Wednesday, October 31, 2012

home away from home

from the time i was a little girl, i have loved the beach.  the ocean, the sand, the horizon, the smells, the freshness, the roar of the waves, the uniqueness -- it all speaks to me in a way no other place on earth can.  i have been lucky enough to live my entire life where in less than two hours, i can go from sitting in front of a computer to digging my toes into the sand. 

i have family members who own property at the coast, and over the years they have been generous enough to let us use their homes on occasion.  my dream, however, was to have a home of my own at the beach. it was something i never thought would happen, but i never lost sight of the dream.  about 15 years ago, a family friend contacted us and offered us the use of his house at the coast.  he gave us a set of keys and said it was ours to use any time; all we had to do was call and find out if anyone else was using the place at the same time we wanted it.  if it was not otherwise occupied, we could use it.  we began to go, occasionally at first, then more frequently.  except for our friend, it seemed that the rest of his family didn't use it much, so we had access to the house almost any time we wanted.  during our visits over the next couple of years, we began to explore the area where the house was located, on washington's long beach peninsula, and grew to love it.

about 2 years after we first started using the house, our friend called my husband and said that because of his advanced age (90+) he had decided that he wouldn't be using the home anymore, and that no one in his family wanted to take it over.  he wanted to know if we would be interested in buying it.  when my husband called and asked me, i said . . . "DO YOU EVEN HAVE TO ASK ME THAT QUESTION??????????!!!"

of course, my response was an enthusiastic YES!  it took a bit of doing, and in the process of working out the details, our friend passed away, but his family went through with the sale at the agreed upon price and in 2002 we came into possession of what had always been  my dream: a home at the coast!!

it is a small house, and it doesn't have a view of the ocean, but i don't care!  in the summer when the windows are open, we can hear the waves.  it is an easy 2 mile walk to the beach. there is no cable or satellite, just a tv that is hooked up to a vcr and a dvd player. no internet. we do get cell service, but there is no land line.  it truly is a place for relaxing.  my husband goes up and fishes almost every weekend during the summer.  i am able to get away by myself occasionally, and there have been weekends where i have not left the house once (except to go on a walk). 

every time i go to our home away from home, i say a little prayer when i get there and when i leave: "thank you God for this place of rest, for allowing me to have my heart's desire.  for as long as we have it i thank you, and i pray it will always be a place of refreshment and restoration for all who come here."


i am a blessed woman.


here are a few pictures of our home away from home:


                                          front view of the house

                                           

                            view looking from bedrooms toward living area



                                           kitchen 



                                              bathroom



                                 view of living area from kitchen



                             view upon entering house -- giant fireplace!!



                                         guest bedroom



                                         master bedroom





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