1 post tagged “beach trip”

I had a wonderful weekend at the coast!  (I would say "we" but I don't presume to speak for my counterpart. :P)  We left town around 3:00 and aside from a minor run in with some stop-and-go traffic had a trouble-free trip out.  Made it out and checked into the hotel.  We were on the ground floor with a gorgeous view of the ocean, a fireplace, and a great whirlpool tub (squee!).  After opening up the windows and having a chance to just listen to the waves while watching the shore, it was time to explore. 

The first order of business was to find the beach.  The hotel was set up on a hillside overlooking the ocean.  To get down to the beach, there was a path which led to wooden stairs that wound the way down the hillside.  Grabbing the cameras, it was a quick walk down to the water.  The beach below the hotel was different than any other beach I'd been on.  It was thick sand closest to the stairs but as we got closer to the water it became a sea of tiny pebbles and little rocks. 

Without a thought to the idea that I was still wearing both sneakers and jeans, I plodded towards the large pile ofrocks on the far side of the beach.  Brrr!  That water was cold.  It quickly became apparent that I would need to buy a pair of sandals before the next day's activities.  (My shoes are still damp from the trip.  It may be a lost cause.)

We ventured up to the outlets in Lincoln City and I was able to pick up a pair of sandals.  Changing into them, we headed down to Newport to find something to eat.  I think we finally ended up eating at a Rogue something or another.  We had tried to get to Mo's, but both locations seemed overly packed.  The food was great, although, looking back I wished I had tried the chocolate ale.  Either way, heading back to the hotel, it was a great first day.

Waking up on Day 2 was great.  For some reason I just wasn't able to sleep in and took great pleasure in waking

Scott up much earlier than he would have liked.  With lots to do, we didn't have time to stay in bed all day.  I was eager to get moving.  The plan for the day sounded simple.  Start at the north end and work our way south.  We started by hitting up a busy beach in Lincoln City.  The beach was absolutely gorgeous, I could have walked for hours.  The water, still freezing, and after the first few times of wading in to my ankles, my toes began to freeze and I avoided the water. 

There had been some concerns as we were going out that we had picked a bad weekend, weather wise at least, for our trip.  This was not so.  Saturday was absolutely gorgeous.  The day started off pleasant with just the slightest hint of clouds on the horizon.  By mid-morning, the temperatures had warmed up to a pleasant 70 or so.   I actually ended up with a sunburn  after spending the day outdoors Saturday, much to my surprise.

Anyways, after spending over an hour on the beach at Lincoln City we headed down to Mo's in town.  Thankfully, the lunch rush wasn't yet in full swing and after a brief wait in line we were able to get a table.  Now apparently, this Mo's is world famous for their Clam Chowder.  I'm not a big fan of seafood in general, but from the bite I did have, it was delicious.  Mo's was quite the experience all around, it's an eclectic mix that one would expect at the shore, good food, and awesome view.  It was a great choice for lunch.  And that was Lincoln City.

Moving South, we made it to Depoe Bay, also known at least according to the road signs, as the World's Smallest Bay.  It's an adorable little town with a tourist flair, shops

dot one side of the road sporting everything "pirate" to ocean figurines, t-shirts and more.  I enjoyed meandering through the local shops and galleries, it was a nice mix of both tourist and just ocean, and by far my favorite town that we visited.  Across the street from the shops is a walkway bordering the cliffs overlooking the ocean, complete with a Whale Watching Center.  The whale center was very neat, and I did actually get to see a whale from the lookout.  That was very cool.  There's a bridge that goes over the entrance to the bay, and under the bridge is a walkway.  This walkway leads to stairs by a place where they bring in these huge fish off the boats and clean them.  We watched as they cleaned huge fish, tuna (?), and I was delighted to see a couple of seals playing in the surf hoping for a freebie.   Losing track of time, I would have been able to watch the wildlife for hours, but there was more to do.  Bidding goodbye to Depoe Bay, it was time to hit the road again and head yet further south heading back towards Newport to catch all that we'd missed the night before on our exploration.

Just north of Newport is Yaquina Bay/Beach/What-have you.  There we took a side trip down to a lighthouse.  Before getting to the lighthouse, there was a quarry that had been converted into a man-made bay.  We walked down the closed off road leading down to the quarry floor and found another seal bopping around and generally having a good time in the water below.  On the way up, another lady who had been watching the water below, offered to take a photo of Scott and I.  How could I pass that up?  She took the first photo I have of us together in almost a year of dating!  I was ecstatic to finally have a shot of us.  Moving on, we drove over to the lighthouse, and while it was too late to go in, took some photos and quickly headed back to the car to avoid the chilly wind.

Newport is a tourist trap, plain and simple.  They play it to a hilt and everything is directed at making a fast buck off the tourists.  We got a great parking spot in front of the docks where dozens of fishing boats. Walking back towards the historic downtown, we passed a number of tourist type places like Ripley's Believe It or Not, a Wax

Museum, more bars than I can count, and so on.  Deciding that wasn't really what we were after, we caught up with a couple of sea lions from a pier in the middle of the city.  They had decided the place was theirs and were comfortably relaxing in the hot sun while young and old alike snapped picture after picture.  We wandered through a couple more shops, each directed at a different type of tourist, and I finally come across a hoodie that I have to pick up to remind me of the trip.  As we're heading out, back towards the car, I finally was able to squelsh my chocoate craving and found a cute little shop where we were able to pick up some mint chocolate for Scott and my favorite, a couple of cashew turtles for me.

We ended the evening getting lost on a road that went the long way around the bay.  It was wonderful to get off the beaten path, and while we did get royally and happily lost, between the GPS and a map, we made it back to civilization in time to find some dinner.  Dinner was a quiet affair, watching the sunset over the ocean at the Surf Rider restaurant.  They worked hard to make sure that every seat had a view, and it was nice to finally have a chance to have a breather, watch the water, and reflect on the days busy events.

Sunday was our third and final day at the coast.  Waking up and being lazy for just a bit, we bid goodbye to our room and checked out of the hotel with one destination in mind, the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  I'm not sure even where to begin there, there were a number of eye catching exhibits.  My favorite by far was the Into-the-Deep

exhibit where you walked through tunnels and all around are a variety of sharks.  It was amazing.  I could have spent the entire day in the tunnels watching the different sharks seemingly look right at me, swim towards me, and gently explore the bustle of activity below them.  Unfortunately, none of my camera shots from inside turned out well enough to post.  Besides the sharks, there were exhibits full of various types of crabs, beautiful starfish, and lots of different fish.  We watched the aquarium feed the sea otters, said hello to the birds, watched a large octopus try to hide from the light, and walked along a meandering path bordering the bay.  We caught a quick bite to eat at the ever busy cafe, stopped by the gift shop, and then once again hit the road.

We bid farewell to the beach, stopping ever so briefly to wander along the Agate Beach not far from the aquarium.  I was surprised to find miniature dunes making walking down to the water an adventure in and of itself.  People were out with their dogs, there were a couple of folks flying kites in the heavy breeze, and we had a great

walk and bidding goodbye to the ocean's waves had one last stop before we could head home.  Continuing north on Hwy 101, past Depoe Bay, past Lincoln City, and eventually running into a quaint town that could have been transplanted from north Indiana, our final stop was the Tillamook factory.  Not having any history in Oregon, I hadn't much heard of the company, but apparently they make some wonderful cheese and ice cream.  We walked through the self-guided tour, watched the various machines that during the week were used in cheese production, and learned a bit about the history and the making of various products.  After the tour, we had to stop for some fresh ice cream, and just before we hit the road to go home, a couple of Italian Sodas for the road.  Both the ice cream and the sodas were great.

Like I said, I had a great weekend, a wonderful time with an incredible guy, and have many new memories that will stick with me for a very long time to come.  Our trip was a coast was a time for many firsts, but more importantly, it was alot of fun, and I can't even begin to describe what it's meant to me.  Thanks honey, it was perfect.