Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 2015)
Take a SPRING BREAK Photo by Matt Love of the mind Do something new, for fun or that makes you think. Explore and reclaim your spring break. (School enrollment not required.) During your Spring Break of the Mind, go to the beach and build a driftwood fort. Story by MATT LOVE To most adults without school-age children, by JD Salinger is rumored to be released later this the phrase “Spring Break” holds about as much year, why not try it again? Or better yet, try reading relevance as the Kardashian family does to Timothy Lane’s recently published American reality. debut novel, “Rules for Becoming The thinking goes: fam- a Legend.” The story is set in a ilies and collegians travel to ¿FWLRQDO$VWRULDZDVZULWWHQE\D some near or distant recre- former Astoria High School gradu- ational attraction, spend a lot ate, and contains uniquely coastal of money, and purport to have scenes and characters. fun. Meanwhile, you have to work. There is no Spring Break Go to a movie alone in for you, right? Those days are the afternoon long gone. One of the singular pleasures Wrong. Next week, the annual of living in small town with a cin- week-long vacation ritual com- ema complex nearby is the thrill mences right in our own back- of seeing a movie on a weekday yard, and perhaps the time has ar- afternoon all by yourself. No rived for older adults to reclaim or one is texting or talking. No repurpose the idea of Spring Break. screaming babies. You can put Forget dreams of Las Vegas, Disn- your feet up. You can interact eyland or Timberline Lodge. Try with the characters aloud or something called the Spring Break Submitted photo throw popcorn at the villains. k of the <RXFDQDFWXDOO\HQMR\D¿OP of the Mind. It’s cheap, local and your Spring Brea ck and relax on vel. Try reading Timothy ba t Si you wanted to see and nobody RQO\WDNHVRQHGD\LQVWHDGRI¿YH,W g a no Ming by enjoyin r Becoming a Legend,” which is else wanted to. may only take several hours. Lane’s “Rules fo Astoria. The always great notion of taking set in a fictional Drink some local beer a Spring Break of the Mind begins by Sample every commercially brewed beer in the doing something to induce sheer joy or contempla- tion by doing something you don’t normally do in area available as a growler purchase. Take them all home and invite some friends. This is the perfect the area or have never done. way to relax and support the local brewing economy Here are some suggestions: DQGÀRDW\RXUZD\WRWKH6SULQJ%UHDNRIWKH0LQG Read a novel Photo by Matt Love On your Spring Break, visit a museum, like the Flavel House Museum in Astoria. 12 | March 19, 2015 | coastweekend.com Jane Austen? Ken Kesey? Perhaps even revisit one that an English teacher crammed down your throat and ruined by overanalyzing. “Catcher in the Rye” really is a great novel, and since a sequel to it Submitted photo by Leigh Oviatt Channel your inner child and ride the bumper cars in Seaside. Climb Saddle Mountain The second tallest peak in the Coast Range beckons. Make the ascent. Build a cairn. Commune ZLWKQDWXUH6FUHDPDQDI¿UPDWLRQWRWKHVN\ Visit a museum Astoria and its environs boast some of the most specialized and interesting museums in the region. And it’s not often you get to visit a museum whol- ly dedicated to the life of one strange rich coastal family — the Flavels. Every tour of their former mansion in Astoria makes for an experience not unlike reading a thick Gothic novel or a thin Edgar Allen Poe tale. Ride bumper cars The bumper cars in Seaside are nothing less than a bumpy ride back in time to the happy, care- free, Spring Breaks of the past. For a mere $2.50, climb in, strap in, and hit the gas! Find some un- suspecting novice going the wrong way or strand- ed in the corner and go for the kill. It feels good. It feels like victory. And there’s no way to sane- ly use your phone during the experience. That’s a three-minute Spring Break of the Mind right there. Become a Mermaid There is something mysterious, sensual and an- tediluvian about mermaids. Why not become one for an hour, day or week? Why not escape into myth and legend? Sea Gypsy Gifts in Astoria of- fers hand-crafted mermaid costumes that might just revolutionize the heart of anyone who wants to don one. Walk a shelter dog 1RWKLQJ LQ OLIH VDWLV¿HV PRUH WKDQ SURYLG- ing succor to an abandoned animal. Donate your Spring Break Day of the Mind to bettering the life of a canine friend in need at the Clatsop County Animal Shelter. Watch how the dog walker’s world changes, too. Eat at a new restaurant There it is: A new seafood restaurant in the area appeared, or you finally noticed the Italian joint on a drive to work that looks in- viting but you’ve never given it a try. Now is the time. Break out of your boring culinary routine and experiment with a locally owned restaurant. Nobody wants to go with you? Go by yourself! Combine this meal with the com- panion-less movie outing and create the ulti- mate solo, three-hour Spring of the Break of the Mind. Take a long walk in rain It’s Spring Break on the coast; it will be raining. When it does, advance into it. No umbrellas. No phones. Walk forever. Something astonishing will happen. You may not even know what it is. Rain is like that. Go to the beach and build a driftwood fort When was the last time you went to the beach and had a hand in building a driftwood fort? If you can’t recall or have never experienced this sublime and magically tactile activity, you are missing out on something wonderful. This is especially true for adults cut off from nature or meaningful collaboration. Constructing a drift- wood fort doesn’t cost a cent, materials are eas- ily obtained, the workout is decent, the ocean is your subconscious architect, and you are making cosmically ephemeral art, shelter and fun at the same time. Fort Stevens State Park is one of the best places in the world to build driftwood forts. Recruit friends or family and make an afternoon out of it. Go there now! The wood is waiting for you. Photo by Matt Love Sea Gypsy Gifts in Astoria offers handcrafted mermaid costumes that might just revolutionize the heart of anyone who wants to don one. Matt Love lives in Astoria and is the author/editor of 12 books about Oregon, including “Of Walking In Rain,” his account of one of the rainiest winters in Oregon history. They are available at coastal bookstores and through www.nestuccaspitpress.com March 19, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 13
