Oregon Coast Pt 2

I really took my time this morning. I stayed in bed while listening to the rain come down hard and felt the wind shake my van. Finally, I got up, packed up, and headed out. I stopped in at the closest library to use the WiFi and bathrooms. I hadn’t had great cell service for the last couple of days and wanted to knock out a few blog posts while I downloaded pictures to make room on my phone, and catch up with people back home. I wrote, edited, and gathered all my pictures for a blog post when my website decided to crash, and not save any of it. I was super frustrated since this was not the first time my website has given me troubles with posting and since I’d been at the library going on 2.5 hours at that point. I got upset and decided to leave. Eventually, I calmed down, ate something, and got in a better mindset for the day. I decided it’s ok if I wait to post until I can again and started feeling grateful instead that my van has gotten me this far and my phone works and that overall everything has gone well. I had felt this frustration or overwhelmed feeling buildup over the last few days and the website crashing was what set me off. I think I was stressed feeling like I had to always do something so I don't waste time on this trip. I decided to take time to just calm down and recognize that it’s ok to have days where I don’t do much.

Today was mostly driving. I stopped to see Thor’s Well outside of Yachats, Or and that was very pretty. The large waves swelled and crashed into these pockets of shore and mist would fly up and over, sprinkling on the people there to see it. It had a short and sweet trail loop down by the rocks and through tall brush with a sidewalk cut through it. It looked kind of like a maze. The trees along the shore all grew at an angle, sculpted by the wind. It was a really nice little pit stop.

I figured out that in Oregon people at the gas station pump the gas for you. I had seen this once before in New Jersey. It’s a little strange but kind of nice I guess.

It rained on and off throughout the day. Luckily every time I was outside it wasn’t raining. I passed amazing coastal beaches on my drive, most of them had those stunning rock formations that tower over the water, waves crashing against them.

I had found a spot for the night but felt it was too close to the busy road and wasn’t liking it much, so I moved 30 mins north past Newport. This place was a bigger parking lot along 101, some people coming and going but a handful seeming to stick around for the night as well. Another gorgeous sunset with a lighthouse on the coast at a distance. The clouds hung low on the horizon and the sun perfectly peaked out from behind. Burning bright before tucking itself behind the horizon. That night was spent editing blog posts so that it will, hopefully, go quicker when I get the chance to try to post again. I talked with my parents on the phone which was nice since it had been a couple of days. And I finally set up my porta potty since I’d been camping on the side of a highway for the last few nights. I really wanted to drink a beer that night but didn’t want to find a discreet spot to use the bathroom along the highway. The day turned around and ended up being a pretty good one.