For those of you have been following our journey since its beginning, you may
remember that when Tom and I were in Florida in February, we went to hear Nick
Bunick speak in Naples. (Nick is the main character in the non-fiction book,
The Messengers.) That experience was one of the "gems" of our journey. We met
Nick afterwards and connected for a few moments. He said to follow up with a
letter later and remind him of our conversation. Well, I had put off writing
until one morning in May when the angels woke me up at 4:44 am (if you've read
The Messengers you'll know the significance of that) with the message "Write
the letter" clearly running through my head. I wrote the letter just before we
headed for Oregon. Nick Bunick lives in Lake Oswego, OR, a suburb of Portland.
From there he runs his various international businesses, as well as an
organization called 'The Great Tomorrow' which is dedicated to spreading
Jesus' messages of universal love, universal compassion and living in truth.
Nick received my letter while we were still in the Columbia River Gorge. He
called us up, said he had been very touched by the letter, and invited us to
meet with him over lunch. So, on June 4, we left the gorge and headed for a
meeting with Nick on our way to the coast. That 2-1/2 hour lunch meeting was
an indescribable blessing. Tom and I will treasure it always. Nick shared his
wisdom, insight and good humor with us as we dined along the Willamette River.
He encouraged us to continue to be messengers of love as we share our 'Journey
of the Heart' with others. The connections keep growing…one heart bound to the
next with threads of love.
We found a wonderful neighborhood just north of Newport, OR, at Beverly Beach
State Park. Our site was nestled in the woods, away from the brisk ocean
winds. On the west side of the campground, a trail led out onto beautiful
Beverly Beach. Most of Oregon's coast is preserved for parks, so there are
miles upon miles of beaches for walking, kite flying and building sandcastles.
This park is one of our favorites-trees, ocean beaches, spacious sites, quiet
setting, no mosquitoes, clean showers and restrooms, and even a terrific pizza
place that delivers right to your site! (Their name is Izzy's, and their tag
line is "Dinner doesn't get any Izzier than this.")
The first night we arrived, a fishing boat ran aground on the beach. The owner
hoped to save the boat, and the locals and campers turned out to watch the
drama unfold. First the boat was tied off with lines. Then the backhoe was
brought in to dig the sand out around it. Lots of free advice was given (and
it was worth just about what he paid for it). When it became obvious that the
ocean tides were winning, the salvage operation started, followed by a giant
bonfire. We all felt sorry for the owner, but it sure did give everybody a
great reason to start conversations with strangers around them. It's amazing
what can bring people together.
Our days at the beach were filled with kite flying, bird watching, long walks
and even some brief skipping episodes (which left us breathless). When walking
on the dry sand, it talked to us with a peculiar zzzt, zzzt, zzzt sound that
we've never heard anywhere else. It made us giggle every time. Unlike the
coast of Florida, the beaches of Oregon were very clean. There was almost no
trash washed up on shore when the tide went out. Every morning a misty white
shroud of coastal fog cloaked the beach. When we were lucky, the sun would
break through in the afternoon, and the ocean breezes would send our kites
flying once more. When we weren't so lucky, the drizzle gave us a good excuse
to stay inside and read or listen to music.
Our first exploration south along this part of the coast took us to Yaquina
Head Lighthouse, Yaquina Bay, South Beach State Park, Seal Rock (where there
were no seals), Strawberry Hill (where there were seals, but no strawberries),
Cape Perpetua, and the towns of Newport, Yachats and Waldport.
We followed some back roads until we found the only covered bridge in
this region. Along the way, we enjoyed the gorgeous blooming pink and purple
foxglove.
Another day we spent the afternoon in Newport at the Oregon Coast Aquarium,
home of Keiko, the killer whale who starred in the movie Free Willie. The
aquarium was also home to playful otters, seals and seal lions that kept us
laughing at the antics.
The aviary was filled with tufted puffins, pigeon
guillemots, black oystercatchers, murres and rhinoceros auklets. Some of the
other sea life included bright blue poison dart frogs, a giant octopus,
starfish, anemones, jellyfish, crabs, sea pens, wolf eels and shrimp. We
always appreciate learning more about our oceanic friends.
One day we headed north for another day of exploring. Gleneden Beach State
Park was just one of the many beautiful parks along this part of the coast.
While there, we paused along the cliffs to watch the gulls soar on the wind
currents. What do you suppose it feels like to let the wind lift you
effortlessly? I guess the closest we've ever been to that feeling was when we
did the sailplane/glider ride over Stowe, VT, a few years ago. It sure would
be neat without a plane…
Next we headed on to Devil's Lake State Park near Lincoln City. People were
sailing and boating on this lake which connects to the ocean via the D River.
The D River is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the shortest river in
the world--only 440-ft. in length! At the D River Wayside Beach dozens of
kites or all shapes and sizes twirled, dipped, fluttered and hovered in the
ocean breezes. It was quite a colorful sight to behold.
Other days held the gifts of time to relax, play games, feed the birds, enjoy a campfire, laugh at the raccoons and make new friends. We were reluctant to leave this neighborhood.
On Sunday, 6/14, we moved back to Ainsworth State Park so we could be closer to the Portland Airport. Duty called. It was time for me to fly off on business once again (Phoenix, NY and Ft. Lauderdale) and for Tom to move on to Washington state without his navigator. So long for now, Oregon. Time to move on down the road.
Love from the wanderers as the journey continues...
Kay & Tom
