Cannon Beach, My Happy Place

Have you ever had one of those days where you just felt like you needed to get away from it all?  That was me yesterday.  I came off of a rough day at work Monday, after the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon.

AP Photo/The Boston Globe, John Tlumacki

I'm sure you were all pretty shocked and saddened by the whole thing, and so was I.  Working in a Newsroom on days like Monday are especially tough.   Having to see that video over and over again, hearing those screams, let's just say by Tuesday I was in no mood to stay at home and clean the house.

(side note:  One of my favorite stories from Monday)

So after an emotionally draining day on the job, we spent the morning laughing and catching up with my Aunt and Uncle before they headed back to California (a much needed distraction from the sadness of the day before).  And on a whim, Jason and I grabbed the dog and headed for our favorite place:

Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Whenever I need to hit the reset button on my emotions, I always seem to come here.  It's my calm place, my happy place.  Nothing bad ever happens here.  I feel safe and instantly at peace.  There are very few places that do that for me, and this is definitely one of them.  So we drove an hour and a half outside Portland, and spent our evening enjoying the beach.

As you can tell, it was the perfect day to get away.  Blue skies, sun, slight breeze, not too hot, not too cold-- the perfect beach day!  At least here in the Northwest :)

We walked, we talked and we enjoyed the scenery.  It was nice to unplug from the world and unwind, sorry guys!  I swear I sat down to write my post for Monday and just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Then yesterday, I just couldn't imagine turning on the computer.  It was just too much.  And so, instead I enjoyed the beach with my boy and my dog!

We found a stick....

And then Khloe decided it was hers...  She even broke it in half (actually, I did when I threw it for her)

We continued to walk down the beach, until eventually our stomachs were growling so bad, that we had to eat something.  But after a few slices of pizza, we were back just in time for the sunset.

The only thing more calming to me than a day at the beach, is a beach sunset.  The pink sky is so gorgeous, and it really just gets me thinking about how lucky I am to live so close to something so lovely...

I'm also pretty sinkin' lucky to have a man and a dog who love the sand and ocean about as much as I do...

Khloe might like it just a little more :)

We sat and took in the beautiful sky and the sound of the ocean until our hands were frozen, and decided it was time to head back.  But, for a short four hour excursion out of the city-- I have to say it was perfect.  And just the right amount of reset time...

So now I can tackle the 3 other blogs I wanted to get to this week, the GIANT pile of laundry in the living room, and the two other meals I need to make for us.  Guess it's time to get back to that to-do list.  But, the beach isn't that far away... in case I need to reset again.

Do you have a place to go where you can "reset" after a hard week?  Where is it?  And why is it so special to you?  I'd love to hear your feedback!  Leave a comment below.