I’m not sure if we’ll see much of the beaches today, because it’s misty outside. I go outside and do my workout. I do that every day for the last few years Occasionally I miss one workout, but my grandma had a good solution for that: do a double workout the next day. So that’s what I do and after I’ve finished my sit-ups and pushups, I grab my book about the National Parks to see which route I will follow today. The local guy had some good tips about places with waterfalls and I’m thinking I might adjust the route a bit. The places he mentioned though are more land inwards and I prefer to follow the Oregon coast.
When Ana wakes up we make coffee and tea and make plans for the day. First we drive to a place called Secret Beach, only a few minutes from where we camped. It’s a beach that Dan pointed out to us last night. If you don’t know it, you can miss it easily. It’s just a short exit and the beach is hidden behind a small forest. It’s absolutely wonderful when we see it. Just as pretty as Big Sur, but then not touristic and well known. There are a few small waterfalls and in the bay are several rocks with trees on them. We walk on the beach and take many pictures. Then we sit down on one of the rocks and enjoy the view for a while without saying anything. It’s a very peaceful place. The mist is almost gone and it seems to become a bright day after all.
We drive back to our campsite to have breakfast and then drive further to Oregon dunes to do another hike. I didn’t plan on hiking today, but I got a bit stuck in my head so I decide to join Anna walking through the sand to the ocean. It’s actually a nice hike and we have good conversations about life and stuff like that. This morning I woke up to see that the client I worked for this weekend had called me in the middle of the night and that gave me some worries. It’s the same client that caused me stress in New Zealand and it’s the reason that I planned not to work here. Right now there is nothing I can do, because calling here is super expensive and I’m in the middle of nature in Oregon, so I can’t do work and just have to let it go. That’s easier said than done, but the hike sure helps. It’s also a good training for me again to come to the Here and Now. When we’re sitting down at the beach I’ve managed to let go of my worries and be in the moment. It’s nice to be here, because this beach is quite remote and so there is no one else. The only sound you can hear is the waves and the birds. After the hike we drive to a town called Florence and that’s where I think our paths will divide again. But life is full of good surprises and Ana decides to come with me along the Oregon coast. I am so happy that I have more time to spend with my new travel buddy. Just like last week with Dawn it is so much nicer to drive together. I just like to do part of the journey together with friends or people I meet along the way. We drive to a supermarket to do some groceries and I use the internet in the store to update my blog and to fix my clients problems. It all worked out fine again for now.
When we’ve traveled further for a while, Ana had a great idea: “Let’s eat sushi tonight!”. I haven’t had sushi in a long time and that sounds like a healthy and delicious plan. Not much later we’re sitting in a Japanese restaurant and as expected does the sushi taste great here right by the ocean. I’m thankful for this day full of nice surprises. After dinner we park at the parking lot of a Walmart store and I say goodnight to my camping neighbor. Tomorrow I plan to travel further to Portland. I’m excited to get closer to Montana to meet my friends there hopefully at the beginning of next week. I’ve got a few more National Parks to visit in Washington state and then I head east. Today the second half of this journey has started. It has been absolutely fantastic so far, so much better than I could have ever imagined and I’m thankful for every day of it. I’m most thankful for all the wonderful people I’ve met while traveling and I’m excited about what’s more to come.
