Day 23

We stayed up late last night at the bon fire. It was such great time hanging out with everyone. One of the many reasons why shooting a wedding of a friend is awesome, you get to hang out and relax with everyone after.  

Foggy morning on Cannon Beach

   This morning we took a hike to the beach and then drove to Ecola State Park, horrible name, beautiful place. It is just so lush here. I don’t understand it. I mean, I do, but you get my drift. I’m not used to it being from Texas.  Our beautiful lush hike led right to the beach; it was about a mile or so. We came out where sand dunes might be, but it was a mountain instead… or a hill, however you want to look at it- but when we got to the end we were looking straight out onto the ocean. The beach was pretty busy for how foggy it was, but not in the way that I imagine a beach to be packed. There are tents set up all along the edge of the mountain that we hiked from. People are in jeans and hoodies. The only people in the water are the surfers in wet suits. (It looked like my kind of day, little baby waves that are perfect for a long board.)  There are a lot of Frisbees being flown and long walks up and down the shoreline. Not quite like the beach that I am used to: hot, sunny, bikini wearing babes, sand castles being built and screaming kids in the water. The fog is so thick here that you can see all the particles in the air.  You can see it blow in from the ocean. It is pretty neat to watch as the visibility in front of you get lower and lower.  We also saw an Elk at the end of our hike- neato! 

The hike to the beach in Ecola State Park 

Abi and Cory's Crew

 After our hike, we all headed back to our houses that we stayed at for the weekend. I did my laundry and showered—the two key things to do when you have the chance! After gathering my things together and packing my car, I went to have dinner with Abi and some close friends and family. I had a great chicken pot pie. Perfect for the chilly day.  After dinner I headed to Eugene to go meet up with my friend, Ogden, at the Oregon Country Fair. I drove for about four hours. Not a smart move to eat a delicious huge meal and then hit the road, I got tired for sure. Abi and her crew were all going back to the house to watch the Goonies, since the wedding was in the same spot as where the movie was filmed. As I was driving down to meet Ogden, I was thinking how awesome it would be to curled up on a couch watching the Goonies.

   When I finally got to the fair, I called to have Ogden come meet me. He put his friend on the phone and told me when I got to the checkpoint to say I’m picking up a member of a band. It supposed to be sort of top secret to get in the country fair. It has been going on at the same spot for some 50 years now, invite only. They guy at the checkpoint knew I was bull shitting, but he let me in anyway. It was the last night so I’m sure that he didn’t care at this point, he smiled and waved me through. Although it was the last night, there was still a lot going on! There are camps everywhere. All of the booths that are set up are built out of wood and have been specially made over the years. Ogden took me on a quick tour of the place.  First stop was the campfire, which all of the musicians from the fair gather after hours to take turns playing. Were talking some 40+ people. I heard some beautiful songs there. It’s amazing what can come out of instruments and voice boxes. I have always wanted to be able to sing, but it is something that I have come to terms with.

Oregon is so lush! 

   From there, he took me to the sauna, I had no idea what to expect. It was pretty amazing, when you walk in you undress and put your clothes in a cubbyhole.  It was a little bit of an adrenaline rush taking off my clothes, but when you look around and there are about 100 nakey people around you, it's nothing. There were all shapes and sizes… It was quite beautiful. 

   When you look to the right there are about twenty open showers that people are showering at. From there, look to the left and take two steps down and there is a big fire pit to warm up by- this is all open to the night sky, mind you. Also, while all of this is going on, right in front of the fire pit, there is a live band playing for everyone. It was a special and unique site to see. The band was really good too- I can’t remember the name though.  Ogden, yelled to the band in between songs, "If you get nervous, just imagine the crowd naked!" Laughter bust out breaking the silence. "Good one, Oggy." 

The beach at the end of the trail<3 p="">

   There is also a huge sauna. You have to rinse off in the shower before you get in the sauna. It is heated by people working in shifts who cut and throw wood into the huge stove- I think that is the right word for it, like a huge wood burning stove.  When you walk in the sauna, it is eight tiered and four sections long. It held maybe 50 people? It was a lot. The higher you go, the hotter. I couldn’t take the top three, too much for me! But it felt great to sweat like I did. People were singing and laughing, some were quite, just talking it in. 

  From there we got dressed and walked around the fairgrounds and made it back to camp.

  All in all I’d say it was worth the drive for the experience although I was thinking I should have stayed, because I was tired.