What...Two Days in a Row

Tuesday of Spring Break dawned and the overcast skies had a little touch of blue in them. It was enough to give us hope that today might be a sunny day. After shaking all the water out of everything from the overnight showers, Pa got the coffee cooking and settled in to see how long before Mimi would arise from her slumber. About the time the coffee was being pressed, out she stumbles. A modern day version of Jeff Spicolli, she bursts out of the van in a cloud of smoke...ready to tackle the day...after the coffee that is.

After some breakfast and more coffee, they pack up Van the Man and head out to a trail head. This hike they're about to embark on, is at the Sunset Bay St. Park near North Bend. This is one of those beautiful idyllic settings you find along the Oregon coast. A perfect beach surrounded by rocks and forested cliffs. Waves crash against a rocky reef allowing only the smallest of waves to crash gently on the beach. It is absolutely spectacular.

So Mimi discovers in our hiking guide, a trail that skirts the coastline down to a place called Shore Acres. Now it turns out, all of this land was owned by one rich dude who built this glorious estate right on the bluffs of this amazing piece of coastline. Mimi says it has botanical gardens...need we say more. If it has a garden, Mimi is there. It could be twenty seven miles straight up Mt. Everest and Mimi would find a way to get to that Garden. So we set out on the trail.

Now if you'll remember, they walked six and a half miles the day before...some strenuous stuff. Right out of the shoot...no warm up...switchbacks. Switchbacks are the slow torture device created my some psychotic trail builder who had a lot of pent up anger and frustration he wanted to take out on the rest of humanity. They wind back and forth up the hill gaining seemingly insignificant amounts of altitude with each brutal step. If there was a staircase you could be dome with the whole climb in 15 minutes...albeit very tired...but at the top. But no, you have to walk an extra mile in each direction twice...or something.

Now Mimi, with the thoughts of that garden in her minds eye, was determined up those switchbacks. Even though the pain from yesterdays hike was still very present in her calves, she plowed ahead like a Lioness hunting down a Gazelle to feed her cubs.

She made short work of the Switchbacks and was up on top of the cliffs overlooking the spectacular wild Oregon ocean. A gentle walk along the bluffs were augmented by the rugged beauty of the waves crashing into the reefs and the sun...yes the sun...reflecting off the faces of the waves. Pretty glorious.

So the two miles were made quick work of and we arrive at Shore Acres and another spectacular view. Beautiful lawns spilling down to the cliffs. But these lawns were covered with whale paparazzi. I mean gaggles of them sitting in their chairs, eyes glued to the eyepieces, just hoping to catch a brief glimpse of a blow spout. As if it were Brad and Angelina and Jennifer all peaking up over the cliff for just the briefest of moments. They were quite rabid in their passion to see a whale migrate. It was hard for Mimi and Pa to understand the fervor cause they have been out amongst the whales and looked into the eye of a Killer Whale in the Puget Sound. Pa has had one breach through a giant pod of fish not 20 feet in front of him in Alaska. Now that's something to see. But maybe these paparazzi had not had those opportunities. It's too bad really.

Well, on to the gardens. Now let me tell you...they were amazing...beautiful...very nice. These were some of the finest examples of what man can do with stone and brick and of course the building block to every fine garden...the Boxwood hedge. It was really nice. The lower garden was Asian influence with a wonderful pond. It is so nice...but...........

The walk back was a reflective one for Pa...kind of quiet. Thinking about the garden and the paparazzi and the works of man. Apparently, the rich guy who bought and developed all of this property, built two spectacular homes on the property that burned down. He tried to harness all of this beauty and ended up in a little cottage in Coos Bay. The garden is amazing and beautiful, but let it go for one season and it looks like a wasteland. People clamoring for just a glimpse of the blessed whale and their whole year is now somehow worthwhile. All the while.........

Pa was reminded of the great scene in the movie "Jeremiah Johnson" when old Del Gue screams out "these here Rocky Mountains is God's greatest cathedrals, nothing on Earth can compare to these here mountains. I am a Mountain Man and will remain so until God takes me to Heaven" (or something to that effect).

The ocean and the cliffs and the trees scream out "look at me". All around is the handiwork of the Creator who made these things for us to have our souls refreshed and our hearts gladdened. It is hard to imagine trying to enhance something that is made so perfectly. But we try.