Karen Lost at Sea

On muskeg walks, Karen is invariably the one who will end up with her twelve inch boot submerged in thirteen inches of water.  Her last Canon camera got a bubble bath in the froth of California surf when she turned her back on the sea for a shoreward photo op. It's predecessor, a Nikon, ended up in camera heaven when she attempted to multitask -- climb a steep incline while carrying the camera around her neck.  It's another example of why physics should be a required subject with a chapter devoted to pendulums.

And so it was that Karen's beach exploration at Cape Meares, Oregon, reminded me of how much I cherish her.  The reason -- Karen beat me to the beach by maybe twelve minutes and thirty two seconds.  Upon arriving to join her, I failed to spot my lovely wife either up or down the beach. I headed down. There, huge waves pounding the shoreline repeatedly forced me to dash for safety to avoid their clutches.  My mind went to the California incident.  Finding no sign of my beloved, I headed up the beach encouraged by figures in the distance.  It's strange how hopes and eye glasses bathed in wind-blown rain can turn driftwood logs into wives.


In retrospect, how could I confuse this driftwood log for Karen who looks more like this:

                               Karen's self portrait at Cape Meares, Oregon

I envisioned my sweet Karen bent over focusing her camera on a pretty shell when a huge rogue wave swept her out to sea and into the jaws of a great white shark that, knowing her history, had been tracking her along the shoreline.  I hurried on up the beach.  More driftwood.

Back to our vacation rental for reinforcements.  Soon our search party of three plus Gigi, now assigned search and rescue dog duties, spotted another "driftwood log" near a different beach access point. YES! Thank you God.

Karen, as sunny as the day we wished for, her pockets filled with shells and rocks, assured us she had been well away from the waves. We should have known that.  Sure!  Later that day she got another foot soaker.

                           Karen chancing another foot soaker at Cape Meares.

Karen had lost all track of time as she wandered along the beach photographing subjects such as this immature gull...

                                               And these Brown Pelicans.

Amanda and Gigi, part of our search party, at a beach in Oceanside, on the south side of Cape Meares.

The full search party at Oceanside.  Note, Gigi, hot on the trail of Karen (the figure off in the distance) is checking to see if a driftwood log is Karen.

       One of the many, many, many rocks that captured Karen's heart at Cape Meares.

Thankfully, bull kelp was not so easily lugged back to the car for me to transport back to Petersburg.

Towards the end of every day we headed to the beach to catch the departing rays of the sun -- no matter how many clouds tried to interfere.

                                       The Oregon coast never disappointed us.