In mid-August, Barney and I headed to Oregon to celebrate my mom’s 75th birthday. We planned to take our time coming back home and brought our bikes, although we had no plan for where we would ride them. We stayed at my parents’ farm two days longer than we originally planned.

Keep plans loose. Allow for spontaneity. Take your time. Savor your experience.

One of those extra days we squished my parents and brother, Kent, in the back of a rented SUV and drove to the coast. At Ona Beach, Dad got comfortable in the floury sand and took a nap. Mom put her feet in the water and walked the beach, then flew a kite. I walked in the water zone with Barney and Kent and pointed out the jellyfish. We came across a purple-ish lump about the size of an orange – a moon jelly, Aurelia aurita.

Enjoy the local fare and flavors.

For dinner, we feasted on seafood at Local Ocean. I had halibut with roasted peaches. Wow.

Barney and I departed my parent’s farm on a Sunday with ‘north along the coast’ as our only direction. We had breakfast at The Dizzy Hen in Philomath, a farm-to-table breakfast place with scratch-made pastries. Barney and I shared a slice of apple tart and took one to go.

In the afternoon, we stopped at Neskowin Beach for a walk. In places, the sand sloped steeply to the water. There were fewer creatures on the beach than at Ona, but we found a beautiful sand dollar.

Ask locals for recommendations.

After our walk, we sat at the ice cream cart’s picnic table with a scoop each of Tillamook Creamery ice cream. Bill and Pam, a married couple with a vacation home in Neskowin, had forgotten their money. Barney bought their scoops. Bill recommended the Sportsman’s Pub & Grub in Pacific City for the best burgers in the area. 

Explore your discomfort zone.

I chose seats at the Pub & Grub’s bar where customers came to open tabs, settle up, and order more drinks. The establishment was a locals hangout. Barney ordered fried oysters with his burger – they were enormous. As we drove away, we both wondered what Bill thought was so amazing about the burgers, but we couldn’t deny having had an unvarnished experience of local life in Pacific City.

We continued north, and I searched Airbnb for places to stay for the night. We decided on a stay in Long Beach, Washington. Two nights.  

Travel at the right speed. Find an optimal pace for your experience.

We drove across the Astoria-Megler bridge, the 4.067-mile steel truss bridge that spans the Columbia River near its mouth. This bridge is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America and part of the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route. Wind buffeted the car, and I imagined how harrowing and exhilarating it would be to pedal across it. Cycling it would be unforgettable and slow.

Be curious.

The next morning, we explored Long Beach’s town center. Barney learned a big kite festival had just ended. We wandered past the arcade, and Barney put a quarter in the giant razor clam to see it squirt. I watched a family take pictures of themselves standing in the world’s largest frying pan.

Barney, pleased with his Neskowin scoop, was on the hunt for Tillamook ice cream for our slice of apple tart. It was just after 10 a.m., and we were the only customers in the ice cream area of Scoopers Market.

“Should we come back when it isn’t so busy?” Barney asked the young woman behind the counter. He chatted her up and asked questions about the ice cream.

I introverted and examined each tub. “What’s Beachcomber?” I asked. It was bright blue with white swirl and colorful sprinkles throughout.

“It’s blue raspberry and marshmallow ice cream with pop rocks.”

My jaw dropped. Pop rocks – the best edible version of grit imaginable. Genius. “That’s awesome. Super creative.”

Allow the journey to be the destination.

We returned to the Airbnb with a bowl of salted caramel and hazelnut. I did a quick search for biking options.

“There’s a trail, mostly paved, along the beach but not right on it. Looks like the trail is 8 miles one way, and we’re at the northern end of it. We’re also a block away from one of the beach access points.”

“Let’s just go walk,” Barney said.

Long Beach is wide, flat and relatively unpeopled. We came across a vehicle here and there but had the beach almost entirely to ourselves.

“I’m going swimming,” Barney said and quickly made a pile of his clothes. He walked into the water, flinching as the cold waves splashed his nakedness.

Take time to appreciate the uniqueness of where you are.

It sprinkled during the night and into the morning. A bright orange slug, most likely the invasive Arion rufus, was out on the wet gravel. Barney hailed me to examine the Cheeto in the drive. I was delighted, a slug the color of my favorite mug.

We drove inland. Google said Willapa National Wildlife Refuge was temporarily closed. (I look forward to a Long Beach return to watch the gray whale migration. And when we do, I’d like to explore the refuge.) 

Travel back roads and byways. Allow for the unexpected. Use your resources. Adapt.

By the time we angled toward Olympia to rejoin I-5 and make tracks home, Barney lost his appetite to drive through Seattle.

“What about the east side of Olympic Peninsula?” I offered. “We have to take the ferry from Port Townsend and that will add time, but it saves us driving on the Interstate.”

“Yeah. Let’s.”

We stopped in Elma for breakfast at Miller House. While we waited for a tasty garden scramble and eggs benedict (and drooled over the pies and cakes in the display case next to our table), I checked on ferry reservations. “We can go standby or make a reservation for 8:30 p.m. tonight.”

“Reserve it.”

For the second time in less than a month, we waited hours (like nine) in Port Townsend for the ferry. As things go, it’s a sweet spot to wait. The ferry is at one end of downtown. Several hours into our wait, I sat on the sidewalk and attended a webinar. Barney asked some locals for a sushi recommendation. Around 6 p.m., we went uptown to Aldrich’s Market. They’d run out of sushi rice around 2 p.m., but we found some tasty bites from the deli coolers instead.

Integrate.

Back home, I wrote about slow travel. The piece took longer to write than I thought and went places I didn’t expect. The experience wasn’t much different than planning to ride my bike but walking three beaches instead.