On our first day of rest and relaxation, we decided to have a slow morning, going for a walk around the OSU campus, enjoying the scenery and reminiscing over my years at school here (I went to OSU for two years before transferring to ‘Cuse). After this, we decided to go on a little trip to the Oregon Coast.
 

As is fairly usual, we found the shoreline socked in with fog and mist, but for an Oregonian, it still held its allure. Our goal was to make it to Heceta light house (also known as Devil’s elbow), a place I’ve been going to since I was a child.

High on cove’s right side sits the lighthouse and keeper’s residence, both supposedly haunted. In the ocean, giant rock formations stand tall, and the sea pounds against volcanic rock. On the left side of the cove, there lies a secret cove that is only accessible if you’re willing to get your knees wet and do a bit of rock climbing – this was precisely my goal.

J, Cory, Alan and I set off on our epic adventure and we were not disappointed. Dodging falling rocks, crashing waves, darting seagulls and the occasional bird poop, we slowly made our way out over the sea. By sliding between a man-sized crack in the rock, we rounded the peninsula into our own private cove. As we scrambled over the ocean towards the shore, I placed my hand on a piece of volcanic rock and without thinking put all my weight on it. I suddenly watched as my handhold broke apart and crashed towards the rocky shore ten feet below.

Thankfully, my left hand was still firmly anchored, and I pivoted back to safety. After watching the waves for a while, we decided to head back to the main beach, where we watched surfers, poked sea anemones and climbed around more rocks.

Our stomachs made it clear where our neck stop needed to be, so we loaded back into Alan’s Subaru and hit a local seafood shack where we dined on shrimp, tuna and crab. As night fell and the moon rose Alan drove us back to Corvallis.

Our final stop for the evening was American Dream, my favorite pizza place in Oregon. Beer flowed, pizza slices flew and good friends gathered for a second night of shenanigans on the OSU campus in the little restaurant that boasts the slogan “Beer, Pizza and Art.”