Susan T. Wehren's love of the tropics started in the late 1960s when she met her husband while in the Peace Corps and living in Yap, Western Caroline Islands, Micronesia.
Change means a new start in a new place for feature writer
By Susan T. Wehren Of the News-Times
It's time for a change.
After 30 years of calling Lincoln County our home my husband, Al, and I have decided to move on to a new chapter in our lives. So on Sept. 23 we will spend the last night in the house we built in Agate Beach and move.
We will leave behind friends and lots of memories. This is where we raised our family. Our two children were born in New Lincoln Hospital in Toledo. Sarah, now 29, is doing what she always wanted to do. A 1993 Toledo High School graduate, she is in downtown Chicago, Ill., living with her husband and working. Jeff, 26, moved to Eugene following his 1996 Newport High School graduation and now is moving to Southern California to go to school.
We watched the sun rise over the coast range from the home we had for 15 years on Criteser Loop with a Toledo address.
We have watched the sun set from our house in Agate Beach for the second half of our time here. Both of us have been involved in the two communities and have friends in the entire county.
About two years ago we decided we wanted to do something else for a while so we are chasing the sunset and moving to Hawaii.
Our love of the tropics dates back to before we lived in Lincoln County. It started in the late 1960s when we met while in the Peace Corps and living in Yap, Western Caroline Islands, Micronesia.
Today when we tell people we are moving we get two reactions. There are the ones who ask how we can do this. "How can you leave you friends and family?" they ask. Some say they would get island fever.
Then there are the others who just smile, are quiet for moment and then say, "I wish I could do something like that. Have a good time."
To the first ones I say, the rest of our families are spread all over the country and just think how great it will be for them to visit us in the winter.
To the second ones we say, "You can do it, too."
The container is now in our front yard and as we fill it with our possessions and Lincoln County memories, we do have mixed emotions.
This was a good place to work and play and raise our family. We will continue to have connections here. We will think often of the beautiful Oregon central coast that so many like us discover and love for its beauty.
This was the longest place either of us has lived so it is a major part of our lives. We will not forget you or it, but for us, it is time for a change.
Aloha.
