In a Fog... and happy about it!
106°read the dial in Portland recently. It was a new record for late July. But here in the headlands it was a cool 60° – 70° — and foggy! In fact we've been in a fog for a number of weeks now, though some say we're perpetually foggy out here.
Now, I like my summer as much as the next guy mind you, but I do have my limits. We moved from Seattle to Florida in 2002 in part because I was craving warmth. But 98° with 100% humidity was more than I'd bargained for.
On our way back out west we almost stopped in Santa Fe (I just love the high deserts of the S.W.); but again, too hot. Medford, our destination in Oregon, was still just a bit too hot; and when our jobs went south, we went north by north west. I'm OK with the cooler coastal weather as long as I have my long johns on — I'm just now contemplating taking them off for the year. But I really love this summertime fog and mist, it softens the rugged severity of the coast, which I find very "dream-like" and magical.
It has been said that the definition of a dream is, "the relationship between reality and illusion." The reality is that those rocks are still hard and jagged; the illusion is that they are soft and smooth. But here, the line between the two blurs.
Even though folks from "the valley" grouse about the damp weather on the coast; judging from the traffic here in town that day, most Portlanders were here. Driving home from Depoe Bay during the recent heat wave, I took the Otter Loop road and came upon this dreamscape at Rocky Creek Bridge (cir. 1927 Ben Johnson Design).
How Locals prepare for Summer
Lillian's B&B Yaquina B & B owner winds it up and lets it go. Counsels others do likewise. LILLIAN is a good natured, easy going sort. But this last week pushed her to the brink. Her head cook had stirred the pot and the housekeeping staff was about to boil over.Sonja, the cook, was a hoarder. All the storage closets were full of dented and tarnished serving dishes, worn out napkins and dilapidated center pieces.
A new housekeeping hire took it upon herself to clean out these tarnished treasures and get more needed storage.
Well, Sonja hit the fan, going off to the point that Lillian had to step in. Asking what the problem was, Sonja began going on about the Great Depression and so on… waste not, want not… Lillian reminded her that they hadn't been used in years and suggested she look at Matthew 6:19. All that did was wind her up even more (which she knew it would). As Sonja stormed off, Lillian winked at her new gal and said, "Wind her up and let her go… it's safer that way."