On lighthouses, summer sunshine, and big trees...

Some things just astound me. Leave me speechless. No room to talk. Nothing to publish.

The ocean. Lighthouses, and all they represent. Trees big enough to drive through. The fog sweeping in off the ocean first thing in the morning. The sun breaking through the clouds just when you've begun to wonder if it isn't really summer after all.

That's been my last couple of days. Pure delight.

With a healthy helping of comic relief, of course.
Like trying to get hot water to make coffee. I brought the coffee, brought the melita... figured hot water would be the easy part. Turns out there are more Rite-Aids on 101 than 7-11's.

Or taking a detour to eat lunch surrounded by the tools of the lumber trade, and then drive through a cemetery. Yep, you read that right. A cemetery. It was wall to wall concrete. Amazing. Something straight out of a horror movie - except real. 
Oh, and let's not forget buying an air mattress because, in the grand scheme of things, I am actually not much of a camper. My sister has a fabulous inflatable mattress that I use every time I visit her. I have one too, now. Maybe she'll come visit me?!

Then, there's also the blessings of the people we've met along the way.

Those fellows painting the fence for the keeper's cottage at one of the lighthouses, who took a few minutes to make conversation with us.

Oh, and the lovely couple who took our pictures at Cape Meares ... and asked if we minded them having one of us for their own trip log (strangers whose pictures they've taken).

Or the gas-station attendant who warned us about the road closure that kept us in Oregon last night.

And the lovely lady who ran the campsite we ended up bedding down at - she actually advised me that the spot a few miles up the road was cheaper (but hers didn't require quarters for the shower).
The waitress at the Barnacle Bistro who filled our hot water (thank God!).

We are off to a great start! There are dozens more pictures to share when I get home. :-) T