People see my car and trailer plates and say “Oh, you’re from Washington!” which is true but not really true in the sense that it’s my home, or my home base. It’s gotten me to thinking about “a sense of place” in my life, where I belong, and where I feel at home. Before I became a full-time vagabond, I was a traveler and a wanderer, never settling into one place with the idea I’d stay there forever. I grew up in LA, lived in the Hudson Valley, Boston, then Santa Cruz, and finally Seattle. All of those have one…
Month: September 2017
Oregon Lighthouse
Three years ago, I visited Cape Disappointment, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean in a roil of sandbanks, heavy tides, and ever-present fog that were responsible for many a sunken ship in the last few centuries (see photo at top of this page). The southern side of the river belongs to Oregon, and it’s where John Jacob Astor funded the first white settlement, which became known as Astoria. The northern side belongs to Washington State, and it’s where two lighthouses reside: Cape Disappointment Light and North Head Light. The latter has been the primary navigation for the channel…
Weekly Update: Sep 13, 2017
It’s been a mellow week here at Chez Breeze, mostly hanging out in Salisbury and enjoying the warm weather and gentle winds. And the beach. It’s my last beach stop until probably January, so I’m making the most of it. It’s also been a time for connecting with old friends, some by phone and some in person, which has filled my soul right up with love and companionship. You know who you are, we don’t need selfies to prove our friendships are deep and long. So I’ll just put a cool picture of rose hips here instead. I also got…
Sunday Serenity: Walking
The first time I walked more than a few minutes after I broke my hand, it was unexpectedly terrifying. My brain was sure I was going to trip again and fall again and the sidewalk felt like it full of danger. It took all the courage I had to walk three blocks to the pizza takeout for dinner (otherwise, no dinner!) and walk back to the hotel. The next day I did six blocks each way, and then each time after that, I went a little farther, proving slowly to myself that I wasn’t going to crash and burn every…
Weekly Update: Sep 6, 2017
The most exciting news is that I’ve made it off the Cape after six weeks! It didn’t let me escape easily, creating high winds that had me white-knuckling the drive over the Bourne Bridge, but Bella was a champ and Breeze followed along behind very well. I spent my last week just barely on the Cape, in the lovely town of Sandwich, at Shawme-Crowell State Forest. It’s a weird little campground, with some sites right up against the noise of Route 6 and all of the sites having somewhat challenging access (no pavement, just mud, dirt and tree roots). To…