“Walk away, run away, dance away, or fly away… just don’t stay in that cage.” – Unknown

If you have not read my earlier post, I Am Angry, go read it first. It explains the reason to why I ran away to Kalaloch. =)

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My heart ached for peace and calm. It ached to run to the soothing music of waves against the shore, to hush the noise inside my head, and to release emotions that were weighing me down.

I wanted an escape. Well…I needed an escape.

And just like the restless gypsy soul who only finds peace on the road, I gathered my life in a bag (and my boyfriend), and ran away to the shores of the Olympic Peninsula for a weekend of much needed reflecting.

We were happy that the aurora borealis was scheduled to perform for us on the Friday that we chose to drive. And despite the season transitioning into fall, the forecast was sunny with a chance of shooting stars. Splendid.

So off to Kalaloch Beach we went, with intentions to camp at Kalaloch Campground.

But funny as life can be, we came across some hurdles. Of all the times we camped this year without needing to reserve in advance, our luck had finally run out. I had never seen such a packed campground! Huge RVs, tiny RVs, big tents, little tents…it was all there. And it was the only open campground in the area. Bummer.

And that annoying song – All About the Bass by Meghan Trainor – kept playing over and over in my head, like a haunting record stuck on replay. So much for peace and calm. Perhaps sleep would finally put the song on pause.

“all about that bass, bout da bass, no treble” …

It was 2:30 AM when we finally realized no camp site was going to miraculously open up, so we drove down the road to the Ruby Beach parking lot. A big sign welcomed us: No Camping.

But we weren’t exactly camping, right? Two very tired people were pulling over for a few hours of shuteye. Plus, we stayed behind the “No Camping” area, so technically we were not breaking any rules, right? Wrong. At 7:00 AM a nice park ranger pulled next to us to examine our situation. Did I mention he was nice? He gave us the talk, did not write us a ticket, and instead suggested that we head to Kalaloch to check if anyone had vacated that morning. Otherwise, we would have to drive 1.5-hours to La Push.

“all about that bass, bout da bass, no treble”…Why was that song still stuck in my head?

…ONE campsite was available! The rest is history. We spent the rest of the weekend on the beautiful beach of Kalaloch, and it was the sunniest weekend we had ever experienced on any PNW coast.

The aurora borealis did not show up. Instead, the vast Milky Way floated above our heads like a cloud of fireflies staring into our souls. And I remembered just how wild it was to stand against the infinite universe.

I’ve said this before – humans need that often. To be reminded that we are small. To be reminded that we would never compare to the greatness of the mountains and the sky. To keep us grounded and humble. To remind us that the little things that irritate us on our day-to-day lives are insignificant compared to how grand the universe is.

I needed that reminder. Carrying heavy emotions was a choice I made. And as simple as I made that choice, I decided it was time to jump on my Happy Horse…despite that annoying song in my head…

“all about that bass, bout da bass, no treble” …

I spent some alone time that weekend on the beach. I did not need to run away. But I did. Because life on the road is the best life there is (for me). Life of Adventure. Gah! How beautiful is the ocean. How beautiful is my life! How infinite is my being…And to be reminded of this was exactly what I needed.

What do you do when you feel like running away from the busy life? Below are snip-its of my weekend at Kalaloch. Enjoy =)

Love & Happiness,

Denise

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KALALOCH // RUBY BEACH, OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK, WA

Cordas in the Wild =) How huge is this jelly fish, though!?

To wash away bad feelings…

The sand was so fine and soft! It felt so different than any other PNW beach I’ve visited.

The one campsite that opened up =) Though later that morning, other spots also opened. Camper life!

And goodness! I had to stare at this beauty all weekend. One of my dreams — Airstream <3

This is how Beach Bum’n in the Pacific Northwest looks like. Driftwood teepees! We built it =)

Goofing around with selfies for the win! Rawr!

I fail at selfies. Womps. But here’s a halfie instead…haha.

…as we waited for the sunset.

It’s the simple, priceless things that make me happy. No lie!

Mi Love.

We left our first hammock spot to get front row seats to Sunset. This is what we built =D

Here comes the sunset…

How does one celebrate Sunset?!

…Like this, of course! =)

Frolicking: this is what it looks like.

This ^ is how I felt before running away to Kalaloch: trapped in a dark ocean of negative feelings and emotions. For no reason at all. And so..we move on! =)

An infinite sunset in an infinite world…

One of the best sunsets I’ve experienced.

We watched the sun disappear into the horizon.

…And I can’t put into words how amazing it felt to experience this moment. And might I add that these photos are not enhanced? True story.

And then? COTTON CANDY SKY! Holy smokes…

From my Instagram.

We tried to take photos of the Milky Way, but that didn’t work. We had a great night’s sleep though <3

Short story: We were sitting by the shore late at night, mesmerized by how clear and beautiful the Milky Way was. Then we saw a really bright…star? falling down for about 3 seconds. Then it moved forward (toward us) for another 3 seconds, and it was getting brighter. I almost ran! Then it stopped and moved in the opposite direction (away from us) until it disappeared. WHAT?! Aliens ran through my head. And that’s when I called it a night and asked my bf if we could walk back to our camp. The end. =)

The next day we headed to Ruby Beach!

…and it was another perfect sunny day! =)

Life of Adventure.

And just like that, I was back on my Happy Horse! Thank you for sticking til the end. Mwah! <3