We've been gone...again. A road trip down memory lane visiting many of the significant spots from the early years, mostly on the Oregon Coast, in honor of our anniversary.
The first stop was for the first kiss (April 1980). Where K. first told me he was falling...
"Maybe it's because we're on uneven ground?" I said, because I was hoping for that kiss, but struggling to keep my balance on the rocky riverside.
"I meant in love." He said. He kissed me anyway.
(Note that we did not stop under the old bridge, where I first told K. that I loved him (New Year's Eve 1979).
"That's great!" he said. "I'm in love, too! With L." I kept loving him anyway.)
Our first apartment in Corvallis, OR (1983-84). We had the upper right half. 1920's, two bedrooms, furnished, built in booth table, a sunroom, three-foot deep bookshelves on either side of the fireplace, more cupboards and closets than we could fill... for $210 a month (we talked them down from $225).
We stopped in Ashland, OR for a couple of nights and plays. I had spent time there in high school for Thespian conferences, and a couple of visits with a good friend who lived there in the early 80's. Both shows that we saw were in the outdoor Elizabethan theater. Perfect weather, with the sky and stage filled with stars, pearls, diamonds, and glitter (it's all about the costumes and scenery for me!).
The Redwoods. (Not an Us memory, but we were so close.)
Bigger than imaginable.
I wish I could give you a real sense of how far and grandly they reach into the sky.
The tidepools on Agate Beach in Newport, OR. A forty-five-minute drive from Corvallis (in 1983-84). We made the trek often. Once, a girlfriend and I went late at night and skinny dipped here. (This is also where my ashes will go.)
The buildings down there, between the ocean and the lake, are the camp where my siblings and I went for many years. We loved it there. I learned to swim in that lake, and, at twelve, was baptized in that bit of the ocean. Mom thought I should wait and do back home at the church we kids went to (just the kids, our parents had zero interest). I cried and begged, it had to be in the ocean (where I believed God lived). She gave in.
Oceanside, OR. Where we spent most of our honeymoon (1983).
The beach is scattered with jasper and agates.
We stayed in this family friend's cabin. It was a lovely relaxing week. Wandering the beach and K. cooking while I read Ramona the Pest and Winnie the Pooh aloud to him. When both books were finished, I resorted to the Harlequin romance that I found in the cabin. I don't remember the title, but the main characters were Brock and Suzanne. We still laugh at the memory of how "Brock bruised her with his kisses..."
Rockaway, OR where we were outdoor school counselors together (October 1979).
The camp beach, where we first held hands (in spite of my being in a relationship with J.)
And, finally, Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach. Childhood vacations, one night of our honeymoon, and where we would take our dear nephew for getaways (1988-1995-ish).
It was a wonderful week with so many memories. So grateful for all of it.
There was only a little bit of stitching (the winding coastline roads require looking up!). It was interesting to notice that what I did stitch had to do with home.
It was so good to go and to come home, and to realize how much we are home for each other.
