I worked Friday almost non-stop from the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning to 6 PM when ProcrastiGirl arrived to keep me company while I ran around the house throwing things into boxes and bags for our trip. And helped me plow through the ridiculous pile of dishes, and very politely and kindly ignored the tumbling tumbleweeds of cat hair and layers of dust thick enough to plant seeds in. I am still mortified that I left the house in such a state for a friend kind enough to watch it and the cats for us while we're gone, but I suppose at some point you have to admit that life sometimes gets the better of you and trust that those closest to you will overlook it and not use it for blackmail. I don't know what I ever did to have such dear and generous friends, but I am grateful. (Who also, ALSO, brought delicious homemade cookies and treats for us DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN HERE?)
Anyway, I managed to have everything packed and ready by the time Sally arrived home that evening, and we had the car loaded in short order, said our goodbyes to the kitties and ProcrastiGirl, and were on our way at a quarter after eleven Friday night. It was rainy, but by the time we got onto Hwy 6 and started our way up into the Coast Range, encountering some slush but nothing worse, made the (hilariously mistaken) observation that if the roads were no worse than that, then we should be okay going over (compared to our trip two years ago almost to the day, when we drove through there late at night in the midst of a snow storm because that's just how we roll). Twenty minutes later, Mother Nature laughed in my face. Snow and rain coming down so hard we were driving blind at times, the road covered in a layer of white just thin enough to make driving extra dangerous but not thick enough to let you get any kind of traction, and of course all through an area that's nothing but steep drops and hairpin turns. The next forty minutes were very tense and silent as we navigated our way up and over, and I admit my stomach did a somersault or ten. But we arrived safely in Tillamook about 2 hours after leaving home, a trip that only took about 30 minutes longer than it would've under better conditions.
Now, there are only a few stoplights in all of Tillamook to begin with, pretty much all along where the 101 goes through town and since it was after midnight, the stoplights were blinking. And as you cross the 101 coming from the east, there are actually two stoplights right in a row, less than a block from each other, so of course they were both blinking. Which is no big deal, but I think after that drive, Sally just had his guard down or something, and there was no traffic (it's Tillamook, at 1 AM on a Friday night), and he was just focused on that second flashing stoplight because the first one looks like a warning that there's a stop coming up, not as a stop of its own.
You can see where this is going.He had just started to say as he was going through the first one (not speeding or anything, just 20 or 25 mph) without stopping that he should've stopped (which I'd been wondering if he'd noticed it, but didn't want to nag him about it since he'd just driven like a champ through such challenging conditions), when right behind us, of course, red and blue lights go off. I'm sure they must get quite a few people with tickets there, because that cop was just sitting, waiting. (Which...nothing against him or anything, but we were clearly fish in a barrel.)
He was a nice guy, though he did go ahead and issue the citation instead of a warning. A $297 ticket, to be precise. For running a red light with no traffic in Podunk, Oregon. (Yes, yes, still dangerous, still a traffic violation, yada yada.) Again, not knocking him -- we'd clearly run the light and it was a legitimate stop -- it's just...well I mean...seriously, Universe? Srsly? And since we obviously aren't going to make a trip out here for traffic court, our options are basically to plead guilty or no contest (the latter being an option that may give us a lighter fine, and to which we can send in a letter to argue for reasons why we should). Well, we'll do that, but we did run the light no question, so it's unlikely we'll get a reduction. Which officially makes this the most expensive trip to Oceanside we've ever made.
But we arrived in Oceanside at last, almost 1:30 in the morning, to relatively low winds and semi-clear night skies (a surprise, considering the storm that had come through earlier that day). We'd just started unloading the car, however, when it started to hail. YES WE GOT THE MESSAGE UNIVERSE.
We were both dog tired but also wound up, so we didn't hit the sheets until 3:30, and ended up sleeping in yesterday morning. Which is why it took until late afternoon yesterday to really sink in that we were actually on vacation. In fact when I woke up, I was disoriented and confused about why I wasn't in my own bed and it took a few minutes to figure it out.
Nonetheless, we've both had a chance to unwind and unclench a bit from the hectic pace we've been at for the last few weeks. We've had great stormy weather and the tides have been way, way high. It's pretty great, actually. We did our smorgasbord late yesterday afternoon while it was storming outside, rain pelting the door and windows of the cabin, and watched Charade, all snuggled up and cozy. (nothing like a good classic movie on a blustery day) We walked the beach in the rain and picked up a good rock for the garden, and watched some favorite shows and played some games and stayed up late like errant teenagers.
click to see full photo galleryIt cleared up a bit this afternoon so we went up to Cape Meares to take some pics with the new camera (and see the damage those two shitheads did to the lighthouse). We're now back to the cabin with our signature crockpot supper simmering away. And it's quite nice outside right now, overcast but warm and not windy, so we'll probably get a bit more time on the beach before dark or before the next front moves in, whichever comes first. We had a nice breakfast this morning as we sat at the table by the window, watching the waves roll in, and then I was hit with a great inspiration for part of book 2 that's had me stuck for awhile, so I'm making some progress there. I'll make some cookies for a treat tonight after our dinner while we watch a movie, and maybe if it's clear enough, we'll walk the beach in the dark.
Friday, April 30, 2010 at 7:35 PM | ;)
pink "Natural Lunch" box:;)
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