I’m whale-watching from our hotel room in Lincoln City. We haven’t seen Lincoln yet, but whale tails, spouts, and sea lions have kept us entertained.  It took us three hours instead of two to get here since everyone apparently left work early. My pulse rate is rapidly dropping as the sun sets over the Pacific. Nothing is more stressful than driving in heavy traffic. The water sparkles like diamonds and the seagulls bathe in the golden light. We chose Kyllos at the Beach for dinner, and the pups waited patiently in the car for any scraps.

We talk about retirement together and someday hope for an ocean view on the Florida Gulf Coast. Will we be able to afford both the view from home and extensive travel? Or, once we have that view, will we ever want to leave? Our hotel room has a million dollar view, but the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired. This is what you get when you travel with the dogs. “Dog-friendly” usually means that human standards are sacrificed. We have no air-conditioning, but the overnight temperatures were in the low 50’s. Doggy foot-steps in the middle of the night are noisy as nails clatter against the fake wood floors. Sheets are towels are thread-bare, the walls are thin, and I’ve already had to go to the office for a toilet plunger and a stopper for the tub drain. One should plug but the other shouldn’t! The TV operates off of multiple remotes and the wi-fi is sluggish like molasses. It’s certainly not a Marriott, even though the prices are comparable. Welcome to the Oregon Coast!

It’s morning now and the skies are blue. The dogs will go for a walk on the beach, an exciting change of pace for them. Watch out seagulls here they come! I did my run alone this morning, thinking about last year’s Hood to Coast Relay. The six runners in the first van should be just completing their final legs and will wait at the Seaside finish line for the second van of runners to leg-out their final six runs. It’s typically a thirty-hour journey for all twelve runners and each will complete about 17 miles of the 200 mile-plus course. I slept for a few hours last year in an open field, so I’m off to a much better start this morning. A night in a dog-friendly hotel is certainly far superior to a stuffy van and a sleeping bag. I’m certainly not envious of being part of this year’s Fox 12 team, and I feel their relief as they approach the end. Once was enough for this soon-to-be 67-year old man, so I’ll just enjoy a day at the beach, without having to run from Mt. Hood to get there!