Oregon Coast and Corvallis: Day Nine

July 15, 2026: IT'S THE MIDDLE OF JULY ALREADY!!! Time is flying by!

I walked the Jackson Frazier Wetlands boardwalk in the early morning hours. Drove to the Osborne Pool which is nice, but crowded. They have a dedicated lap pool with six lanes, but three of them the swim team use for practice. Nice dressing rooms, but the showers are closed for remodeling. The lobby didn't smell like chlorine because the indoor pool is also being remodeled. Only the outdoor pool is opened. So only three lap lanes were available and they were filled. I left.

I visited the First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op. OMG! It's wonderful! It's huge compared to most food co-ops which always seems like a desperate afterthought, struggling for relevance in a small town. I threw all caution to the wind, bought a gluten-free PIE and proceeded to eat the whole thing without hesitation. It was a small pie, but.... Banana cream isn't my favorite, but at least I had enough common sense to NOT buy the chocolate cream pie. GLUTEN-FREE! So rare! Still, I did not feel good after eating it!

I interrogated the very friendly cashier about living in Corvallis and she had nothing but good to say. She did say it gets really busy in the fall when students come back for college. I didn't realize it was a college town. She said it might snow once a year and rain during the winter, but not as rainy as Washington. I looked at her and said, "How did you know I was from Washington?" I think she's psychic. I checked Zillow. Housing is EXPENSIVE in Corvallis!!! Way over what I can afford for either sales or renting!

I drove to Avery Park to relax. Nice park, however, although there are signs that say "NO OVERNIGHT PARKING". Odd. I don't think that rule applies to the many homeless living there. In every direction there was a tent or just a bunch of sleeping bags in a pile with people still in them. There was one van parked in the parking lot and clearly it was there all night...or maybe all month. I headed to Newport on the coast. Lovely drive through the countryside with temperatures around 70 degrees.

Newport is very congested. Lots of traffic. It has a wonderful co-op called Oceana Food Co-op. The gardens outside were exquisite. I miss nasturtiums. One of the most unnecessary items I have stored in this van: a jar of nasturtium seeds! I'm hoping someday I'll be able to plant them.

I drove to Moolak Beach which is about ten minutes north of Newport, and braved the incredibly steep trail to the sand (TRAUMA RECALL!). I had to carefully scoot on my butt part of the way as the sand-like gravel was rather slippery. What am I thinking? I couldn't help it. The sand and ocean were beckoning stronger than trauma recall!

Climbing back up the cliff was much easier. Gorgeous views, warm sand, cold water. 

Next went to Yaquina Head Lighthouse and got in FREE with my America the Beautiful Pass. Hooray! I love free and that pass has paid off so many times!

What was spectacular was the beach below made up of rocks that had been polished with the waves! The sound of the surf pulling and rolling rocks was SO RELAXING!  Be sure to listen to the video below all the way to the third (largest) wave as it pulls back and rolls the rocks! I loved it. I could have sat there the rest of the day just listening!

But again, TRAUMA RECALL! I gingerly tiptoed across the rocks steadying eat step for stability. (I laughed when I saw this sign. I especially liked "Sneaky" but "Slippery" resonated with me more!)

One nearby woman saw the TRAUMA RECALL all over my face and said, "If you need to grab me go ahead!" She shared with me how her daughter broke an ankle sliding into first base and has had a difficult time recovering. She was afraid of breaking something, too, but there we were being adventurous!

I went back to Newport and parked down by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and gazed upon the Newport Beach. No beach walking this time. I was pretty tired and the wind was cold in late afternoon.

As I headed to Otter Crest Loop for some overnight parking, I pulled into the Moolak Beach parking lot. As I'm leaving this white van starts to turn right into me! I'm frantically motioning for him to keep going because there is another entrance not fifty feet north and there is no room for him to turn right where I am stopped at the stop sign. Well, he's a man. And true to his dickhead nature, he's impatient, entitled, reckless and hostile on a good day. Our vans missed by inches, but I have no idea how! My window is open. I scream as loud as possible, "YOU DUMB FUCK!" I continued waiting at the stop sign to exit, but I could see him get out of his van and take a photo of the back of my van. WHY? Does he think swearing is illegal and he plans to report me? Or does he plan to turn himself in for reckless, offensive driving and wants to write me a formal apology? More than likely he'll post it somewhere because he's too cowardly to allow me to state my point of view. I really hate people, but men are on the top of my hate list! I hate it when people cause me to ruminate in anger for too long!