We are home from the beach!

We had a wonderful time! The weather was fantastically beautiful, which is rare for the OR coast, and we took full advantage! As soon as we arrived, we checked into our hotel and deposited our things in our room then headed down to the beach. Tide was going out so we explored tide pools full of starfish, barnacles and other interesting marine life. We ended up out on the beach four different times, twice at low tide, twice in the evening for sunset.

Whenever we go to the beach we stop by this little hole-in-the-wall bookstore and purchase a new book for our children. It has become a much loved tradition, both for them and us. This particular shop always carried big, beautiful and unique children's books. This year we picked up "I'm Not Bobby" and the boys are all ready in love. While we were there, an author was doing a signing. I'd never heard of him but it was slow and we visited for quite a while. He told me all about his novels and asked all about my family. I ended up buying one of his books and can't wait to get into it. His name is George Bryon Wright. His books are historical fiction, set in small, Oregon towns. I brought home "Baker City 1948."

I was able tot alk to several gallery owners, shop owners and a photographer about life in Cannon Beach and particularly, how photography sells in Cannon Beach. I got varied response, but am mostly encouraged. The woman who owns a gallery with only photography told me it sells VERY well and there are only three or so photographers in town. There are probably close to twenty galleries, and only three photographers out of that. And after investigating each of their work, I was happy to find that my style of photography isn't found there in any way. I was most impressed by George Vetter's work. He prints all his photos on canvas and they look just like paintings. They're beautiful.

We also looked at houses while we were in Cannon Beach because we do have a great desire to move there one day. I'd like to open my own gallery there and live a simple life by the sea. The $1.8 million dollar homes may be a bit out of our reach, but we looked at several that fell under $400k so I think there's hope.

All in all, it was a great trip. I took over 500 photos so be looking for my favorites over the next few days. I'll put them up as I edit. For now, here's the view out to sea over some driftwood: