Bye, September Days
Bye, September days. “…summer’s best of weather and autumn’s best of cheer.” - Helen Hunt Jackson
The mighty Columbia. Sea lions. Lighthouses. The Pacific Ocean. Ships. Good food. Long walks. Portland. The migration of birds. Days to remember.
September flew by. It was a month of tying up some long-term projects in my consulting work. While I waited to receive book edits, I expended anxious energy by cleaning and reorganizing drawers and cabinets, clearing the decks (physically and mentally). I walked in my neighborhood, listening to audio books and podcasts. I read recklessly, but still the stack of books on my reading table kept growing. (This is a good problem.) Fall activities - including my beloved choir - resumed. I felt the urge to get some things done, including an annual exam with my new doctor, bloodwork, and getting my flu and COVID vaccinations. (The latter knocked me out for a couple of days, but left me a bit relieved).
I took a trip to Oregon to visit my daughter, Natalie, in Portland. I cherish these visits. She’s my favorite travel companion. We took long walks around her neighborhood. I love birds, so we walked the few blocks from her apartment to Wallace Park, joining hundreds and hundreds of people participating in the “Swift Watch” at Chapman School. We found a place to spread a blanket, and watched for over an hour as tiny swifts filled the sky, circling and swooping in great black eddies, the tide of birds ebbing, flowing, and then gaining strength, circling higher and higher, a great vortex of wings. I marveled at how right near sunset, thousands and thousands of birds poured themselves down the school’s chimney, like the chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins.
We visited Astoria, one of my favorite places in the world. When I first visited Astoria - about 10 years ago - I was floored by the view from the Astoria Column, particularly the confluence of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean, my two favorite bodies of water. It was a mystical experience. On this visit, we stayed at the Bowline Hotel, a stylish boutique hotel located in a former fish processing plant. Our room opened onto a patio, really part of the old pier. There are several platforms for sea lions, and they roared and roared. It’s truly noisy…and truly marvelous. Natalie’s dog, Max, was not a fan of the sea lions. The hotel provides ear plugs for guests, but we found it magical. I spent most of the first night sitting by the window, mesmerized by the ships traveling up and down the Columbia, brightly lit as they cut through the water. The Bowline is part of the Adrift family of properties, restaurants, and even a distillery, located in Washington and Oregon. I hope to stay at one of their other properties on my next visit.
One of the most wonderful things about the hotel? The four books found on a shelf in each room, all focused on the place. I’d previously read (and highly recommend) Peter Stark’s “Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire.” The fattest book on the shelf was “Deep River,” a novel by Karl Marlantes. It’s a riveting historical drama about Finnish immigrants, the labor movement, and logging in Southern Washington, with Astoria playing a featured role. I hadn’t heard of the book before, and immediately dove in. Absolutely stellar novel, and I’ve added Marlantes’ other books to my growing book list, in preparation for our family’s annual giving of the books, which takes place on Christmas Day.
We explored downtown Astoria, and found the best eatery EVER, the Blue Scorcher Bakery and Cafe. We ordered too much, because everything looked wonderful. We returned the next day, and it was equally fabulous. I love bridges, and the PNW has lots of them. I’m not, however, a big fan of driving over bridges, so Natalie drove the four miles across the Astoria-Megler Bridge to Washington. We visited Cape Disappointment State Park, walking to the North Head Lighthouse, which offered stellar views of the Pacific. The Washington State Park $10 pass got us lots of mileage, and we visited other places there, including a marvelous cove at the beach, where jelly fish lay like jewels upon the sand.
The next day, we drove down the coast for a quick visit to Seaside Aquarium, where the seals splashed Max. We returned to Portland for more adventures in Natalie’s neighborhood.
I continue to fall more deeply in love with everything the PNW has to offer. Each visit, I add a dozen more places that I want to explore. But it’s also nice to return home, to the slower, quieter routine. I especially enjoy the sunsets each evening…there have been pink and orange skies the same color as the late-blooming roses in my yard.
It’s truly fall now. There’s a touch of chill in the mornings, and I put on a sweater before I let the dogs outside and venture out for a bit of birdwatching.
My big fall project is revising my novel. I’ve gotten some marvelous and affirming feedback on the first draft. Now it’s time to dive deeply into the work again, to try to work some magic, and to see where the next few months - and the novel - take me.
