We traveled to Coos Bay, Oregon, this past weekend for a swim meet. It was our first time attending this particular meet. It gave Russ and me an opportunity to visit the area where we lived when we were first married. Russ was coaching a swim team and teaching in Reedsport and house-sitting/renting a little beach house in Winchester Bay when we were married and I moved to join him twenty years ago. The above lighthouse and lake were within walking distance of our beach house (which had a gorgeous view of only vegetation and ocean!).
The lake is small and quiet and a one-mile trail loops around the water. It wasn’t our regular long hike, but it was a lovely and sentimental hike to do as a family on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
A slight detour from the trail takes a hiker right out onto the dunes with a glimpse of the ocean.
We had a great weekend at the swim meet, though Thursday we went from 93 degrees in the valley to a misty and breezy 53 degrees on the coast. I was not prepared! But Friday and Saturday were sunny and beautiful (if chilly in the shade). Russ and all 3 boys competed. Lola played and played with friends. We camped in a tent. We spent quality time with two other families.
The pool facility is part of a large and beautiful park, which we enjoyed. It has a neat Japanese garden, where Lola and I spent some time. She recognized the bamboo right away and spent some time playing with a new little friend, pretending to be panda bears (when she wasn’t under the bridge reciting lines from The Billy Goats Gruff).
We traveled back up to Reedsport on Saturday evening to visit with dear friends, whom we had not seen in many years. They fed us a delicious dinner and housed us for the night. It was so great to catch up and just enjoy their company.
The boys are now taking an end of summer break from swimming (Levi timed his broken foot well), but Russ competes in the 2016 U.S. Masters Swimming Summer National Championship in Gresham, Oregon, next week.
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