The photo above was from a quick two-day trip that Heidi and I took to Cottage Grove, Oregon, which was ostensibly for my wife’s job, but Rosie and I tagged along. (Being a full-time writer who can work from anywhere, even a Best Western, does have its advantages). I’d never been to Cottage Grove, but it’s not typically a destination in its own right. This is no slight to Cottage Grove, a town of about ten thousand people twenty miles south of Eugene on I-5, and it also doesn’t mean there’s no reason to go there. I’ve been a lot of places in Oregon — I love this state and all its variety — but I’d just never had a reason to stop in Cottage Grove. So when a free trip offered itself to me, I decided to get off the boat and at least experience what the town had to offer.
What do I mean by “getting off the boat?” This has been one of our go-to catchphrases over the years, and for us it means that when a new experience presents itself, especially when it’s convenient and doesn’t require that big of a sacrifice in time or money, you should usually do it. The origin comes from some friends years ago who took a cruise. When we asked them what they did in their various ports-of-call — you know, where the ship stops overnight, giving people the day to explore the various cities–they confessed that they didn’t get off the boat all that much.
Now, they might have had their reasons, and to each their own, but Heidi and I started to use the phrase each time an experience offered itself and we were debating whether to do it. “Well,” one of us would say, “you gotta get off the boat.”
It doesn’t mean you have to climb Mt. Everest or sail solo around Cape Horn, though you certainly can, if that’s your bent. It just means being open to new experiences. It can be something as little as trying a new restaurant. The above picture was from the Row River Trail, a former railroad track turned into a pleasant walk through forest and farmland near Dorena Lake. One of its claims to fame is that the beginning of of the trail, which crosses over the one-time railroad bridge, was a filming location from the movie Stand By Me (here’s the iconic shot I’m talking about).
And here’s Rosie and I:
We had a nice dinner at Jack Sprats, located in the quaint historic downtown area. The water level of Dorena Lake was pretty low, but it was still a pleasant drive, and we made a point to see many of the covered bridges in the area. Heidi took a particularly nice one of the Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge at sunset, which has now been incorporated into a park.
There’s plenty to see in Cottage Grove if you’re willing to look for it.
Other than that, not much to report except lots of writing and reading. Doing my best to stay off the Internet as much as I can, which is sometimes difficult, but my productivity and peace of mind often seem to increase in inverse proportion to how much time I spend online. It was nice to have our daughter home for spring break, though she’s now back at Oregon State University.
Here’s one last shot of Rosie in honor of Saint Patrick’s day, because, well, one can never have too many pictures of Rosie.
