There’s an old tune I used to enjoy with a line something like, “I will fall to the earth, and root like a rose, in the soft land that gave me my birth.” I felt that just now looking again at the last of the pix I’m going to share in this post. I’m a California kid, and maybe that’s why I love every sort of terrain. Having just flown thru so many spectacular mountains and across the edge of the vast prairie, there’s still something special about seeing the coast after being in regions that lack the embrace of the ocean that gave us birth. Our day started with exploration of Olympia, state capital of Washington.
0379 Boats Buildings & Birds
There’s some fanciful art and architecture in the downtown area, and we enjoyed wandering it on the excellent little trolley and on foot. Before long we saw it again from the air taking off to continue our migration south. Soon we were nearing Astor on the coast, where the river widens out into a vast estuary and some sort of houseboats or fishing docks are moored in the shallows like links in a chain.
3097 Estuary Chain
We took a shortcut to the sea, angling southwest rather than follow the river. Here’s one of our last looks across hills and mountains, enjoying those shapes and the colors dominated by green.
3100 Soft Scene
As you may have noticed, the morning’s inland solid overcast had begun dissipating into the welcome and ever larger patches of open sky in aviation forecasts for our route. Suddenly we burst out over the coast at Seaside, and inhaled deeply the fresh sea air and the sight of happy beach goers.
3103 Beach Playground
Not more than three minutes later we rounded this small prominence and gasped at the view of our next few hours’ flying, garnished with fluffy clouds and graced with a hint of healing mist.
3104 Sand & Foam
So I looked it up and I think the version of that song I recall was by String Band, and it was written by Emmylou Harris titled Root Like A Rose. Here’s the rest of that verse:
Take me home
to the sand and the foam,
where my dreams still walk in the mist.
I’ll fall to the earth and root like a rose,
in the salt land
that gave me my birth.
John & Anne Wiley 
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