Salmon fishing

Let me clarify a few things before I begin: 1) I'm typing this on my brandspankin' new iPhone because my poor hp finally crashed after 4 years. So it won't be as profound as my posts usually are. 

2) I'm not crazy about fishing but it's one of the few things i've done lately where I happened to take enough i-photos of the experience for a post. 

Let's begin. 

We stayed in seaside at a nice location overlooking a river. There were quaint little shops and lots of good seafood restaurants. Aside from our sleeping arrangements, it was a wonderful experience, right Troy? 

And then it was out on the water. The area where we were is the most dangerous port in the world and it was full of hundreds of other fishing boats. I wouldnt have to go out very often, as much as I love salmon. And maybe if we would've caught more than one , & one we could actually keep, I'd be a little more eager to go again. A couple times it seemed like everyone around us had a fish on the hook except for us. Alex actually did have a big one on but he lost it. Really. The fog was just starting to roll away & the fishing started getting hotter when Dar realized our bilge pumpwasn't  working & the back end of the boat had so much water in it that the waves were starting to lap over into it. We made a fast exit for land. Dar did a great job navigating but I could tell he was more relaxed once we got back on dry ground. 

Here's the fish we had to throw back because it was a half inch too small. We didn't end up with any keepers, but a night on the coast & a day on the water  made up for it. 

lazy saturday

Last Saturday was the first non-Sunday Dar didn't have to get to work at the crack of dawn. So we took full advantage of it. It was blissfully lazy & deliciously unproductive. Breakfast for the two of us usually goes something like this:______. That's right. We don't have breakfast together. But this morning we had eggs with bacon, feta, onions, tomatoes, & basil. And then Dar helped me assemble my shortcake trifle for a picnic we were invited to that night. He is great in the kitchen.

Then we headed out to the farm (because even when he's not working, he's still working) & since Riley was gone we actually got to drive the new mule. We cruised around, making sure everything was in order, basking in the thought that we had a whole day to do this if we wanted.

When we came across an old shed on one of their farms that's scheduled to be torn down, I suddenly found all sorts of energy to comb through barrels of glass bottles, piles of junk, and musty old boxes. I was ridiculously excited. There is just something about digging through the cast-off belongings of a person that makes my heart pound with anticipation. What will you find? What kind of person were they? Why did they not keep using this, but couldn't bear to throw it out? And Dar sweetly dug through everything with me, bringing me odds & ends he thought might tweak my fancy. I came away with some sweet bottles, old books, & wooden chairs. Sometimes I expect everything out here to be newer, since I have this conception that Oregon is a younger state, so discovering old stuff was an extra boon. I only wish they had more old sheds for me to rummage through:).

In the afternoon, my uncle Lyle came calling. In a strange turn of events, we both moved to the PNW (Pacific Northwest) within a few weeks of each other from our prospective long-term homes of Illinois & Europe. So he got to see our two apartments & the workings of the farm. It was great to see him again, & we're planning to head up to Seattle some weekend this fall to see his neighborhood.

In the evening, we headed into Salem to a riverfront park to spend time with some couples from church. It was a gorgeous evening, full of hazy sunlight & a welcome freshness in the air after the past days of upper-90's. There was an old railroad trestle bridge converted to a walking path we meandered down as the sun winked its last rays through the foliage. It was a good day. A great day.