Every January our family goes to the ocean, it’s become a tradition of sorts (or at least we’d like it to be.) We’re only about 20 minutes from the coast and you’d think we would go all the time, but we don’t. This January we didn’t make it to the beach, but February was close enough for us, and Jeff had a good feeling the weather was going to be perfect for a beach day so we decided to go yesterday. I am so glad we went. So, so glad. It was sunny, with hardly any wind, and it was warm. Warm as in surprisingly warm, taking-off-all-our-wool-layers and sweating-in-t-shirts warm. It felt heavenly to soak up the warmth of the sun on our faces. (A long stretch of rainy days will really make you savor that feeling.)

I did end up re-knitting that angora cowl for Bracken (shown before here & here.) It was too big for him, so it wasn’t doing it’s job of keeping his neck warm. Setting it aside would mean that handspun angora would be going to waste and I just couldn’t have that- it’s heavenly soft and it’s just too precious. That cowl ended up being absolutely crazy to unravel and if I had known what I was in for, I probably wouldn’t have done it. Luckily I didn’t know what I was getting into, so I unraveled it and knit him a new cowl. I snapped a few pictures, but Bracken didn’t need it that day, we were all shedding our wooly layers.

Do you notice how people seem to be in such good moods and are especially lighthearted at the ocean? It seemed we were all smiling at one another as we passed, ecstatic about the tropical paradise it felt like we had just stumbled upon. Our family headed to a favorite spot where we could sit along a creek that flows to the ocean. It’s even warmer in that spot, tucked in just a little bit. We stuck our bare feet in the cold water and wiggled our toes in the sand. We admired rocks and driftwood, and built rock temples. I had grabbed a bucket out of the garden before we left and Bracken filled it with some shells to bring home.

What is it about the beach that is so blissful? Warmth. Sand. Bare toes. Fresh air. Ocean breezes. Something that can’t be listed or described. I especially love the beach when it’s warm, but I always love it, even when it’s cold. The way I described it to Jeff is that spending time at the ocean makes my body hum and it makes my spirit hum. I come away feeling renewed in such a profound way. I think Bracken’s smiles perfectly expressed how wonderful it felt to be there yesterday. It reminded me just how important it is to spend time with our loved ones in nature. To be together with no distractions, fully present and enjoying the beauty of the world and time with one another.

I thought how nice it would have been to have packed a picnic and eat it right in that magical spot, but we didn’t even have any snacks along so we headed to Yachats, since the beach we were at was so close to there. We happened across a little gem of a restaurant called The Drift Inn Cafe. Their Cobb salad with wild salmon, avocado, and lemon vinaigrette was delicious. And we were all delighted when we saw they had sweet potato fries on their menu! We don’t seem to find those at restaurants very often, not that we eat out very much.

While we were waiting for our food to arrive, a woman came into the restaurant and we overheard her conversation with the waitress that she had just been at the beach and a wave had taken away her purse with her keys, phone, etc. I thought how awful that was and felt bad for her, wishing there was something I could say or do to help. Jeff glanced over at one point and thought she looked familiar. I ended up striking up a conversation with her and it turned out Jeff recognized her from visiting our booth and buying jewelry from us in Eugene.

It just so happened that a pendant she purchased from us- an inlaid turquoise tree in black walnut wood was in her purse and was lost with all her other items. So, there was something we could do to help after all! Jeff has another pendant ready to mail out to her. We couldn’t help feeling that we went to that restaurant for a reason. We don’t get over to Yachats very often (I usually go when my mom is visiting because she loves it there so much) and the fact that we walked into a restaurant we had never even seen before and then sat close enough to where she was sitting to overhear the conversation… all felt like a beautiful synchronicity and we were glad to be in the right place at the right time.