Oregon Coast

I have fallen in love with the Oregon Coast. It is rocky, wild, untamed and untouched. We drove up to coast on Highway 101 until we reached Lincoln City. At that point we turned inland and headed towards Mt. St. Helen's in Washington. When you drive down the street you see restaurants selling salmon and clam chowder. Produce stores selling blueberries, tomatoes and other vegetables are frequent. The mountains come down to meet the ocean and even then, extend into the ocean with rocky promontories and "haystacks." Hidden between these rocky beaches are sandy ones where people swim, dig for clams and surf. There are even 40 miles of sand dunes.

At one spot we got out of the car and heard hundreds, possibly thousands of seals and sea lions sunning themselves on several islands right off the coast. They were laying all over each other, and frolicking in the water. The sound was amazing to this east coast girl.

Before we drove to the coast we spent several days in Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare festival. We met my friend, Debbie Schwartzman's sister, Paula, and her husband, Shel,  for dinner at one of the little restaurants. Ashland is an interesting city. It is small (approx. 20, 000 people) high-brow and sophisticated. You see young people with backpacks and dreads walking around town. Older people visit the city to attend one of @6 plays that are performed during an 8  month season. We saw a a good production of Guys and Dolls. Obviously, not all the plays are Shakespearean. In addition to the plays, there are scheduled "chats" with the actors, tours backstage, and free concerts, among others occurring throughout the day.

The town is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. The first day I was there I saw a deer quietly walking in one of the local parks. He approached a person who was sitting on a bench, reading. This man seemed oblivious to the deer. It was all so natural. The largest park in town, Lithia Park, is a beautifully landscaped park located right next to the town square. Ashland is only a few miles from Medford, so you get a small town feeling next to a larger city.

We plan to return to Oregon after we visit Washington to check out the towns of Bend and Eugene as possible places to live. The populace of the state seems politically and socially liberal, well educated, and interested in ecology and the outdoors. There are probably many aging hippies, a perfect place for us.