Ahoy, Florence!

We were awoken at 6:30 by Zoe scampering into our room…she is up with the sun these days. That’s alright though, and understandable, seeing as her whole dang world has been turned upside down. She is adjusting remarkably well, and if that means early wake-ups and wonky naps for awhile, that is fine by me. The wind was howling as we prepared breakfast (a salmon scramble made with Spud’s catch) and the rain soon followed. By 8 it was a full-on storm! Earlier in the week I had contacted my old friend Katie, who lives in the neighboring town of Waldport. She has a little one of her own these days and we wanted to get the girls together while we were in the area. They came over later in the morning and Zoe got to meet miss Melita They played with some of Zo’s toys (we were only able to keep about 1/3 of them when we downsized, so what she does have is really special to her) but we also ventured out into the chaos to check out the harbor. The girls threw rocks into the water and tried to take turns throwing Shep’s tennis ball…adorable little attitudes prevailed. Because we knew the poor weather would slow us down, we wanted to take off around 11 for our next destination: Florence. Zo bid farewell to her new friend with a sweet kiss on the cheek! I hope they can meet up again someday and thank you Katie for coming by!

Ever the trooper, William hitched up the trailer in the torrential rain and wind. This stretch of the 101 was by far the most breathtaking yet (really reminding my of Big Sur, but more lush, with rockier ciffs and, well, more Oregon-like). It was also the most treacherous drive yet, because of the limited visibility in the rain and the curviness of the hwy. We took it real slow and pulled over often to let other cars by for good conscience. I despaired as we passed some of the sights I had been wanting to check out, like Thor’s Well and the Heceta Lighthouse. The road, weather and size of our rig just didn’t allow us to stop. We got to the park around 12:30 and, after receiving a voicemail from the owner saying he was out at lunch, waited a few minutes for him to return to open the gate. Nice, level, pull-through site #42 awaited us. We are beginning to understand the way of rv parks, and now know what kind of sites to look for and request for our own convenience. We liked this place and chose to stay for two nights. This will allow us to relax a bit, set up the trailer in a slightly more comfy and “livable” way (awning and rug out, cluttering the counters, and not worrying about securing everything for a day) We also get to check out all that Florence has to offer. The rain and wind were still coming down hard, but we bravely headed out to Old Town Florence in hopes of being charmed by the riverfront shops. To our complete shock Zoe fell asleep in her carseat five minutes into the 10 minute drive…what!!?? This can’t be our Toot! She was just so pooped from the last several days that she zonked out…hard. We parked by the marina and sat, baffled. I decided to at least take Shep on a stroll while she snoozed. We walked around and while, indeed it was charming, it reminded me so much of the touristy gift shops and galleries from back home that I decided it wasn’t worth waking Zo up for. She doesn’t give a hoot about window-shopping. Neither does William. So we whispered a new plan: to retrace 10 miles back up the hwy to the Heceta Head Lighthouse that I had so wanted to see earlier.

Now that we weren’t towing the trailer it would be a breeze to park at the trail-head and our sweet one could continue napping on the 25 min drive up. As we exited Florence, the weather cleared. Just off shore was glorious blue sky…the sun continued to struggle but by mid-afternoon the storm was completely broke and everything took on that magical after-rain glow. The drive is just indescribably beautiful, even the second time. There were small waterfall and ferns hugging the cliff on our right and frothy waves crashing against the rocks hundreds of feet below on our left. We went through a sweet tunnel and there was our exit. We spent the next two hours exploring the trail up to the lighthouse. Unfortunately there were no tours at this time, but we were able to walk around the lighthouse keeper’s residence and the lighthouse itself. Two large, unique rock formations jutted out just below the cliff that the Heceta Lighthouse stood on. They are called Parrot Rock and Pinnacle Rock. They were very striking to look at. We read a bit about the families that had lived and worked here…there were pictures of the children riding their horses around the cliff and the beach below. I am fascinated by lighthouses and those that ran them. From what I have heard, nearly all of them are haunted. The occupants were always so isolated and yet, dedicated to their purpose…so interesting.

We walked back down the 1/2 mile trail to the beach below. This was easily one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever set foot on. There were a handful of other people out, but it was mostly barren. We found some great, shallow caves to one side of the beach. Zoe crawled into the smallest one and picked out a shell from the innermost depths of it. We will add it to her small treasure box. We checked out a few more caves and then wandered over to the freshwater creek that was pouring out of the woods and into the sea. Shep swam in it for awhile and fetched sticks…one of his favorite pastimes. I was continually in awe of how pristine this region is. It smells and feels so cleansing. I wanted to stay longer, but we needed to get back home. Zo was soaked and this point and needed a bath and some dinner.

So, I just love my Instant Pot. William surprised me with it after I had read about  what an essential item it was for a tiny kitchen. I learned of it from others moms in the Fulltime Families group. It is essentially a pressure cooker, but it does so much more, replacing about five different kitchen items. You can make soups, broth, chili, cook meat and grains and even make yogurt and cheese in an extremely efficient amount of time. I tried cooking pasta in it for the first time tonight with great success. One pot pasta, cooked directly in the sauce in about 8 minutes and eliminating any strainers or wasted water. I made ricotta, garlic stuffed jumbo shells in a marinara. It was yummy and so satisfying after our big adventure. Despite how quickly it cooks, Zoe was too tired to stay up for dinner so she just snacked and will probably have it for lunch tomorrow. Before bed though, she hit the showers with her daddy. Her nighttime game of peekaboo wasn’t nearly as long or exasperating this time around…she is getting used to her little cubby of a bed.

The night ended as clear and crisp as this morning was gray and stormy. It looks like the rest of the week will be clear and even warm. I am so glad that we are staying another full day. We will really be able to experience the area. I have my eye on a botanical garden and Annual Chowder Festival & Wine Walk (umm, was this created just in my honor…you really shouldn’t have…) As always, excited to see what tomorrow has in store. I just asked William if he was happy with this life. He said absolutely YES. We risked a lot to make this happen and, while we still have a long road to go to make it a sustainable option, we really feel that everything is falling into place and that we made the right choice…for us, for our family. Everyone is happy and healthy and we lay down our heads each night smiling about the crazy day that we shared. We really have shared and experienced more in the last few days than in any period in recent memory. For now, it is the right path and we thank you for following and supporting us in this whirlwind.

Sweet dreams from Florence,

~N

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day late and a dingo short

ghost post

hey buddies, how about a two-headed rotten torso?? um real post coming very soon

back in this

postin stuff errday… probably not.

return

whatup blog. how bout some literature? more genius to come

“KFM III: early Retirement
assistant TO the regional master
-future selves call action movie NO
BRAD-O STEVE-O BROMEO Kev pass out while stumbling home from hella sick beer pong game frat party and hit their heads on a urb! Then wake up in ancient Egypt. They realize that only thru partying & getting hammered will they pass out again and maybe (green screen) return to their frathouse. So they smoke some hemp scrolls to timewarp.
Enrage and fight pharoah.
undead STONEDhenge
__________________
SLO’s Gold
Ego-based band drama –
2 segments 1-breakup during practice
2 – get band back together or a talentshow
Cody as asshole
acoustic guitar drowned out by Krz’s giant amp
Cody has a ballad
Krz express dislike

Is that gum?

• diabetic powerpuff girls
• iPAD commercial for paper notepad. games – Hangman, Tictactoe. costs $3″

ito

I could write quite a bit about Ito Junji. His art has been a great influence on mine for years, ever since seeing the occult hypnotic doom of Uzumaki. Darkness, precision, gore, the supernatural… love it.

I almost never draw backgrounds, or scenery, or anything but characters, really. And two characters interacting or placed in the same space is rare for me… so:

monster

something special from the pages of my notebook. (and you can click it to see it bigger)

(click)

a character I have been drawing for awhile now… if toplessness and a sword could be considered character traits
but hey she’s a bit of an Amazon, she’s got no name and the antagonist of this “story” is also a female, some sort of necromantess who I will post up some other time.
maybe I will flesh out their world a little bit? maybe I will make it a real thing, or something.
either way there’s just something special about barbaric warrior women.

rotted

sometimes you just gotta rot away, and have enormous eyebrows

ladies

 

everyone have a nice few days? here’s some samples from my slick fancy Moleskine® which I just love.

and one more after the break