A Magical Trip to Oregon

Oregon River in early morning

It is early morning and I am on the river.  I am gazing into the sun shining through the mist that swirls above the water.  A boat with fishermen slowly trolls by and we wave to each other.  My Montana roots sink into Oregon earth.  The fish are nibbling while birds softly chatter.  All around me nature is content to just BE. A deep quiet settles into my bones, my blood and my soul.

I am in Oregon, in a sweet little house perched on the river.  My daughter is asleep and I am sipping my morning coffee.  I can’t wait to write you and share the miracle of being here.  I feel blessed by the grace with which the trip came into being.  I have practiced the C&S Way of SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. for so long that it comes naturally.  I trust the steps to build on each other. I knew I wanted a summer trip to Oregon to visit family.  (I have 5 siblings and my parents that live there.)  I wanted time with the ocean and nature.  I  wanted quality play time with my daughter.  I wanted the trip to be a time of rejuvenation and connection. Lastly, I wanted the adventure to be easy and affordable.  But, to have all that manifest in physical form, and without effort, is the miracle.  So I offer my journey in hopes that you will have a joyful experience of your own.

TRAVELING:

SEE IT – Set an intention based on what you really want the purpose of the trip to be. 

• Where do you want to go?
• Why do you want to go there?
• Who do you want with you?
• What would be most meaningful to you?

MAP IT – Let the gathering of the MAPS be a FUN part of the process.  Explore the questions above and collect maps with ideas, places, and wonderings.  Personally, I am very visual so I always take clear project folders filled with road maps, print outs from the internet of places I want to see, communications from others, and maybe stuff from former trips.  Get everyone who is going involved in their own way.  My daughter and I had so much fun creating our “agenda” of desires.

DO IT TIP – ask for help.  I asked my brother Wil for help finding the perfect place for Jessica and I to get our one-on-one ocean/water time.  Wil has a gift for knowing all the cool things to do and places to stay.  He found us this fabulous little house (Oar Shack) that sits right on the river in Nehalem OR (www.ripplerunresort.com).  We could walk into town to explore and drive 5 minutes to the ocean.  WOW!

When it comes time to take the trip, I review my intention, gather my maps/lists and then turn the trip over to the Universe.  I find great beauty and power in co-creating with the Universe rather than daring to be the director.  I have been delighted, surprised, cared for, and able to receive much more than I could have imagined.  It took me a long time to learn that I am not supposed to DO IT all myself.

SIMPLIFYING TIP – Take one trip a year for yourself, one with your intimate partner, one with family/friends.

Marla in Nehalem, OR