Does this look like a vacation to you? It would to me, too, and maybe in some way, it is. In another, it is not. I’ll explain soon. First, we needed to kick off this party as best as we knew how: by taking a pre-sunrise beach walk. A funny thing happened on the way to the ocean today. Actually, it was at our hotel front desk when I asked if we could walk out of the western side of the parking lot and if we’d be able to meander through the neighborhood and find beach access. It was two-fold funny, really, as first we were told that it was kind of far, and that was quickly followed by the admission that the attendant had never gone out that way. Later, when we returned, we shared with her that the beach was only 10 minutes away. This is comical in a tragic way to me, as this has been my experience far too frequently where we encounter people who live in amazing places and are no longer interested in the greatest reason for living in such a place, “Oh yeah, the ocean, I’ve not actually been there in years.”

Our time out on the coast this morning is limited, with only about an hour allowed for our walk. We have plans and a schedule that must be adhered to.

This is my second office for the rest of June and into early July. My primary office will share space between a dining room, a nearby coffee shop, a park bench, or somewhere out near the shore.

This is Caroline’s office for the same time as she is working remotely from here in Depoe Bay, Oregon. Some friends who are traveling to France have afforded us their home up against the forest in an incredibly quiet neighborhood. Our first order of business was to get Caroline set up for work, as the plan had been that after she left work Friday afternoon when Monday rolled around, she’d not skip a beat, and as everyone else was getting started in Phoenix, she’d be online and ready to go. We accomplished just that, and while she was treating this part of the day forward as a regular work day, I got busy unloading the car and getting our things into place so we could have a relatively normal existence, except it would be a 10-minute walk from the Pacific Ocean in a town of only 1,536 people.

I shared in another post that I’d made an extensive meal plan prior to leaving Arizona; this is my first stop for shopping after I finished unpacking and setting up our things at June and Marvin’s house. They are the couple who are lending us their home. I’m back up in Lincoln City at the El Torito Meat Market, as I’d decided that the theme of our culinary adventure in Oregon would be Mexican-influenced, and to that end, I’m going to try and do as much of our shopping here as possible.

Back at the house, a mighty pretty one at that, and while small at only 744 square feet (70 square meters), it is a delight and only wish that Caroline and I could own such a place where it was also possible to earn enough money to afford such a home. At current prices, a similar home would cost about $2,000 a month in a town where the median income is $25,000 a year less than would be required to buy such a tiny home. For comparison, our 863-square-foot apartment (80 square meters) in Phoenix, Arizona, costs us $1,385 per month. Neither location is of a size that would support raising a family; how is this supposed to work, America?

After putting the groceries away and having a lunch of ceviche with Caroline, it was time for a trip south to Newport for the rest of the groceries I will need for the next few days. I’m learning something about the Oregon coast in the summer that we do not encounter in the late fall around Thanksgiving: heavy traffic. Just as I wrote that, I’m looking at this photo with the ocean ahead and no one else on the road, but I can assure you that Highway 101 is madness.

Back in Depoe Bay, after unpacking and putting away yet more groceries, I got right to making dinner, a non-Mexican-influenced dish that felt appropriate for our coastal environment: smoked white-fish chowder. The fish was a gift from Walleye Direct, the company that sells us frozen walleye and perch; it’s been in our freezer for a couple of months by now and was ready to be dragged back to the water’s edge and turned into a savory dish. With the fish, heavy cream, white wine, bacon, onion, celery, thyme, and smoked paprika, our early dinner was a perfect home-cooked meal. Time for a lengthy after-dinner walk out around the bay.

With time to linger, we meandered north along the coast on a route to an overlook we’d never visited before. Regarding our slow pace, Caroline would prefer I refer to it as lollygagging, as this is how she wants to see her time outside of work while here in Oregon.

To properly dawdle while visiting the Pacific Ocean in Oregon, one should be prepared to take in flowers, birds, crashing waves, and other activities that allow for a judicious amount of time to dilly-dally. When one ambles along, one must mosey, not exactly aimlessly, but not with great intent to achieve anything either. Aside from being entertained by the saunter of the person we are with, we must also make an effort to be lost within. On this account, Caroline and I are winners of the contest to be slothful.

Hours pass deceptively for senses tuned to the early sunset of November days because, in June, the sun sets after 9:00 p.m., but our frame of reference is that fall sunset time, which happens well before 5:00 p.m. By the time we are back at the house, it’s almost time to go to sleep, it is a work night after all.