Oregon: Visiting My Heart Space Again, 2022
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In early November, I was able to visit Oregon again. Since I was seventeen or so (yes, a long long time ago) and first visited Oregon when my long distance boyfriend lived there on the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway, I’ve considered it to be my heart space. The gorge, the city (I remember when gentrification issues weren’t nearly what they are now,) the coast…I would go back again and again year after year from seventeen to twenty-five. And then I lost contact with my once-boyfriend-now-friend, and I got married and life moved on, and I didn’t go back for a long time. Until I was thirty-eight, actually, and then I went on a trip in 2018, curious to see if I still felt the same way about the place. And I did. Oh, I did.
I went back in 2019 with my friend Shveta, and once again the short trip was filled to the brim with magic and wonder. It was like the whole universe aligned into splendid synchronicities and little magics every time I visited. I wrote two sets of blog posts about these trips that you can see on my defunct Catty-Corner Cottage blog if you’d like.
Then Covid came along, lovely lovely Covid, and there went the idea of visiting Oregon annually. I had no trip in 2020, and none in 2021. But, cautiously, I started pondering going back in 2022 autumn. I had some credit from Southwest Airlines from a canceled trip. Plans came together, and I booked my trip. I’d be flying out of Columbus on Halloween night, (Monday) and returning on Saturday, November 5th.
My hazy memory of the magic of Oregon from my trips back in the 90s and early 00s had me so nervous when I went back in 2018, and then I had experienced two phenomenal visits full of adventures. Could this trip possibly live up to that reputation? I’ll give you a spoiler: the answer is yes.
Flying on the evening of Samhain/Halloween was my first adventure, and I hadn’t realized how much fun it would be to see the airport and airline employees dressed up in costumes for the holiday.
For instance, Russell from the Pixar movie UP here was an employee at my gate in Columbus. There were many more costumes on the trip, and it just added a little bit of extra fun to the adventure.
I fly at night all too rarely, and I find it so calming and beautiful. Mind you, my plane didn’t arrive until about 11:30pm Pacific, 2:30am Ohio time, so I was a bit tired, but it was worth it.
When I arrived, a friend who was staying at Bryonie’s Portland place had left an egg casserole in the fridge for me, lit a candle, and made the whole place feel like an AirBnB. I exhaustedly brought my stuff inside and collapsed in bed after wolfing down some delicious late dinner. I got to meet Bryonie’s friend the next morning, and it was really nice to get to know her as I waited eagerly for my friend, Alessandra, to arrive. She happened to be in Portland for the weekend and was heading back to the coast anyway, so she would be picking me up and we’d go visit Bryonie together.
See, unlike every other recent trip to Oregon I’ve taken, the majority of this one wouldn’t be spent in Portland, but on the coast. I flew into Portland late at night, left the next morning on Tuesday. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I was on the coast, and then Friday we drove back to Portland to stay one night there and my plane left to go back to Ohio at noon on Saturday. So I basically just had time to say a quick hello and goodbye to the city. But with the roaring ocean calling, I had nothing to complain about.
Above you can see some of the magical beings that populate Bryonie’s Portland home. There was so much to look at while I waited! Alessandra arrived, we strategically fit my stuff in her car, and we were off to the coast. I love love love the trip from Portland to the coast, driving through pine forest mountains on a winding highway. And conversation never even remotely lapsed.
Alessandra and Bryonie and I had decided on our first activity together that day ahead of time. And a hint is above. This is a picture of me waiting at the Portland house for Alessandra’s arrival, wearing a pair of Froud-style troll ears made for me by another amazing friend, Desireé.
See, Alessandra and Bryonie and I are all proud adoptees of tiny trolls by the artist Cha_Shcha. And we agreed that it would be delightful to all converge and bring our wee ones together for a troll tea party.
When Alessandra and I arrived at Bryonie’s home on the coast, there was so much cheering and squealing and hugging and rejoicing.
And then we set up the whimsical setting for our picnic. It was November on the Oregon coast, and that meant rain, so despite the fact that the sun made a half hour appearance as if by magic when we arrived, we still agreed it was a bit too damp to do the tea outside. So we set up blankets on the floor. I had a little surprise up my sleeves and had bought a dollhouse tea set for the little guys to use, and it was a hit. I don’t know if it quite comes across in the photo above, but oh my goodness all of them were just absolutely radiating joy to be the center of so much fun and celebration!
We set a plate up with a little bit of everything for the trolls, gave a few tea-toasts, and then ate the delicious scones and clotted cream, pomegranate, bananas, and cheese. So delicious! I made a reel on Instagram for the troll tea, so if you want to see some video here that is.
I really love this candid photo of Bryonie and Allessandra looking out to the ocean.
After tea, we decided to stretch our legs and explore outside. First we left the house and turned right to the sand dunes and the coast. Bryonie’s house is two houses away from the beach, so we were padding through sand and seagrass before we knew it. And it was….so lovely. So so lovely. I had to take a few photos, including one of the trail that Bryonie’s troll tail (also by Desireé) left in the sand.
Speaking of the troll tail, next we walked down her street to the other end, where it immediately meets a thick mossy Oregon forest. Yes, Bryonie lives with the ocean two minutes walk away in one direction, and the mossy woods two minutes away in the other direction. I snuck this photo of B leading us through the woods. And no, I didn’t edit it…it really was all blurry except for her.
Tiny mushrooms were everywhere in the woods! There were so many it was impossible to step around them entirely. We walked to a clearing and took some photos. We had talked about coordinating our outfits for the picnic, but had agreed that it might be fun just to leave it open to interpretation and see what we came up with. Of course we all ended up accidentally coordinating anyway because…you know…kindred spirits.
The above photo is just begging for some sort of whimsical funny photoshop job. Any suggestion? Anyway, you can see a bit more of our outfits in these photos.
The day was over before we knew it, and I settled into the cozy bed Bryonie had prepared for me. She even put out a black cat and hare stuffy on my behalf. <3
Alessandra stayed the night as well, and the next morning we spent some wonderful time talking and just being with each other. Eventually though Alessandra had to do a virtual meeting, and Bryonie and I went off on an adventure.
She took me to a place she calls Driftwood Bay. Ever since I had seen the beautiful wall and windowsill hangings in her houses where she takes driftwood pieces and hangs lovely stones and crystals from them I wanted to make something similar to put up in my home. So I wanted to find the right piece of Oregon driftwood for that. I succeeded, and I hope I can share that result soon for you.
As her dog, Saoirse, ran around with joyful abandon, Bryonie showed me a driftwood fortress…
Driftwood details…
And a driftwood portal to Faerie.
It doesn’t seem like it could get any more magical, does it?
Oh it can.
We stopped by a lovely cafe in her gorgeous coastal town to grab some lunch. I had to photograph this adorable canvas banner on the way in.
Next we were off to my favorite beach I’ve ever been to on the coast. Well, actually, my favorite forest next to my favorite beach: Oswald West.
The path is a meander past growth trees and tumbling river, thick moss and mushroom, then over a bridge and you’re at the top of a cliff with a stairway down to a beach with the tumbling ocean.
If the above image looks familiar…well it should. I took a photo in the same spot with the same beloved trees when I was there in 2018 and it’s the blog header of my website homepage. :)
The above stump in the forest was fascinating. The smooth part? You’d think maybe it was rotting or slimy, but it was smooth and buttery…almost the texture of a seal’s skin. I have no idea what made it this way.
Am I sharing too many forest photos? I hope not. There are more. I’m so in love with this forest I cannot help it.
It was drizzling when we started walking in the woods, but when we arrived at the bridge, it started to rain in earnest. We decided to shelter under a tree that we both agreed seemed to want us to be there for a little while. We stayed there for about fifteen minutes or so, and when the rain still wasn’t letting up at all, we decided to just continue our adventure anyway. We crossed the bridge and walked the short further distance to the cliffs looking over the sandy and rocky beach. Almost right away after we climbed down to the beach, the rain gentled.
Bryonie and I walked the sandy shore together for a while, and I think she realized when we came to my favorite spot on the beach where the stream meets the ocean and the forest meets the sand that I wanted some alone time with nature. (Love her for getting that vibe without my saying a word!)
I made a reel for Instagram showing the forest, and at the end you can see this special spot. If you look very closely you can also see the last few raindrops sparkling in the sun as the camera moves from the forest to the ocean. See it here.
I spent a good amount of time here, trying to find a hagstone. This is the same place where I searched for hagstones back in 2018, and I had an experience so memorable I wrote a short piece for Enchanted Living magazine about it, seen here. Well, once again I found no hagstones. But whereas last time I found a stone with a tiny faerie footprint on it, this time, as I looked through a portal tree, I saw a stone with a faerie handprint on it.
This reiterated the same lesson, don’t go to nature seeking specific magic. Go to nature seeking whatever magic she wants to show you, and you’re more likely to find it.
A friend of mine had asked me to pick up an ocean rock for her, and in this little recessed cave area I found a lovely little rock with the same sort of layered grooves as the cliffs above it.
At this point, we were at the furthest northern side of Short Sands Beach, and the tide was starting to dance with the rocks at the base of the beautiful waterfall there. But Bryonie was so kind and was willing to dance back and forth snapping photos as the waves came in and out, while I stood on the rocks and posed. One of these images has to end up on my wall.
I also made a reel, my favorite one I’ve ever made actually, using my favorite song of all time…showing the ocean. There are some spoilers here for our next day of adventures, but you’ll see that soon enough anyway. Here’s the link.
Just a couple more shots from the waterfall. I felt so amazing and magical and in my element here, with ocean and forest and waterfall.
On our way back to the car, I found this heart rock, and had to snap a picture. I feel the same way about the Oregon ocean.
We went home all soggy and salty and exhilarated. Had a lovely dinner as the sun went down, and then as they were putting their son to sleep, I got a strong urge to see the ocean in the dark.
Over the sand dunes I went in the pitch black with only a flashlight to light my way. Eventually I got to the final peak of the sand dunes before the descent to the the beach, and I…chickened out.
There’s a song I love by Kalandra called “Borders” that really perfectly expresses how I feel about the ocean. If the forest is where I feel at home, meandering among the trees, the ocean feels like my church. Kalandra describes it as “on the borders of safety/that’s where I find peace/where the black sands/meet the raging sea.” I love the ocean, and it can make me feel closer to spiritual elation than just about anything, but it can also definitely feel like this “border of safety.”
Awe is defined as “an emotional mix of fear, wonder, and reverence when one is overwhelmed by the presence of something powerful.” That’s exactly how it feels. And in the pitch black, with the ocean roaring, I felt like if I walked down to the beach the waves could rise to swallow me at any moment.
I stood there for a while and took it all in. And took these photos. Which don’t do any justice to how dark it was to my naked eyes, since my phone did everything it could to show details my eyes couldn’t see. Imagine only being able to see the moon, and the light it casts on the clouds around it. Everything else is darkness and ocean sounds. It felt amazing, and powerful.
The next morning, Bryonie asked me to go on a walk with her on a very special and sacred path by her house. And wow, it really was. So many magical beings there in the forest.
These strange looking fungi were in a few places on the trail. When I got home, I asked my amazing friend Charlotte if she knew what they were. Frog pelt lichen! What a fun name!
Golden ferns, blackened ghost pipes, and a mushroom with eyes. But my favorite though had to be this moss fellow who was so excited that we could actually see him. I think I saw twinkling eyes under all that moss at the top of his eye stalks.
Next the plan was to drive north on the coast. There was a Finnish store I wanted to see, and allllsooooo…I had forgotten that sometimes in fall, you can find the classic fairy tale mushroom, amanita muscaria, in Oregon. Alessandra had heard from friends that they’d recently seen some at a state campground up there too. So we were off to search!
First we stopped by a beautiful Christmas store, and had lunch at a delicious bagel shop. We bought matching rabbit ornaments at the store, and I got a tiny little glass bird ornament for my bird tree.
At the campground…well…we found mushrooms, just the wrong kind. Sadly I still haven’t seen an amanita muscaria in person.
On our way back home, we stopped at Hug Point, a beach I think I visited a while ago with Jesse. Buuuut the rain was really coming down, and the *wind*!!! Oh my goodness was the wind blowing. Since this was our last chance of the trip, we went anyway, but it was a blustery adventure for certain. Beautiful though.
Sea caves can sometimes seem a bit piratey, but this particular spot even had skull-looking shapes in the rocks.
The caves are so romantic and magical. We wanted pictures there, even with all our coats and layers on.
Hug Point has a beautiful waterfall I wanted to see as well. In the wind, it was almost a horizontal waterfall, but it was still beautiful to see.
Most of the sea caves were more like sea nooks, but Bryonie knew of one that was a legitimate cave. We dodged the tides until we found it.
With this cave, you walked in and back, climbed over a tree that had gotten stuck in the back of the cave, and up the rocks to a perch about fifteen feet above where you came in. Yeah, it was pretty beautiful. Bryonie was braver than I was, and crawled way out to sit.
See? There I am, way back there, gazing longingly out to the ocean. The rocks in there had such beautiful colors and patterns.
A little bit more sea cave love and we went back to the car and drove back home. Another gorgeous day on the coast.
Friday, it was pouring rain, and after I packed up, we set out to go back to Portland. On the way back, I drove and Bryonie read my short story I’d worked hard on out loud to us both. It was such an utter delight to hear her read my story out loud. I was so so happy with how she read it.
Back in Portland, we met up with some wonderful friends at a local pub. It was so great to see everyone again.
It was the perfect sendoff on my final night to the place I love so much.
The next morning it was a quick farewell to Bryonie’s Portland place, where the wet leaves dressed the stairs like confetti, and a pair of Portland crows sat in the trees above her fence to say goodbye.
What a beautiful, magical, wonderful trip this was. I am so so thankful that my flawless record of incredible Oregon trips has continued. Now, to figure out my trip for 2023.
