This Land Is Your Land, But Bring A Coat

The beaches in the Pacific Northwest beautiful, but they’re also rugged, blustery things. It’s rarely hot and often windy. During the summer months the average temperature on the coast is a blistering upper 60’s/lower 70’s. In my photo album I have a picture from a visit to the Oregon coast when I lived in Portland. I’ve got a wool hat on and I’m wearing a Gore Tex ski coat. In July.

Yes, this is No Country For Old Speedos. It’s quite a change for someone who once stayed on an East Coast beach long enough to develop full-body, quarter-sized blisters that turned his skin into bubble wrap.

I’m not the first person to find this strange. Legend has it that when Lewis and Clark arrived in Oregon after a long, grueling trek, they just wanted to chill out and sunbathe on the beach. When they spotted the chilly, howling coast with its pounding surf, Clark’s first words were “You have got to be kidding me.” His pal Lewis just turned around and started walking home.

The last time I visited the coast I was with a couple who are true coast aficionados. One afternoon we went for a stroll along the beach. The surf rushed in and out between our legs while we gallivanted down the beach like a family in a cheesy tourism ad. It was all quite pleasant until I spotted something in the corner of my eye. I looked down but didn’t move out of the way fast enough. A driftwood log sped toward me like a torpedo and crashed into my ankle.

You’re probably thinking aw, poor baby, tell it to your shrink. Okay, you’re right, and here’s the truth — the Northwest coast is unique in that almost all of it is publicly owned. There’s tons of access and long stretches with little to no development next to the beach. Mitt Romney won’t be coming down from his mega-mansion and confronting you for smoking reefer on “his beach.”

And that’s why you should check our beaches out. They’re yours, as they should be. Just remember to bring your winter clothes.

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4 thoughts on “This Land Is Your Land, But Bring A Coat”

  1. Hmm, I may have to consider that for my retirement. I hate the heat. By the way, in all the many years I’ve been writing, I don’t think I’ve ever used the word, “gallivanted.” I may have to use it now. Thanks!

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