The Marigold Dispatch — Pacific Coast Secrets

The Long Way to Astoria

GOOD MORNING! I arrived in Astoria last night after driving down through the country from Seattle, and I am so glad I took the long way. The short way would have been faster. It always is. But the long way handed me a covered bridge and an Irish pub and mile after mile of road that felt like driving through a green cathedral. The pines lean in overhead until they make tunnels of you, and the sides of the road spill over with blackberry brambles, and right in the middle of all that tangle you find morning glory blooming like it has nowhere better to be.

I can already feel it happening.

Somewhere along the way, life began to feel lighter again. The excitement is back. The curiosity is back. The joy of wondering what’s around the next bend is back. In just three days, Nora turns the key in the Marigold and heads for Astoria, not just to solve a mystery, but to remember what it feels like to be fully alive again. Maybe that’s what this journey is really about. Every town has a story. Every mile brings a little more healing. Every sunrise is a reminder that the best chapters don’t always come first. Three days to go. 🌼🚐🌊 Follow the Marigold.

July 22, 2026

Coming Home to the Oregon Coast

There are moments in life when a journey becomes more than a vacation. It becomes a homecoming. On August 6th, I’ll point the nose of my little butter-gold VW bus, Marigold, toward Astoria and begin a trip I’ve been dreaming about for a very long time. I’ll be traveling the Oregon Coast while researching and writing my newest novel, Shoreline Secrets. I grew up in Oregon, and one of the things I remember most is the rhythm of the seasons. Summer lingered just long enough to fill every day with adventure, and fall arrived gently with crisp mornings, golden leaves, and the scent of rain. It always seemed as though each season had exactly four months. Never too long. Never too short. Just enough time to love it before welcoming the next. I’ve now lived in Alaska for more than fifty years, and while Alaska has become home in so many wonderful ways, there’s something about Oregon that still reaches into my heart. Nostalgia doesn’t quite describe it. It’s deeper than simply missing a place. It’s remembering who I was there, the roads I traveled, the beaches that shaped my imagination, and the feeling that every bend in the coastline held another story waiting to be discovered. Very soon I’ll cross the bridge into Astoria, breathe in that salty coastal air, and begin making my way south. Every lighthouse, harbor, hidden beach, sea stack, and quiet little town will become part of Shoreline Secrets. I’ll be writing chapters as I travel, collecting photographs, recording music inspired by the journey, and sharing it all along the way. If you’re one of my subscribers, you’re coming with me. You’ll receive behind-the-scenes photos that won’t appear anywhere else, early looks at chapters from Shoreline Secrets, stories from the road, and original music inspired by the places I visit. I want you to experience this adventure with me as it unfolds, one stop at a time. I truly can’t wait. Here’s to foggy mornings in Astoria, crashing waves along the Pacific, winding coastal highways, and the mystery that waits around every corner. Come follow the journey. Author Melissa Saulnier PacificCoastSecrets.com

45 Days to the Marigold’s Start Line!

Who is Marigold? And what is this trip about? The Marigold goes everywhere I do. She’s a butter-yellow 1970s VW bus with a temperament sunnier than her years should allow, and somewhere along the line she stopped being just a vehicle and became my good-luck charm. Every trip starts the same way, I load the field notebook and the camera, she turns over on the first try, and off we go. People always ask if I worry about an old bus leaving me stranded on some foggy stretch of coast, but the Marigold has never once let me down. She just keeps rolling, faithful as ever, carrying me to the next town, the next story, the next overlooked detail waiting to be noticed. I like to think she knows we’re chasing something good.