June 2, 2012: One thing I had been looking forward to upon arriving on the west coast was a bit of beach camping. I had already hiked the Clatsop trail from Indian Beach the summer before, but even then I had stayed along the bluffs overlooking the sea, not directly on the beach.
My friend Vanessa had a group of friends that I was vaguely familiar with as I had met some of them only once the previous autumn. Everyone had been invited to head down to Pacific City, OR to celebrate Wayne's birthday in the form of an enormous campout on the beach. I picked Vanessa up late in the morning on that Saturday and we embarked on the two-hour drive down to the campsite, Kino, hotdogs and enough beer to quench a small army all packed into the back of my Jeep. We arrived with little troubles and immediately made introductions with all of those I hadn't met, along with a new set of re-introductions with those I already had, though only once months before. I set up our tent and got Kino settled at the site, trying my damnest, as usual, to keep him away from the smorgasbord of food we had around the fire. ...It was an ongoing effort.
At one point, there was some commotion down the beach, yet was hidden from view as we were situated in a cove of sorts, tucked back away against the dunes. When a few of us went to see what was going on, we were somewhat relieved to see that a baby seal had crawled up on shore, and was wiggling its way through the sand. Clearly beached by accident, we made sure not to touch it so as not to leave our scent behind with it. Should that have happened, its mother would abandon it to the elements, and it would be sure not to survive. We did however, get close enough to snap a few pictures before stepping back out of the area and leaving it be. Most of us checked in on it the next morning to find no sign of the baby seal, and the marks of the high tide well above where it had crawled last. Hopefully, it found its mother and made its way home. That'd be the Disney version, anyhow.
As night fell, the fire grew, as did our party. It stayed pretty low-key, but I'd say throughout the night, there were probably close to twenty people around the campfire. The guitars inevitably came out and with them, the full circuit of 90's grunge hits. We laughed well into the night, the fire roaring and Kino fast asleep at my heels. I didn't know these guys very well at this point, but I never felt out of place or unwelcome. Soon, the moon was high above our heads, the fire had burned down to embers and every one was fading, especially myself. There were a few still awake and working their way through a few more songs, but I excused myself to bed and ducked into my tent. Within minutes, I was falling asleep to the acoustic sounds of their guitars and the rolling waves of the Pacific.
I can't remember why I had to be back in Portland as early as I did, but after a quick breakfast and a breakdown of the campsite, I loaded everything into the car, gave my farewells to those who were up and moving, and headed back east towards Portland. This month is the year anniversary of that trip, and this coming weekend, that same crew is heading back to Pacific City for round two. I unfortunately, am unable to join them. I'll be traveling in the opposite direction into Lewiston, Idaho. Though, that story will be saved for another time. 
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