Southern Oregon Adventure : Feeling a little lonely

I kept busy unpacking, shopping for a new car and getting situated the first week or two. I must say how quiet things were at my house at first (they still are but now I'm used to it). I intentionally didn't sign up for any cable service so not turning on the television in the evening was definitely part of the adjustment to quiet. I knew I was in a bad habit of watching mindless shows in the evening and I seriously had withdrawals from this at first. I have a TV and I put a DVD in the evening when I felt really freaked out by the quiet. Eventually I signed up for Netflix so I could be entertained for $7.99 a month which is a lot less than cable or satellite service. I have read so many good books since I've been here - thanks to not having cable. It has been good for me. I have gotten used to a different routine in the evening now and seldom watch a movie. I may not even keep Netflix.
Something I noticed the first night I slept here was how dark and how quiet it was outside. I was used to hearing trains or some traffic but where I live now - there is no noise unless I hear an occasional animal (usually deer) going through the ground cover next to the house at night. Hearing all of the animal sounds, which are subtle, still and quiet, was also something I wasn't used to. That kept Montana up at night for awhile until she got used to it.
Being in a new place my senses seem to be heightened and at the same time can be overwhelmed with all of the new information I’m taking in (like figuring out how to get where I need to go). Luckily, one of the pleasant sounds that I often hear in the evening now that summer is well underway is the live music from the Britt festival. If you don’t know what the Britt festival is, this description is from their website “Celebrating its 50th season, Britt Festivals, a non-profit organization, is the Pacific Northwest's premier outdoor summer performing arts festival. Located in the historic 1850s gold rush town of Jacksonville, Oregon , Britt presents dozens of summer concerts, featuring world-class artists in classical music, jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, world, pop and country music. Britt's performance venue is a naturally formed amphitheater set among majestic ponderosa pines and native madrones on the beautiful hillside estate of 19th century photographer Peter Britt.” http://www.brittfest.org/aboutbritt
The amphitheater is just two streets from me and I have enjoyed walking over in the evening to listen to the live music. This has also really helped me feel less alone. Sometimes I just need to be around people even if I don’t know them. Sometimes I walk down to the main street where people and tourists are moving thru the quaint shops just to feel a part of ‘the people’.
My first visitor to come and visit me here was my good friend Candace. I had only been here three weeks when she arrived and I was so happy to see a familiar face and have her stay with me for a few days. I was anxious to drive to the coast and see the ocean and also go through the Redwood forest so with Candace here it was a perfect time to make that day trip. The entire time she was here it was rainy and cool but the day we drove to the coast it stopped raining for the most part. The entire 2 hour drive there was green and beautiful. We went thru the Jedediah Smith state park and that was absolutely breathtaking! If you’re ever in this area I would definitely plan a day trip to visit there. Here are some pictures of our outing: