Traveling

Another thing I make an effort to do is to visit a new place once a month. More if I can, but at least once a month. I almost booked a trip to Iceland the other night to see the northern lights in December, but I’m suppose to be planning a honeymoon to Puerto Rico next year. Living in a new state, I’m afforded a lot of opportunity to see new places and I want to take advantage of that.

I was finally able to visit the coast. Oregon weather being what it is, trying to find a good day to drive to the coast (60ish miles) through forests and farm land is difficult. I’m assured by my coworkers that the summer will get better. And perhaps for the first time, I’m actually living through what spring was meant to be. A little more sun couldn’t hurt!!!  Normally on my weekends I like to do something challenging (hiking 10 or more miles), but this weekend I took it easy. The stops I made were just that, stops. Something that wouldn’t require more than an hour or two at a time. I went during low tide, since I wanted to see the tide pools and beaches. Make sure you check the tide, otherwise you could be missing out on things you wanted to see.
First I drove South through Lincoln City to see the Devil’s Punchbowl. I spent a good hour here even though the Punchbowl was only 10 minutes of it. It was formed when a sea cave collapsed, and you have to view it from the top of the cliff. There’s no way down to it. There is a stairway down to Beverly beach, which seems to be popular with surfers and families. Lots of driftwood here too. If you follow Avenue C north, you will find a dirt path down to tide pools and you can see the arch of the Punchbowl. At low tide, you can almost make it to the arch. I had to ignore some obnoxious teenagers that kept making seagulls fly at me until I shouted “What is wrong with you?” God damn. Other than that, the beach was pretty empty.

Next, still heading South, I ended up at the Yaquina lighthouse. There were a lot more trails to follow then I thought. You can park in one central lot next to the gift shop and walk everywhere on the headland. I climbed to the top of Silal Hill, which isn’t too bad of a hike, short but mostly up hill. Great views of the entire coastline, and exceptionally windy. From there I drove (I know, I’m sorry! I wasn’t wearing the right shoes!) to the lot nearer to Quarry Cove. Technically man made, they have turned this quarry site into a wild life harbor. Honestly, it felt very odd since it was so quiet there. Seals are suppose to visit at high tide, but they must have been busy else where. It was just me and the water. Black volcanic rocks tumbled about the water line. I was sad to leave, but the wind was making me cold and I finally hit my chilled to the bone point.

Finding myself stuck

That title says it all, explains why I am where I am and why I feel the way I feel. I’ve read a lot and most literature tends to agree that happiness comes from within, and really if that’s the case you should be able to be happy anywhere. To a point that is true. And after three years of trying to be happy with where I was, I moved to Oregon. I thought the changes would do me good. Lower cost of living, transfer to a new institution for work. Well that hasn’t work out quite how I thought it would. Cost of living in negligibly lower, and its my job, I can’t stand it, doesn’t matter where it is. My husband is still stuck in Los Angeles, he never made it through the hiring freeze. We’ve only been married for three months.

Right now I find myself again having to make life changing decisions only six months after the other ones. Did you know that the federal government is going to decrease overall employment by twenty percent? I work for the federal government as a correctional officer, something you’d think they would want to fund, but they don’t. I hate the job any way, but it is a pay check. So do I quit my job and return to LA where my husband is? Do I stay and go back to school so I have options when I do quit this job? I could try to transfer back to LA, but chances are the same my husband will get transferred to where I am. Questions, questions, questions…annoying little gnats!

But how can I find happiness if I go back? Going back isn’t an option. Going forward isn’t possible without my husband. I suppose all I can do is read good books and get more tea to ease the frustration. It’s the anxiety that hurts the worst and I’m not even sure why. The loneliness I can deal with, but anxiety can turn this into a nightmare.

(image via Elizabeth Gadd flickr )

Bookish Thursday

The first thing you should probably know about me is that I love to read. These days I’m finding it hard to find time to read and focus on reading. Oh! I should put a link to my good reads, and friend me on there because I doubt that I’ll post about all the books I have read, will read or am reading, and despite the 199 books on my “to read” list, I always like to add to it.

I just finished Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire. It’s a part of the October Daye series, which focuses on the life and cases of October Daye, a private investigator to the fairy realm, who is also a changeling. This series digs up all the grit and twisted limbs of the fairy tales where faeries are not all sweet, gossamer beings that grant wishes. Instead faeries are deliberately deceiving and cannot lie. You never want to find yourself in debt to a fairy and they won’t be indebted to you. Artificial Night is the third book in the series, and it didn’t disappoint. This time October tracked down Blind Michael, the leader of the wild hunt.  Honestly, I had never heard him referred to as Blind Michael and I’m not sure how October won, which adds to the mystery of October’s parentage.  I picked up this series after reading the Dresden Files, because they were similar and different enough to keep me reading.

I’m also trying to read the Magical Art of Tidying Up and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Yeah….More on those later, when I’ve decided to give up or am closer to finishing.

(image via bookspaperscissors)

New blog and old movies

So I’m watching Pat and Mike starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and I decided to start a blog. That is really all I can say. My husband mentioned it and somehow I got around to starting it while watching this movie. I’ve never been a Katherine Hepburn fan, but she’s growing on me. I enjoyed Desk Set better than Pat and Mike, but it’s still a good movie. For some reason I just need the comforting old movies, for movies that don’t make me feel bad about myself because I can’t live up to the 21st life style.

This feels like a very small post to start. So let’s call this space under construction and more will follow. For now I have to get ready for work, and try to not cry about it because I’m an adult.