This was my first visit to the Oregon coast ever, but it was a homecoming for Kellyn, who went to high school for a year up the coast in Newport.

Over the past 17 months, we’ve visited almost every section of coastline around the lower 48 of the United States, from Puget Sound to San Diego along the Pacific, from Galveston to Ft Walton Beach along the Gulf, and from Jacksonville to Philadelphia along the Atlantic. Each ranges from pleasant to spectacular, but for raw natural beauty Brookings is far to the “spectacular” end of the range, as you can see…

Kellyn’s parents, Joan and Jim, drove in from Medford, about 2.5 hours away, on the weekend we arrived and helped us explore and enjoy our new surroundings.

Harris Beach State Park was a lovely interlude, despite DaVinci deciding to tangle with a skunk one evening. At age 13, he is showing signs of aging, but not when marauding squirrels, cats, or skunks approach. The years drop away and he sails into battle like a happy warrior.

Most of our week in Brookings was tinged with the odor of mephitis mephitis, and even now, a week after the incident, we still get an occasional whiff.

DaVinci, of course, has no idea why we’re so short-tempered with him, and why he was isolated for several nights. He is philosophic and happy warriors don’t seem over-burdened with remorse.

At any rate, we love Brookings, despite the lack of a nearby airport. We’ve scheduled a return visit for April 2020 on our way back from southern Califiornia, and this time we’ll also rent an 8-person yurt in hopes of luring some of the kids and friends to enjoy this wonderful place with us next spring!