Seize the Day!

When did you ever look good eating with such abandon?
Remember when your mother stopped you from taking her picture if she didn't have her make-up on?

Did we become less vain?
Or did we become more photogenic?
Perhaps our cameras are more forgiving.

Heck if I know!

Here, on a clear day in Port Orford, we are having lunch at Redfish.  Steamed clams and toast points. I believe that look was: "Ah, so good not to have to cook today!"
Yeah!
Going out to a great place like Redfish lifts my spirits.  A good glass of wine does the same thing.
I'm eating all the food I like.
Next year, I might be allergic to clams.
I'm seizing the day, while I still can.

My Town at the end of 2010.

Port Orford is a sleepy little town, a fishing town, a once logging town, now home to retirees, ranchers, reformed Californians, spiritualists and artists.
Yes, artists, and writers, and retired CEO and scientists, and CIA experts.
There are more galleries here than restaurants.
More churches than real-estate offices.
The entire town is only a couple of miles long, with U.S. Highway 101 right in the middle, moving North to Alaska, South to Mexico. All around, hills and enclaves, three wild rivers providing recreational opportunities and food for those who are patient and are willing to plumb its riches, and a historical park where the first soldiers fought and were decimated by the native population, with dire consequences on both sides. There is a native curse on this town, not because of that original battle, but because of the subsequent retaliation and immure actions of the government against all native populations.

The town has about 1200 residents, 700 full time, with a volunteer mayor and councilmen, an elementary school and a high school to serve the 300 plus or minus student population, of which a good 45% are on free or reduced lunches. 

There is one blinking light on the south end of town by Battle Rock Park, a storm warning light on the north end, to warn motorists when winds are  violent enough to make the south heading trip too dangerous. As I write this, the town is on wind alert.

Also: a supermarket, a convenience store, three gas stations, a video store, six restaurants, all but one on the main drag, two real-estate offices-down from six just a few years ago-, a post office, a lumber/plumbing supply store, a newspaper office, a frame store, an organic store/vegan restaurant, a car parts store, a car repair shop, a hardware store, a glass and window repair store,  four RV parks, a library, a port, a marine reserve,  the brand new  Hawthorne Gallery and  Redfish restaurant with impressive pieces, fabulous food and outstanding views.

You can walk the entire town in less than 30 minutes.  The hills, lake and river shores will take much longer.

Most people know your name here. They will stop and chat with you everywhere. Soon, you'll connect with just about every body in town.

Natural and Man-made Beauties

I don't know what holds my attention longer: the view at Battle Rock overlooking Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve, the food at the newly opened Redfish Restaurant, or the exquisite Hawthorne Gallery next door to the restaurant.  These are Port Orford's premiere destinations, great view, superb food, outstanding art.
The young man on the motorcycle is Chris Hawthorne. He, his wife Julie, their children, sisters and brothers are all artists, in different media.  Their work is featured in many museums and galleries. 

When they opened Redfish Restaurant, named after the Redfish Marine Reserve you can see by sitting on the patio above, Port Orford received an additional jewel, an enticing and well appointed restaurant with world-class pedigree.  We ate lunch here today, delightfully constructed salads with grilled salmon for hubby and chicken for me,  freshly baked bread, delicious wine, and a view  unequaled anywhere. 


WE don't have to leave home to have great food anymore. 

oregonocean.info/redfishrocks

Falling in Love

In Blink, Malcom Gladwell shows you that we have a second set of skills we are not aware of; skills that allow us to instantly choose and decide what we like, what is best for us.  These skills are not consciously available; they work best in those blink decisions. When we fall in love, that's what happens.

And that's how we ended up in Port Orford.

We were coming up one late afternoon from the South, on that red highway.  The highway had been shrouded in fog, most of the way.  When we came to that curve of the road, we saw the town's lights, resplendent, clear and brilliant against the rest of the world. 

It was a Brigadoon Moment.

We stopped for the night at The Castaway Motel, up on a ridge overlooking the port. Late in the night, the port kept working hoisting boats up and down the dry dock. We sat and watched for hours. The next morning, we drove to a real estate office and asked to see anything with a view of the water.

The first house we saw was on the lake, on a peninsula facing the Ocean. While hubby looked inside the house, I walked down to the waterfront. From that spot, I could see clear out to Qua-to-Ma Rock, the old man's face lying on the water  told me I had arrived to my final destination.

With tears in my eyes, I walked backed up to the house.

"Let's buy this place!" I said.
"Don't you want to see the inside?" Hubby responded.
"I've seen enough. This is for us."

Seven years later, after we replaced the roof, the flooring, the kitchen, the siding, after we added a sunroom, a French garden, a well, after sinking a good amount of money, we are in love with this place as much as we were on that first day.

Hubby is a scientist by training. He agrees that there was  much to love about this place, and all its negatives could not have dissuaded us.

Thanks Mr. Gladwell for explaining this behavior.

Rethinking Ocean Management: POORT

You visited the Port of Port Orford. NOw, I'd like you to meet the real folks who work and manage the operations and are years ahead of many other places.  Tiny towns can teach big lessons.

 www.oceanresourceteam.org

The link above will put you in touch with the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team, their website, and their video explaining how the fishing industry in this tiny town is step-ahead in understanding and managing resources.

Enjoy. Let me know what you think.  Better yet, let the POORT know you appreciate their efforts.  These folks have been pro-active in preservation and in management of natural resources.