Astoria, Day 14

Flexibility was the name of the game today! Going to sleep, the plan was that I would ride into work with G, walk the riverwalk and go to Blue Scorcher coffee shop for the hour she’d be there. We were going to come back for lunch and then head out on a couple different walking trails.

Instead, they needed her at 12 instead of 9 and she wanted to sleep in a bit. We took our time getting ready and then hit her gym to work out. This was my first full on weight workout in two weeks and my muscles were in shock!

From there, we went to the pier and I went to a little seafood restaurant overlooking the river and had a cup of clam chowder with Oregon Bay shrimp on top. From there, I did my 2 mile river walk, and also went up into some of the hilly streets.

I stopped to watch a large, white pelican who was cleaning and preening himself, waiting for him to pull his head out so I could see that glorious bill. But while I waited, I noticed the silly ducks around him, doing some salts in the water and flapping their wings. I realized. Sometimes we can be so focused on what we think is extraordinary that we miss the ordinary.

Still, she was not done, so I went to the Blue Scorcher Café for a chai latte and a vegan cosmos cookie. It was such an inviting place to sit for a bit.

Still not done, I shopped around town and took pictures of some of the buildings from the Goonies movie and also the historic ones.

Still not done, I took another 2 mile walk along the pier, this time in the other direction, and sat halfway and watched the raucous seals and sea lions cavort!

I talked to a friend here and there and texted with others and finally she was done. But also, she was done! Not up for the trail walking we had planned now that it was 4:10.

So we came home and she showered and napped while I put dinner in and caught up on some emails and writing.

After dinner out in the backyard, we set out for Seaside Beach, I keep town with lots of little shops. We skipped that and walked along path between the hotels and the beach. It was not built up at all, nor was it crowded. It was an hour before sunset and the clouds and the sun were setting up for their show!

We people watched for a lwhile and one of the funniest parts was listening to people guess at what had brought the large group in front of us on the beach together. They stood almost in a line, and at first we thought they were having their picture taken, but they were just in small groupings spread long. We made up several possible affiliations for the group, but so many people walking by had their own thoughts. My two favorites were the man who said, “Well, it’s not an AA meeting,” (lots of coolers and beer) and another who said, “It’s a meet up for people who like to stand.” We never found out and honestly that would’ve spoiled it.

We sat in the sand up on a hill on a path through the grassy dunes. Nature delivered. 😌🙏🏽