Watching the last rays of 2018 set over the Pacific [plus mini hotel review & Alien Spiderweb Art]
We made the impromptu decision
to rent a place at the Oregon coast for New Year's Eve, literally calling around the night before to see if there were any vacancies (@dillemma didn't know until the last minute if she actually had the holiday off). Improbably we did find a pet friendly, ocean front suite with beach access because of a late cancellation.We had glorious sunny weather for our two days at the beach, with temperatures in the fifties despite it being midwinter. We stayed at Deane's Oceanfront Lodge in Yachats, Oregon.
Pet FRIENDLY vs. Pet Tolerant - I <3 Deane's
I absolutely loved Deane's Oceanfront Lodge. Chad, the chipper front desk attendant on duty when we checked in (who had a mightier beard than me!) told us they were pet friendly when other places were pet tolerant, and they totally meant it.
Deane's provided us with a pet bag containing food and water dishes, dog bed, treats, toy, large dog towel, and doggie bags. There was a doggie wash off station with water pump and hose over wood slats next to the covered patio. The grass lawn between the rooms and the beach access stairway was open to (leashed) pets, and instead of worrying about our dog making noise, we were making friends with all the other dogs who were visiting. I saw Chad the front desk guy walking his own dog later that evening :)
Looking back from the beach access stairway across the lawn at Deane's Oceanfront Lodge
Image credit Deane's Oceanfront Lodge website
Deane's also provided a small grill, which I took advantage of on New Year's Eve. I marinated steak the night before and cooked marinated steak, sausages, and mushroom/onion/pepper skewers over applewood briquettes (charcoal briquettes pressed with chunks of applewood). I seared halved romaine lettuce and served us up an amazing grilled romaine salad and steak meal while the kids ate sausages and veggies.
Universal Public Beach Access
One of the best things about Oregon is that every beach is public property. There is no such thing as a private beach in the state of Oregon. The 1967 Oregon Beach Bill established public ownership of all beaches from the water up to sixteen vertical feet above the low tide mark. Can we have more common sense / common good legislation around the world please? How about truly universal beach and water access? Sending a prayer out into the winds of 2019...
Fun on the beach
@thingtwo and the "waterfall"
@thingone and @thingtwo always have fun playing in the sand. Add in a mini waterfall (just a few drips really) spilling down a sandstone cliff into a tiny little pool and they were in seventh heaven, pushing around the beach toys that Deane's again helpfully provided.
@thingone and the pool
@yeti-the-dog caught a frisbee!
She is a good girl :)
Gotta give @thingone credit, it took some effort and determination to drag this bull kelp around!
Last Sunset of 2018
We went on a really lovely family walk at sunset on New Year's Eve. A low band of clouds was hanging just above the horizon, which I thought might obscure the sunset but actually just served to heighten the oranges once the sun dipped below the level of the clouds. It was low tide and the wet sand glimmered a thousand whispers of purple and violet.
@thingone met Cthulhu!
Examining a clump of bull kelp
Sunset à la Cthulhu
Run to me!
@thingone, @dillemma and @thingtwo
A flock of shore birds descended at dusk to peck through the wet sand. Some kind of plover, I couldn't make out their coloration to tell what kind. You can see them below.
My cell phone camera's feeble attempts at capturing the insane play of sunset reflecting on wet sand:
And now for something completely different...
Alien Spiderweb
Being the alien eyeball that I am, I recognized a kindred spirit in the masses of kelp we found washed up on the beach. I took a series of abstract kelp photos with the intention of turning them into alien art, as one does.
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Kelp Mutations
Alien Spiderweb Mutations
All photos, art and text original except as noted
[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 44.360283 lat -124.092525 long Deanes Oceanfront Lodge (PET FRIENDLY) d3scr)
Amazing. This post has it all. Photography, family, animals, histoy, politics, environmentalism, art, sci-fi.
This is great.
Beautiful family. Tons of blessings!
@yeti-the-dog is quite a star. Beautiful creature. I wonder if it barked at the alien forms :)
Is that something common to find in beaches? (I have seen kelp like long leaves, algae)
I have to visit Oregon one day. We associate the state with mountains and cold, but these beaches (cols as they obviously are) look just amazing.
How did you achieve the effects in the digital art? That was great.
I need to do a proper process post explaining my alien art but it will be a huge post. I have explained bits and pieces of it in some prior series of posting (a good place to start) but I have made some breakthroughs recently.
Yeah it is pretty common to find bull kelp washed up, particularly in the winter. The long tubes of the kelp end in a holdfast that attaches to a rock or something solid on the bottom. If enough are attached to a single rock the whole thing can be ripped up from the bottom in a big storm.
Thanks for the great comment, I am glad @gentlebot found you :) Much love - Carl
Thank you for the great post and the generous comments.
I'll check the link.
@gentlebot was very gentle indeed. Thanks, whoever is driving it :)
That is the cool thing about @gentlebot, no one is driving it :) That account is a bot that uses artificial intelligence / machine learning to sift through all the comments that are made and upvote what it thinks are good comments. It is surprisingly accurate! Probably my favorite bot on Steem blockchain :)
No way! That's cool.
A delightful blog with lots of family fun, interesting info about the Oregon Coast, and wonderful photos...........and then there was that monstrous pile of kelp plonked onto the sand by surging seas.
I've never seen anything like it. And I most certainly have never seen Alien Spiderweb Art before @carlnash Very cool indeed, and you may well have started a new trend in Art. I think your contemporary art work should interest Hollywood film makers, particularly your Kelp Mutations.
I gladly resteem this in the hope that you might snag an irresistible contract before the year is out.
Hey that sounds good, I will give you full credit when Hollywood comes a knockin' :) I have been doing a lot of crazy alien art in past few months, more insanity to come so stay tuned. If I might be so bold as to suggest a prior post of mine, check this out if you have a minute. Probably my favorite combination of alien art and post to date.
Hey.......free tickets to your movie is good enough for me @carlgnash Credit where credit is due. Have just read your Grandma and the Invisible Darkness Fairytail. Very cool indeed.
I love playing with digital manipulation but haven't delved into the mystical themes much. But now that you have whetted my appetite, I will look out for more of your talented creations. Well Done!
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And what a sunset, not a bad one to end the year. I also think I like the art you made from the kelp, looks quite badass ;D
Awesome post, Carl :D. And I am with you, I think it's really nice to find an accommodation that is pet friendly, maybe it's meant to be that you had an end of year holiday over there. The places that are just pet tolerant (the ones I visited) barely have any kind of thought for pet's needs.
The beach photo is awesome and it's great to see that every alien in the family is having so much fun. Nice spiderweb also :).
Congrats for the curie ^_^.
Yeah I think this was the first truly pet friendly place we have visited. The vibe was great :) And thanks for the curie sub :)
What a lovely break from everything!! Looks gorgeous! Plus you've got some great inspiration for some art idea :D
Yeah it was really nice :) Thanks @mvd!
great sunset photos and a really relaxing beach with nobody there hope you enjoy your time have fun
A great and wonderful place for sea lovers, the ocean to spend the new year. Deane's Oceanfront Lodge looks good and I'd like to spend some time there ... which is impossible in this life. The superb shrines, at least for me, are the main attraction. You made an excellent presentation and you will certainly inspire someone to visit the location. I feel the smell of freedom!