Where the forest meets the sea.

This is not where I grew up or even where I lived most of my life. But this is where I feel most at home.

How is that, you ask?

I can't explain it with reasonable answers. I can only say that the first time I saw the sea, when I was twelve, I marveled at its beauty,  immense horizon,  infinite mystery. That sense of wonder and calm never left me. Whenever I needed to feel restored, I made my way to the waterfront, walked on the beach, got myself cold and wet and totally immersed in a life force bigger than anything else.

We moved here to Oregon, from Southern California, trekking up the coast all the way, looking for a small village where we could just settle down and enjoy the last chapter of our life, for a small cottage  isolated from the hustle and bustle of big city lights, a place where, at night, we could sit outside and stare at the sky. I hoped to find a water feature nearby. If not, a bird-bath would suffice.

The place we found here in Port Orford spoke to me the instant we got out of the car and looked across the back yard.  In front of us a fresh water lake. Across the lake, the Pacific, waves lapping on the dunes, gently caressing the lake here and there.

I turned to my husband, before we even saw the house, and I said, Honey, make them an offer!
When he asked that I look at the place and evaluate it, I scoffed. This is it, I stated, with utter certainty.
Hubby had to figure out all that needed done, as I was so smitten with that water view that nothing could detract me.

A few months of negotiation, and we quit our jobs, gave away our possessions, and drove ourselves and a few boxes of books, the 800 miles on Hwy 101 to reach our new destination.  Hubby had made a couple of extra trips ahead of me, to get the house painted, the beds bought, the utilities turned on. He chose his office with the view of the forest. I chose mine with the water view. We have furnished the place simply.  We remodeled the kitchen, added a sun room, modernized the baths and the flooring, made the place comfortable.  

Did I mention that my husband is a tree lover? That he had missed his forests when we lived in Southern California? That he took us camping and hiking any chance he had? That he would go to the beach in California only rarely?  This place of ours is perfectly matched to our personalities. It is cool year round, as he likes it. It has plenty of forests, trees, ranch land, as he likes it. It is isolated and rural, as he likes it.  And it has the Ocean, and plenty of space for gardening, as I like it!

What about you?
What do you like about your place?