Dome Update

ALL ABOUT THE DOMES

We’ve Been Building.

So we figured it was time to start telling the story.

When we started this project, we had a plan. Sort of.

The truth is, we aren't a huge organization with a giant blueprint and a team of people who have done this a hundred times before. We’re a small family building something we believe in, and a lot of this is completely new to us.

One of the mantras we've carried through this entire project is:

Let the project tell us what it wants to be.

That sounds a little woo-woo, but it has actually been one of the most useful ideas we've had.

We make a plan. We start building. We learn something we didn't know. We adjust. We make another plan.

And sometimes, things need a little more time to incubate.

The Domes

Treasure Bay will have 11 geodesic domes here in Waldport, Oregon.

We originally thought we'd have them ready for guests this summer. And from the outside, we completely understand the question:

“The domes have been standing there for two months. How are they not open yet?!”

Fair question.

But there is a lot more to opening a new development than putting up the buildings.

We still have inspections to get through, stairways to install, landscaping to finish, and some very important infrastructure issues to get right before we can welcome overnight guests. We've also been working through an ongoing sewer issue, and that's something we absolutely need to have resolved before we put anyone in those domes.

So while the domes may look finished from the road, we’re still very much in the middle of building.

And that has been a recurring theme around here:

We didn't know what we didn't know.

Where We Are Now

The floors were just refinished, which was a pretty exciting milestone.

Next up: stairways, landscaping, furnishings, inspections, and all of the little details that turn a construction project into a place where people can actually stay.

The domes aren't huge, and they're not meant to be.

They’re going to be a fun, unique overnight experience—a comfortable home base for exploring the coast, playing the Bonsai Course, grabbing pizza, having a drink, and spending time outside.

Each dome will have its own patio, which we think will be the perfect place to sit back and unwind after a day of playing and exploring.

The Other Thing We Didn't Expect

There’s another reason this timeline hasn't unfolded exactly as we imagined.

This summer, we got completely swallowed up by actually operating Treasure Bay.

We went from building a resort to suddenly hosting people—welcoming our community, introducing visitors from near and far to what we're creating, figuring out how to run a putting course, building a pizza business from scratch, running the Camp Store and Thirsty Bird, and learning what it means to actually be in the hospitality business.

To put it lightly, we've been slammed.

And doing all of that on the Oregon Coast comes with its own challenges, including a pretty tough seasonal hiring environment.

We’ve been building the resort while simultaneously learning how to operate the resort.

And then there's another part of this timeline that doesn't show up on a construction schedule.

We’re also building two little childhoods.

Our kids are growing up right alongside this project.

Being present for our family is our first priority. And if we're being completely honest, we haven't always gotten that balance right this year. There have been long days, missed dinners, weekends that didn't really feel like weekends, and plenty of moments where Treasure Bay got more of us than we intended to give.

But the reality is that these two things are happening simultaneously.

We're building a resort.

And we're raising our kids.

Neither one gets 100% of our attention all of the time.

So we're learning to let both things unfold.

We're learning to be patient with the project, patient with ourselves, and patient with the process.

So, What's Next?

Over the next few newsletters and blog posts we're going to take you behind the scenes of the domes—from the different sizes and sleeping arrangements to the construction, the design decisions we've made, and the things we're still figuring out. We will be updating the blog post, but if you’d also like to receive information on the domes you can follow our newsletter, which will include information about rates, opening date etc.

We thought we'd be welcoming guests by now.

We aren't.

But we're getting there.

And we're pretty excited to let you see what these little domes become.