Mini vacation to Rocky Point

Yesterday morning Emma and I headed out in the car for the 175 mile drive to Rocky Point, OR, to visit Sue and Mo.  They had invited us to stay in the cabin on their property there during my three days off this week. 

The top two pics are of the front and back of the cabin nestled in the pine/fir forest.  This is more like staying at the Holiday Inn, only with the wonderful peace and quiet of the Oregon woods.  The bottom pics are of their home, some of the wonderful plantings and the spacious back yard.

I figured we’d just visit for the first afternoon after arrival, but Sue had something else in mind.  Remember when I had my first ever try at kayaking for 15 minutes at Imperial NWR last winter?  Well Sue wanted me to experience a longer paddle up here in the north.

After they loaded up the kayaks, we drove only a couple of blocks away to the Rocky Point Public Boat Launch.  The first order of business was getting me out on the water which required some help for me since I really have no experience.  I actually made it out onto the water without falling in.

Can you believe how glassy smooth the water was?  It seemed almost perfect weather for my maiden voyage.  The only downer was the heavy smoke covering the mountains from the fires in California.

After first heading north on Recreation Creek, we decided to turn around and head south toward Pelican Bay.  I knew I couldn’t do nine miles on my first real trip to see a natural spring.  This was also the maiden voyage for little pipsqueak Mattie in a kayak.  She had the cutest little orange life vest on, and really did well sitting in the boat with Mo.  It never even crossed my mind once to try to take Emma on an outing like this.  I would have been in the drink for sure!

At times, I struggled to keep up, but eventually I think I found my stride.  Kayaking is a bit different than paddling a canoe.  The mountains across the bay really reminded me of the Great Smoky Mountains.  What a shame that there is such a huge fire in California.

As we paddled along, Sue kept telling me that it wasn’t that far to Harriman Spring.  She and Mo seemed to just glide through the water, while I struggled to find my rhythm.  About the time I was ready to head back, she said it was just around the bend.  Yeah, right!  I think it was several bends, but I’m glad I didn’t quit.  The water near Harriman spring was incredibly clear, but also incredibly cold.  You couldn’t leave your hand in it for more than a minute.  Nothing like those springs that Sherry writes about in Florida.

As we headed back toward the launch site we encountered a little rain, but I just had a smile on my face thinking about how lucky I was to have some good friends give me this wonderful afternoon.

Back at the ranch, we sat outside and just enjoyed the warm weather.  Both Emma and Mattie had innocent smiles on their faces.  Little did we know what was about to ensue.

It was like the doggie version of the World Wrestling Federation.  Not wishing to take advantage of her size, Emma even came down to little Mattie’s level so things were more evenly balanced.  There was a lot of gnashing of teeth, but it was really just a lot of play.  It wore those two girls right out.

It was a super first day of my mini vacation.  Today Sue and I went on another little excursion, but I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post.  I’ll have to head back to the rig tomorrow, but what a holiday this has been!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy