We had agreed that releasing dad's ashes at the ocean would be meaningful. In his later years, Dad had talked about visiting the ocean again, but it just seemed out of reach. Now he would finally be there. They had gone to the ocean for their honeymoon, Dad was in the Navy and spent many years on the ocean, and both Kari and I also love the ocean. We arranged a few nights at the beach together and, surprisingly, the entire weekend Kari and I were in Seaside, Oregon we were blessed with beautiful sunshine. This was definitely an unexpected blessing, and with more to come! The hotel we stayed at looked out over the coastline and was a perfect, peaceful home base for us during our stay.
We arrived that first day and went out to the beach to think about how and where we would like to release Dad's ashes. As we walked along the beach, and I looked at all the houses and development looking down on us, it just wasn't what I had envisioned. I had imagined something more private and didn't want to feel like our moment was on display. I expressed this to Kari and she began to look in her phone for some options. She saw something that said "Indian Beach" which was nearby and the photos looked secluded and private. Since it was only 20 minutes away, and we had never been there or heard of it, we decided to head right over there and check it out.
The winding road through the forest was beautiful and peaceful already, even before we got to the beach. And once we arrived, and looked out from the parking lot over the beach, it all began to feel right. Just all the pieces seemed to fit perfectly. From the parking lot, even the stairway down felt magical.
After the stairway there was a pathway through twisty tree trunks and wild flowers, specifically the Fringecup, which literally filled the air with an amazing fragrance (the online description for the flower says, "heart-shaped leaves with urn-shaped flowers" - and it lined the walkway, how could that not be more perfect?) As I stepped into that space, I thought to myself, "This just feels sacred."
This beach was THE place that I had imagined, and more. With an amazing vista, seclusion, and the soothing sounds of a trickling stream flowing from the hill, across the rocks and onto the sandy beach. We were in agreement and so thankful that God had helped us find this place. We caught the beautiful end of day here...
And then headed back to our hotel for the sunset.
We were up early the next morning, May 4th, and made our way towards Indian Beach so we would get there shortly after the park opened. As we exited the freeway towards the forest road, we were treated to an amazing sight: a herd of elk walking down the street towards us. This was a special blessing to us, as Dad loved wildlife and this was something that would have delighted him. The fact they were there at that exact time was another divine intervention. We sat there admiring them as they peacefully walked up the road and right past us.
We made our way to the beach and were satisfied to find that we were the only ones there. I captured some shots of the picturesque morning light as we looked out over the beach from the parking lot.
