A WEEK IN BROOKINGS, OREGON

Brookings Harbor

Even though the weather forecast says sunshine each day, we always start off with overcast clouds or fog.  Although yesterday the sun was out for several hours, today it did not burn through until about 3 p.m.    You might probably ask why we bother coming to a town that is in economic decline, has fog and drizzle almost every day, and is difficult to access without traveling through forest and canyon.  

Gold Beach Bookstore

Well I guess because it is really beautiful when the sun does shine, and it is not 100 degrees like in Arizona right now, and there are little businesses lurking between the buildings with the for lease signs.   Like the Gold Beach Bookstore which has new and used books, shows art works by local artists, and where we can buy a mocha or espresso to drink while we are searching out some good reading buys.  Upstairs they have first editions in the rare book room and were featuring a book collection that had been purchased from Glenn Ford.  There are also letters and manuscripts.

Bakery By The Sea

We also found a teeny, tiny bakery which is only open 3 days a week, without even a storefront, just a door into a narrow hallway to a kitchen the size of our fifth wheel.  But they are turning out some great sourdough bread, scones, bran muffins, and the most light and delicious ciabatta rolls ever.   Yes, all six of those rolls are for us.    

This last weekend was the Azalea Festival here in Brookings, so we went down to the harbor to take a look at the festivities.   In addition to the usual vendors, there was one young man giving camel rides on his 3 camels.   He assured me that they never spit unless they felt they were being attacked, so I gave the camel a pet on the nose.  They have the softest fur and the longest eyelashes.  Plus, their lips are hairy, they only have lower teeth except for a couple of upper molars in the far back of their mouth, and they are one of the two toed animals.  Really interesting animals.   

But mostly we are in Brookings so that Allan can walk the dogs at the beach.  Early in the morning, the beach is empty and he can let them explore and play on the sand.  They also walk back along the jetty where Allan has seen breaching whales and sea lions.  Then he completes the circuit by walking past the Coast Guard Station and past the boat slips to our park which is just across the street.  

While he is off exploring, I have been trying to finish a needlepoint canvas that I purchased on Bainbridge Island about 6 years ago and have been stitching on periodically whenever we travel.  I have been determined to get it done on this trip and finally it is finished (although it still will need to be blocked, stretched, and made into a pillow.  It was supposed to be a chair cushion, but the chair is long gone, so it will just be a pillow.