A sunny day on the coast has to be appreciated outside and today it was sunny.  My fellow docents told me that it has been raining everyday this month stopping at Christmas.  Some were leaving at the end of the month for dryer climates and others bought better rain gear and are staying.  Michael wears shorts each day, perhaps to confront the rain gods and provoke them, letting them know he will not let them steal his happiness.

With advice to go buy a dehumidifier and rain gear, I drove to Florence to go shopping.  I bought some essentials and then was swayed by the sun to stop the shopping and start exploring.  I headed north.  Stopping at the Carl Washburn beach the dogs ran like they had been caged for a year.  Pure delight; they ran, smelt everything and retrieved.  And I smiled.  The beach extends for what seems to be miles.  I have four weeks ahead of me to walk and enjoy this beach, watching the dogs run.  Life is good.

With tired dogs, we jumped back into the truck with a mission to check out all the beach accesses on the way to Yachat.  Then I reminded myself.  Slow down.  I did not have to tackle sightseeing like an engineering alternative analysis rating all accesses to pick the best one.  Or in Seattle engineering speak:  I did not need to complete a triple bottom line analysis on the beach access alternatives.  I drove appreciating the ferns, the trees, the wild rhododendrons and the never ending ocean of crashing waves.