Astoria, Newport and Florence.....we've had a lovely time in each of these places, but the time has come to leave the coast and move inland....sigh. I love the place we are and hate to leave but, I can't wait to see what's next!
I made one omission from the last post, I wanted to show you the beautiful bracelet that our friend, Cara, made for me. She creates and sells these beautiful pieces through her company, MANA253. I took no pictures of us at our lunch in Olympia and I was surprised by her thoughtful gift.
OK, back to Astoria. We had a nice, private site with sweet green views at Lewis and Clark RV and Golf Course.
We had great weather. Misty, cool temps. in the morning gave way to beautiful sunny skies for the rest of the day. We always gravitate to the water, so we spent more than a few days on the ocean and river beaches. We watched local fishing boats, ocean going cargo ships, locals fishing from the shore and terns, pelicans, Murre and sea lions plying the waters in front of us. I put an app on my phone that shows us the names and information about every ship we see, fun!
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| just the way I like it! |
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| beaching is tiring..... |
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| opening day of some sort of salmon fishing, I can't keep them straight..... |
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| white pelicans |
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| sea gull parking lot |
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| lots of tiny jellies on the Columbia River beach |
We did some exploring in the low inland mountains, searching for an Elk feeding station. We did find it, sans elk, but we had lunch under a beautiful old tree and enjoyed the day anyway.
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| pretty off road track |
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| fox glove everywhere |
You know we ate plenty of fresh seafood, in great restaurants and in the front seat of the Jeep! Oh, and those Oregon Pinot Noirs!
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| Salmon and Cioppino at Bridgewater Grill |
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| oh Dave... |
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| Bow picker Tuna fish and chips Mmmmmm |
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| Bow Picker's fish is good enough to stand in this long, long line! |
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| it's not all about seafood ya know.... |
We walked around the town, strolled through the quirky Saturday Market and made a couple purchases at the "oldest family run shoe store west of the Mississippi"!
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| weeping pine? |
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| Bubbles! |
After a few weeks in Astoria, we moved about 100 miles inland to another favorite stop, McMinnville. Last year we were lucky enough to be there during their wonderful international airshow, but the entire town was fully booked this year, so we visited a few wineries and made reservations for next year's show.
Back to the coast and a new to us spot, Newport. We'd driven through the area many times but had never stopped to check it out so..... I evidently picked a very high end "Motorcoach Resort" right above the beach. Pacific Shores is a private ownership resort filled with Prevost, Newmar, Country Coach, every Tiffin model ever made, etc. and more Jeeps than I've ever seen in one place (except a dealership), and little old Beluga! The sites were lovely and large, and the park's location was great. As per our usual pattern, we explored the area, beached and ate!
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| pretty precarious fishing spot, but he got one! |
The weather wasn't stellar. Our entire stay it was misty and cool. When the ever-present marine layer would pull back a bit we'd get glimpses of spectacular scenery.
More often than not though, this is what we saw.....
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| where are you going without me? |
We did manage a few beach "walks" with Taos, just below the RV Resort.
Of course, on our last afternoon the sun broke through, and we discovered a beautiful lighthouse high on mountainous sand dune (Yaquina Head Lighthouse) just a few minutes away! Ah well, something to check out more the next time!
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| see those little birds on the top? |
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| Murre! |
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| these drifts were huge! |
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| Glad they fixed the road before we got there! |
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| life from death in the Siletz River |
Florence was our last stop along the coast for this year. We're at a beautiful, wooded spot at the Elks Lodge RV Park, always a favorite.
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| site 35 |
Again, marine layer, beaching and eating and exploring. Sorry.....
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| nearby Mercer Lake |
Heceta Lighthouse beach is always a go to for us. We can explore caves, tide pools, ocean waves and a peaceful silent walk along the creek.
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| low tide |
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| himself! |
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| peaceful Cove Creek |
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| Can you see the Cedar Waxwing on the stump? See his yellow tail? It followed us all up the creek |
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| Oh Dave.... |
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| life on the coast is exhausting..... |
On to Eugene in the morning!
And....here's Annie "going through the car wash"!
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Missed the Oregon Coast, the Pinots, seafood, and most importantly the fish and chips at Bow Picker. And you have captured the essence of it all, and showed us what we missed :(. And oh Annie will soon be a teen ager! What a cutie pie. - ML
ReplyDeleteI think you've been busy elsewhere!
DeleteWhat a great time! You certainly were in the only cool area out west. Beautiful photos of so many interesting finds. Taos really gets a workout with all the touring. When in the seafood area, eating seafood every night is a must!! The meals looks yummy. Sweet Annie:)
ReplyDeleteAgreed, we've had pretty decent weather considering all the fires and heat and monsoons and tornados elsewhere. We'll miss these wonderful dinners but I'm always on the look out for a yummy treat so we'll see what I find!
DeleteGood morning Sue! Oh how I miss the ocean and how awesome to visit thru your lens. You captured it all! And yes, I agree with Pam…seafood everyday is always a must. So many pretty photos I can’t pick a favorite. I love the close up of the orange flowers and the cliff edge and cove, the sand art, nature’s planter stretched over the river, Dave and Lewis in the cave, and the starfish. That’s a great photo of Taos jumping the over the log and curled up on the seat asleep.
ReplyDeleteAnd Annie…what a cutie and so creative! Safe travels!
Thanks Gay, we've had a beautiful watery time for sure! We asked Taos to hop up on the beach log and, instead, he got the sillies and jumped OVER the log back and forth, back and forth until we finally convinced him to walk away!
ReplyDeleteWeren't those orange flowers something! They were everywhere, but I don't know their name, do you?
The bush looks a lot like the firecracker bush we have…I think it’s the same family which is Fountain Bush. The hummingbirds love the firecracker bush! I can’t wait to give Taos a big hug! ❤️
DeleteI love the Oregon coast, alas my husband/driver does not! I am envious of all that seafood you were eating--Montana has a shortage of seafood! :) Your photos are glorious and I love seeing Taos--he is living his best life exploring with you guys! Anne's "carwash" is a hoot!
ReplyDeleteDriving a motorhome on 101 along the coast definitely isn't an easy job. The payoff is worth it if you just do a little at a time, I guess. And....if the weather cooperates, rain on that road is the pits! Taos looks askance at some of the places we ask him to go, but he'll always try...
ReplyDeleteSo much to love about this post :-) That huge tree is incredible, and the weeping pine too fun. Our first route in summer 2015 we bought our Keene's hiking boots at that shoe store - and I'm still wearing mine often!! Love Yaquina Head and that lovely beach at Heceta. In general I sure miss those lighthouses. Wow Bowpicker has really gotten popular! Taos is such a handsome boy, snoozing, exploring or posing. How fun to have a car wash just Annie's size.
ReplyDeletehow funny that we both went into that little shoe store on a side street. They had a fantastic array of shoes; Dave bought 2 pair!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice when we can share favorite places that our friends.
Bowpicker is as good as ever, but it certainly has gotten popular. We shouldn't talk about these unusual, special places now should we.....
The best thing about kid's imaginations is that anything can be anywhere at any time!
As you know, we adore the Oregon coast. Astoria, Newport, and Florence were some of our favorite go-tos and not too far from our former home in Ashland. Sigh. We are very happy where we are now in North Carolina, but I sometimes feel nostalgic, and then I say to myself. "That was then, and this is now." Recognize those words? ❤️ You captured the magic so well in your photos. That salmon and cioppino looked fabulous! So fun to see Taos enjoying his travel adventures, and the photo of Annie in her car wash is hysterical! Big hugs to you guys.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laurel....I use that phrase often as I often feel nostalgic about places in the past but it's true! We had a great time on the coast and often spoke of the two of you, especially when we arrived in Ashland. Let's stay in touch.
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