Scotty Odyssey—Reedsport

“If you put it in the ground around here, it grows,” Harlea tells me. We are sitting on a swing in her flower garden, taking in a view of sweet peas, roses and cabbage-sized Dahlias, their petals colored ruby and persimmon. Dave and Walt sit opposite. Basil chases a tennis ball across the grass.

Dave and I have heard much about this Reedsport cottage and guesthouse, built in 1925 and renovated by Walt, where he and Harlea live when not in residence on their boat in Marin County. Lucky us, now we have the chance to visit. For dinner Harlea prepares a fresh garden salad, the best spinach Alfredo lasagne I’ve ever tasted and homemade blackberry pie with berries she harvested herself. Afterwards, the four of us retire to the guesthouse—a.k.a. music room—where Walt plays piano and Dave accompanies on guitar.

Our Scotty trailer is parked a few miles away beside a quiet creek in the North Lake RV Park, and so we return there to sleep.

In the morning, we five (counting Basil) meet for a walk around Lake Marie. Like a jewel in the forest, the lake is fringed with lush variety of evergreens, deciduous trees, rhododendrons, azaleas and ferns. A gallery of such leafy, multi-fingered lagoons populates the corridor of land between sand dunes and coastal mountains around Reedsport.

Tranquil and unspoilt, the area reminds us of  the Lake District in England.

Off-leash, Basil disappears around a bend in the shady trail. A few seconds later he reappears, whizzes past, reverses direction and careens past us again, then doubles back to “buzz” us once more. Happy dog.

We depart Reedsport refreshed by the area’s natural beauty and grateful for time spent in the company of friends.