Ask the Water
When rivers, lakes, and ocean take the lead on a musical road trip
I’m sitting at the spot where my husband and I drank coffee the day before yesterday as we post-gamed a stressful call with our daughter. Parenting a teenager who opted out of a family trip from 700+ miles away poses some challenges— even with a superhero twin sister (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!) holding down the home fort with her.
We were trying to find that magical equilibrium where there’s just enough rules for safe boundaries and sufficient space for young person decision-making skills to grow. All without losing our minds with worry or missing out on a fucking epic experience attempting to micro-manage the wind.
While crafting a structure to carry us through the last five days of the trip, Dave said, “Ask the water what we should do.”
I laughed, but immediately divined its answer— keep moving, it said. Typical, I thought, but appropriate given the main issue was how to handle her use of the car. Okay, I telepathically continued the conversation, care to elaborate?
It takes energy to keep moving.
I noticed the wind pushing the the waves toward the shore. Yes! Focus on the gas. With that in mind, we devised a scheme that provided a reasonable limit with X amount of money for gas that she’d have to keep track of instead of us. Thanks, Bellingham Bay!
As for epic experiences…
Water didn’t just chime in that morning, it informed the road map for the entire busking vacation. Each stop at Oregon beaches or along Washington’s Bellingham Bay, lakes, rivers, and the Pacific Ocean framed the perfect backdrop for all our activities— music related and lounging.
FLORENCE, Oregon
The sounds and sight of the Siuslaw River floated us tenderly into the first leg of our adventure, effortlessly washing away the 10 hours on the road it took to get there. The sun even came out for our first busking experience on the Old Town main drag with the beautiful bridge in the background. The choice to play without amplification felt right as our voices and guitars carried enough to draw attention without intruding. My old gospel choir friend, Charlene Reid who’d moved here five years back even stopped by to listen and reconnect. We got so wrapped up in conversation we forgot to take picture, but she did get a video of us playing!
YACHATS, Oregon
I snuck away in the morning for a short run/hike up one of the area’s incredible trails of Cape Perpetua. Views of the churning ocean from intermittent openings along the thick forest carpeted with lush ferns spoke some much-needed peace to my soul. Walks along the coast and soaks in the hot tub listening to the waves took center stage since there weren’t any good busking spots. Pent up emotions and heavy burdens started shifting with the focus on rest and remembering a past family trip here when our daughter was young enough to want to play in the indoor pool.
CANNON BEACH, Oregon
Classic summer vacation beach town. We’d finally arrived to the first place neither of us had been. Again, the sun followed us pushing away the fog and clouds for two days of waves, sand, bunnies, and busking. We set up shop by a metal whale sculpture overlooking a beach where a small group of women were sketching and drawing. It was the perfect creative vibe exchange- we even became the subject of one of the drawings!
FAIRHAVEN, Washington
Fairhaven is a historic district section of Bellingham, Washington with a stunning view of the bay and a few of the San Juan islands. We spent almost five days soaking it in, hiking, walking, and of course, playing music. On the third day, we took a day cruise over to Friday Harbor on San Juan island where we played for people getting on and off the ferry and browsing the shops. Floatplanes landed and took off in the harbor as we serenaded. On our last two days, we unexpectedly played at two open mics and met a lovely group of musicians at Aslan’s Depot and The Admiralty Lounge- two great Bellingham spots. It felt like a deeply enriching spiritual exchange to bask in the incredible views and play music.
PORTLAND, Oregon
We closed the adventure with a house concert arranged by our dear friends who hosted it in their Beaverton back yard. About 35 friends and neighbors showed up just after the current World Cup game ended, cozying up on blankets and lawn chairs with blankets and jackets for the cool evening air. It turned out to be a magical experience of connection as music should be. Many heartfelt hugs and handshakes with the message “I didn’t know how much I needed that!” were exchanged at the end of the night. It couldn’t have been a better finale.
After a 12 hour drive….
I’m back home in Sonoma County in time for the 4th of July and our daughter’s 17th birthday shortly after. It will take some time for the experiences to settle and allow space for their deeper meaning take hold.
But today, I’m floating on gratitude for the beauty of those rivers, lakes, and ocean that sparkled and carried me along their currents to meet new friends, reconnect with old ones, and remind me of power of music bring people together.
Enjoy 16 pocket-sized poems bringing small but certain happiness based on merchandise from a middle-aged shopgirl’s year working at the Luminarium gift shop. “A Luminous Year,” by Karen Joy Brown.
Nice love, couldn’t have said it better myself