ANNUAL BEACH RETREAT 2008

Our Wednesday Evening Bible Group, as precious to us as family, spent last weekend in a beachside condo at the top of a bluff in Netarts, Oregon. Even when some arriver earlier, we always rendezvous Friday noon at a restaurant for lunch, this year being our second visit to Rachel's not far from our lodgings. This year most of us enjoyed the wonderful chowder and the rest opted for the giant Reuben sandwiches.



The views are wonderful and the coastline can be seen for miles to the south across Netart's Bay, clear to Lookout Point and along the spit even to the outlet opposite our location. It was hard to select from among the nearly 200 pictures I took in every direction. This shot along the beach to the northwest shows where some hiking and wave watching time was spent by a few of the more adventerous among us.



On one of several outings, we visited Cape Mears, a few miles north, where the fascinating "Octopus Tree" is located, a multi-trunked Sitka spruce that has drawn visitors for a century or more. There is also an interesting lighthouse, perhaps the smallest of all on the entire Pacific Northwest Coastline. Peregrin falcons and a host of various seabirds make this location a birdwatcher's mecca, and hefty telescopes and binoculars and cameras with telephoto lenses are common equipment seen on the trails and overlooks at this great site.



Dozens of activities got us through the weekend with Maui being the most popular card game, our famous and hilarious evening sessions of Balderdash being the overall favorite, but with plenty of great meals, hikes, day trips (this year to Garibaldi's antique stores), naps, crossword puzzles, and finally, Sunday Morning worship with the Church of Christ in Tillamook, Oregon.



The last photo, with the tide coming in, and the beach oddly empty of folk and their pets, was as close to a sunset as we were able to claim, the horizon being unfortunately clobbered with cloud banks and mostly overcast skies at all points of the compass. Still, for a few minutes, even almost an hour before "official" sunset, there was brilliant color in the pink and purple and orange ranges, and we all paused to admire God's paintbrush.

PS Sound Good? Come and become part of this group and seek God with us, and enjoy our Bible Studies, other activities throughout the year, and qualify for the retreat in 2009. We'd love to have you along.