Jone said...

Annie, wind not so much for me unless it is a warm wind,
Guatami, I return to school with big ideas and the year I do not it the year I retire,
Tanya, thank you for stopping by, I often look at September as my new year
K, thank you for commenting. You did great. I look forward to winter on the coast.