Radiotherapy pretty much kicked my butt!!! Left me bald on the right side and the swelling in my brain brought back many of the post operation symptoms. I was not a happy camper but tried to maintain my positive outlook. I have 4 weeks with no treatments and no chemo. I then get an MRI to see how much and how quickly the tumor is growing. from here we will decide next steps. Dave and I realized we needed a break. So I planned this trip based on an idea by Peace Vans of Seattle. I follow them on Instagram, check them out they have great trip ideas. My goal for the trip was to get to the wild ocean and breath in all the positive ions, walk the beaches, eat good food, be outside as much as possible and read a good book!!

• We walked 17 miles, mostly on beaches
• Ate great keto food every night
• Slept really well
• Felt strong enough to do a little balancy yoga.
• Kept up my PT
• Read a fantastic book.
• Listened to more podcasts
• Knitted some of the Icelandic sweater
• Took daily naps
• Thought about what I have to be grateful for, turns out quite a lot!!!!

Here are the trip details!!!!

Leg 1 North Bend to Beverley Beach State Park. Thursday 18th 2021

We left rain and wind in North Bend mid morning and drove south through Portland to arrive at Beverly Beach state park in the dark and rain! Still we had time for a quick leg stretch to check out the Pacific Ocean. It was stunning! The tide was coming in and the wind was up. Dinner, and then we settled into our cozy camper to get ready for the adventures ahead.

Friday 19th November

After a lovely, warm and cozy sleep in the camper we lay reading and drinking tea. Heaven!

We went back to look at the beach that we could not really see last night. The tide was coming in and we walked just a little ways to get a sense of where we were. Back to camp for breakfast to fuel up for a walk to Devils Punch bowl.

Walking to Devils Punchbowl as the tide was going out was a little trickier than I expected. My balance was thrown off by the waves and moving sand. Too much for my brain. We reached a point where I felt we needed to retreat! I tried a warrior on a log.. thank goodness for Dave to encourage me. We found awesome fossils on the beach.

“Geologically speaking, Oregon coast fossils are found in three formations: the Astoria Formation, 15- to 20-million-year-old sandstone layers mixed with com- pressed volcanic ash; Nye mudstone, up to 20 million years old; and on south coast stretches of beach, Coledo Formation specimens of dark ash and sand, “

Back to camp for a nap and lunch before heading out to Yaquina head lighthouse. This was such a treat! Wild ocean, tidepools, blue sky and a lighthouse. Awesome!!!

After dinner, we sat and read around the solo stove. I am reading a really inspiring book called “Inside ” by Susan Marie Conrad. It is her account of a solo paddle up the inside passage from Anacortes to Alaska. An amazing account of determination and persistence plus lots of interesting detail of tides, and currents. Once we got too cold we retired to our cozy camper and settled in for the night.

Leg #2 Beverley Beach to Nehalem Bay. Saturday November 20th

Today we head to Nehalem Bay for phase 2 of the trip but first another walk to the beach to check out the Pacific Ocean and look for agates. None to be found! No matter, we packed up Flo and set out. First stop Devil’s Punchbowl, that had eluded us the previous day.

There were many surfers and SUP surfers trying to catch tasty waves but to no avail. They looked like seals bobbing in the water.

Nehalem Bay is everything I wanted! We came here with the kids many years ago and couldn’t get a site: it was summertime at that time , much quieter now. Long sandy Beach, gorgeous sunsets and no rain!! We have been so fortunate with the weather.

We settled into camp and after a lovely dinner and made plans for a walk on Manzanita Beach the following day.

We woke to a cold morning but with blue skies. Dave went for a bike ride as I knitted an Icelandic style sweater for Rex. Good brain therapy!!!!

Dave and and spent our 30th wedding anniversary here 7 years and a month ago. It was good to walk down memory lane!!! But oh what a different year. Funny what life throws at you!!!

Manzanita

This place holds a special place in my heart. Dave and I spent our 30th wedding anniversary here. We played on the beach and drank champagne. How times have changed! it was good to walk down memory lane!!! But oh what a different year. Funny what life throws at you!!!

Leg 3 Nehalem Bay to Cape Disappointment. We thought this might be our first rained out day but the storm came through in the night. We could hear the waves pounding the shore and rain on the roof. However, we woke to another lovely day. Time for an other lighthouse walk before packing up for home. This is the place that Lewis and Clark ended their westward expedition. The interpretation boards so a reasonable job of recognizing that this are was inhabited by the Chinook People before explorers!

Chinook blessing:https://www.confluenceproject.org/library-post/chinook-blessing/