Getting out of Dodge!

Thought I'd share a shot of Mt. St. Helen's that I took from our living room! We can only get this full view in the fall and winter when the leaves are gone! The trees are starting to bloom and once the leaves are on we don't get the total view of the mountain! We live in Oregon and Mt. St. Helen's is in Washington!

I don't have time to share any art pictures this time because my husband and I are leaving tomorrow morning for the beach! We just decided today to see if we could get a room this weekend. I can't wait to go!!! The last time we got away together was two years ago! Our dogs were so sick, we really couldn't leave.

We took this picture at Cannon Beach two years ago. It is a picture of Haystack Rock. It is 235 feet high and is the third largest coastal monolith in the world. As you can see, it was overcast and not too sunny and warm, but we had a great time.

This time we are heading south about 60 miles and going to Lincoln City. The most exciting thing is that the weather is going to be beautiful. The forecast for here (home) is 68 Friday, 75 Saturday, and 72 on Sunday. The beach is about 1-1/2 -2 hours away and it won't be quite that warm but maybe 70 on Saturday there! Ahhhh, some sunshine on the old bones! :-) This getaway is long overdue and I can't wait to smell the ocean, take a long walk, hold hands, explore, collect some shells and treasures, take some pictures, eat some great food, do a little shopping, and find a bead shop! ;-)

About 9 miles north is a town called Neskowin. We are going to go visit because the high winds, heavy rain, and powerful surf pounding the Oregon coast recently uncovered a ancient cedar forest on the beach at Neskowin. The ancient tree stumps are usually covered in deep sand. But recent storms washed away a great deal of the beach and once again, this happened a few years ago, uncovered the tree stumps that the locals call "the ghost forest." The cedar stumps are stumps of a forest that are some 2,000 + years old. And recently the extreme erosion allowed the discovery of two cannons from a ship lost at sea near Cannon Beach. They are believed to be the missing cannons from the USS Shark, which wrecked at the Columbia River mouth more than 150 years ago. In 1898, one of it's three cannons was found at what is now Arch Cape, eventually giving the town of Cannon Beach it's name. A couple shipwrecks have shown their face too...one in Coos Bay and another in Florence. They could be gone again soon, for how fast the coast changes. It will be cool to see and I will take pictures to share next week.

I'll leave you with a picture that our friend's wife took on their recent trip to Panama. It is a White Vented Plumeleteer...a hummingbird! The blue head is just amazing and it certainly looks larger than the Rufous and Anna's we have here in Oregon! I love hummers! We have two feeders and I grow lots of flowers that they love...salvias, petunias, fuchsias, etc.

I'll take pictures and share some WIP pictures next week! Got to get my bag packed, get some of my projects ready to go with me too, and be ready to rock n' roll in the morning. Believe me, I'll have my jeans and tennies on and be raring to go! ;-) I hope you have a great weekend!