We’re getting ready for a weekend at the coast. This same weekend a year ago, I spent the night in a field between legs of the Hood to Coast relay. I’m certainly glad that I’m not part of the team this year, especially considering all the replacements they’ve had to add due to injuries. Somehow, I continue to run every day, completing 3,525 consecutive days this morning. I can’t tell you how lucky I’ve been to avoid foot and ankle injuries. Two friends have recently put themselves out of commission due to silly accidents, including a dropped barbell on a toe and a middle-of-the-night stumble over the cat. I’ve managed to run through some painful maladies, hangovers, colds & flu, coughs, smoke, rain, sleet, and snow to complete my daily mile. This morning my wife left me a note, warning that breathing the air was the equivalent of smoking nine cigarettes. I think she was hinting that I should reduce the cost-per-use of our treadmill. My eyes did burn a bit after the three-mile-plus route through our neighborhood, but the dedicated runners and walkers that I see every morning did not let the hazy conditions stop them.

Our cost-per-pet continued to go up after Tinker’s visit with the Vet today. PET.VET.DEBT. We got some more eye drops and another prescription of Prednisone.  Both of our schnauzers will be excited for a chance to run on the Lincoln City beach, especially Tally who’s frustrated with Tinker’s aches and pains. Rather than her weekly stroll to Starbucks, she’s forced to spend another boring day at home. To me, boredom is bliss, but to her even our weekend walks have changed with Tinker’s aging legs. The stroller won’t work well on the sand, so we’re anxious to see if Tinker can handle our stolls on the beach. Tally, of course, will chase the sea gulls, climb the rocks, and try to elude our watchful eye.

When I ran the television station back in central Illinois, one of my pet campaigns was called “Looking for Lincoln.” There were many historical areas in our coverage area that were named after Abraham Lincoln, who’s family homes were in both Decatur and Springfield, that it made a great tie-in for our central Illinois news focus. We did a series of vignettes in conjunction of the grand opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, and I’ve become quite knowledgeable of his life before and after the Presidency. Here in Oregon, we couldn’t be any further from Lincoln’s path from Kentucky into Indiana through Illinois to the White House. In fact, he never even visited the Oregon Territory, and once turned down an opportunity to become territorial governor in 1849.

So why Lincoln City? The name was actually chosen from contest entries submitted by local school children. The town was formed via a merger with the five original communities of Delake, Oceanlake, Taft, Cutler City, and Nelscott. Although Abraham Lincoln gave us the Pacific Railroad Act, and the Homestead Act, that both brought people to the state, and established “land grant colleges” like Oregon State University, it’s unclear why the students honored Lincoln in this manner? Tinker, Tally, and I will be “Looking for Lincoln” when we visit the area this weekend – he’ll probably be in the casino!