On the Wild Rivers Film Festival website they originally posted the date the festival would end a day beyond when the festival actually ended. Perhaps that was the previous year’s dates. That meant I had one more day in Brookings, Oregon to explore the town. Kimberly, who I had met a virtually every festival social event, suggested we meet for coffee at the Compass Rose Cafe.
The morning sun found its way into my motel room and woke me up early. I decided to get my day started so I drove over to the Rose Cafe to get a sketch before ordering a coffee. Once again, my primary distraction was the constant roar of 18 wheeler trucks caring huge freshly cut thick tree trunks.
The low morning sun kept all the downtown building in shadow but at it rose, the peaks of the Compass Rose Cafe roof began to catch the light. I wondered if the lookout tower had seating. There had to be gorgeous views of the ocean from up there. The fog had burned off early.
I finished my sketch about the time that I was supposed to meet Kimberly. I hadn’t noticed anyone going in the Compass Rose Cafe entrance, so I assumed ordering a coffee would be a breeze. When I got to the door, I found a sign that apologized that the Rose Cafe was closed. There were some outdoor tables and seating in front of the cafe, so I sat down to text Kimberly. A mom and her daughter looked over the railing at the sign on the door from their perch on the sidewalk. They walked away looking disappointed.
Kimberly suggested we meet at a coffee shop down by the harbor. I would not have time to sketch that place. My latte had a nice heart shaped swirl in the foam on top. I also ordered a blueberry muffin since this was breakfast. On a railing across from the Harbor coffee house there were a long line of paintings. They were all about the same size about 18 by 24 inches. I figure all the artists must have been given the same size canvas and encouraged to paint in acrylics. Several paintings were of whales, so I assume whales must pass by the Oregon coast on their migration. Either that, of the artists figured that whales sell.
The conversation was lively. I explained my WWII European travel plans and Kimberly said she might be in Prague at the same time I will be exploring Europe with my sketchbook.It could be nice to meet a friend while on my travels. There were even discussions of working on a boat in the Mediterranean. That fell through, but it is just as well since I get seasick if I sketch on the open seas. My father would have taken a 7 day ocean voyage to get to Europe at the start of his tour of duty. I figure it would be good to replicate that voyage but I hat cruises and yeah I don’t need to be nauseous to start my journey.
My plan isn’t to take ton of photos, but to only document the route of the 75th infantry C-Company with my sketches. My thought was to travel for as long at C-Company was in Europe which is 6 months. After defeating the Reich, C-Company were stationed with occupation duty in, Iserlohn Germany, for many months. I imagine I will do quite a few sketches in Iserlohn, which once had a POW camp and a Work Concentration Camp which C-Company helped liberate. Iserlohn and the nearby Dortmund helped fuel the German war machine. There is probably little that is remaining of those camps, So I will probably branch out to sketch other concentration camps. There were literally thousands. I also want to go to Arolson, Germany which is where my Thorspecken ancestor, Dr. Augustus Elias Julius Thorspecken came from. My father was so close to this town but didn’t know to look for it. I know of many other Thorspecken ancestral towns as well, so I might explore those as well once I feet the 75th Infantry series of sketches is complete.