Oregon - Day 2
[First Picture: Princess in the Hills]
Since we went to bed pretty early and my body was still on Michigan time, I got up pretty early. I went into the living area to read and watch cartoons. After an hour or so, the sky began to lighten. I can see why some become enamored with the ocean. I stood at the window watching the waves roll in. Even though I could not hear it, my mind filled in the soundtrack. It was quite peaceful. Later on, I sat in a recliner for a half hour or more just watching the surf and the people out for a stroll. Many of them had dogs eager to play in the waves.
After a short debacle where we could not get the shower to come on, we got ready for the day. Our plan was to "head north" with no concrete plans. There were a few places we wanted to see, but did not really care what we did. We could always go back later in the week. So we headed north towards Wheeler. About a mile before the town, we saw a lot of smoke up in the hills. Around a few more bends we saw that the forest was on fire in one area in a rather straight line. We assumed it was an intentional burn, but promised to ask when we got into town.
We parked the car and walked to a nearby information center. We asked the woman working there if the fires were intentional or not. She said that they were burning the areas that had been logged. That made sense. Then we made our way to The Sea Shack, a restaurant that looked a little bit like a dive, but seemed inviting enough. The food turned out to be pretty good, if a little pricy. The service was a slow, but we did not care. We enjoyed a spectacular view of the nearby river leading out to the ocean with plenty of wildlife.
After lunch we walked out to the dock to see if there were any new sights or wildlife. As we were standing there, a middle aged man in a motorized wheelchair came up to us. He asked us if we were "looking for the princess". Based on our confused look he clarified, "Princess Neahkahnie, in the hill". He then pointed out where we should look and the features of the princess. Sure enough, it looked like a woman lying on her side to form the nearby hills. The man then introduced himself as Dave, "Wheeler Dave", with the hat to back it up. We soon gathered that he was a sort of self-appointed welcoming committee.
We talked to Wheeler Dave for several minutes. Somehow we got onto the conversation of kids running around on the dock and he told us a story where he had saved a little girl not six months back. Her parents were taking pictures and not paying attention when she went in. He was nearby, raced his wheelchair to the end of the dock, and threw himself in (without the chair, or course). He said the water at the dock is probably 20 feet deep and she was well on her way down. When he pulled her up, it took a short while for him to get the attention of the parents. How they did not hear the splashing, one will never know. Then when they pulled her out of the water, they did not help him out or even give thanks. Whether the story is true or not, it was nice to meet the friendly local celebrity.
After saying goodbye, we headed to our next destination. Only a few miles down the road we pulled onto Highway 53, with another mile to the Nehalem Bay Winery. It was a somewhat small, unassuming building nestled amongst farms and hills. The inside was mostly open with a large wooden bar on which were a few dozen bottles of wine, some already open. A pair of young women were talking with a man named Wes who worked there. They were tasting the wines and socializing. They also talked about local sights. We stood nearby, listening to the advice.
The plan he laid out, and we later followed was this: Head south. When you get to Tillamook and come to Netarts Highway, take that west. A few miles down you will come to a fork. At that point and pretty much all forks you come to, take a right. This will take you on a scenic tour around Three Capes, Cape Meares, the city of Oceanside, and a lot of other great sights. Eventually you will make it to Pacific City where they have great oysters (no thanks) and a very good pub called the Pelican Pub. But I will leave the details until later when we actually took that route.
The girls soon left and we were left with Wes. We tried several wines, starting with a very good Riesling. We tried a few whites, a few reds, a few fruit-based wines, and an awesome mead. We ended up ordering five bottles, which got us shipping and an extra bottle "free". They were not cheap, but we knew that we would enjoy them. We also found out that the guy spent a few years in Michigan up near Alpena as a cook at some fancy, exclusive hunting lodge. We often find ties to Michigan when we travel.
After the winery we headed back to US-101 and turned north. We made it about five miles before we made our first stop to take pictures high up above the ocean in Oswald West State Park. It is rather amazing at the rapid change of elevation along the coast. It is not unheard of to be at sea level and then find yourself 400 feet up 2-3 miles down the road. We also stopped at a place called Hug Point to take pictures.
We made it as far north as Cannon Beach, a cute, artsy little town. We parked the car and walked around, stopping in the little shops and a few of the many art galleries. We also stopped to buy some fudge and ice cream. I now have a new all-time favorite fudge: cookie dough. It has all the wonders of raw cookie dough with the density and richness of fudge.
While we were in the sweet shop, I got a text message from Dustin: "FYI, west coasters do not have very good senses of humor. For example, when ordering the Black Butte Porter, make sure to pronounce butte properly." This made us laugh as it was both good advice and very "Dustin". I could imagine him ordering "black butt", likely with an intentional mispronunciation to be funny. I am not sure if I agree about the lack of humor, but it was amusing.
We ended our trip to Cannon Beach by walking to the beach proper. We took a few pictures of the beach, a nearby lighthouse, and even a pair of pelicans hanging out with some seagulls. Cannon Beach is also where you can find the Haystack, one of the largest sea stacks in the world. If you are ever in the area, I would recommend making a stop at the town.
By that time it was late afternoon so we headed back towards home. A few miles before Wheeler we once again saw the fires above town. We took a few pictures from the moving car that did not turn out too bad. When we got to Rockaway Beach, we did not stop at the condo, but kept going. We stopped at a secluded pullout with a narrow path to the beach where we found a good view of Twin Rocks, a sight that is often identified with the town. It was a little hard to find, but worth the stop. Of course we took pictures.
We still had a couple of hours before dinner so we kept driving and ended up in Tillamook. Our intended destination was the Tillamook Cheese Factory. A place devoted to cheese?! We were in heaven. We walked through the two gift shops and took ourselves on the self-guided tour. Since it was the weekend, the packaging plant was not running. Oh well. For your information, if you like to "buy local", many places along the coast offer ice cream created at the T.M.C. and it is quite good, as is the cheese. You can also buy Tellamook cheese in some stores in Michigan.
After the Cheese Factory we drove a little further into Tillamook to check out the town. We turned around near the edge of town. Tillamook is not very large, but I did not want to get lost so I headed back to the original road and turned onto it heading north... the wrong way on a one-way street. It took about 5 seconds to realize what was wrong. Thankfully there was little traffic so a quick U-turn got us out of harm's way. We were both laughing for several blocks.
Driving back towards Rockaway Beach, we stopped at a place called the Pirate's Cove in Garibaldi. According to our handy travel book (which never steered us wrong), it was a good place to eat. As we were waiting in the front area for the hostess we looked at the menu. It was pretty expensive and we realized we were in jeans and sweatshirts. But also as the book told us, and our observation concurred, there are few places in Oregon where you have to dress up.
The place was very unassuming. It looked more like an old small-town diner (minus the counter with stools) than a fancy restaurant. It had a great view of Tillamook Bay. We talked with our very friendly waitress and I ended up ordering the blackened sturgeon with crab and shrimp on top. Jaime ordered a grilled chicken covered in Hollandaise sauce and shredded crab meat. We both got French onion soup and ate hot, fresh bread. We split a crème brulee for dessert. Diner or not, the food was excellent.
[ Preface] [ Day 1] [ Day 3] [ Day 4] [ Day 5] [ Day 6] [ Day 7] [ Day 8] [ Day 9]
Since we went to bed pretty early and my body was still on Michigan time, I got up pretty early. I went into the living area to read and watch cartoons. After an hour or so, the sky began to lighten. I can see why some become enamored with the ocean. I stood at the window watching the waves roll in. Even though I could not hear it, my mind filled in the soundtrack. It was quite peaceful. Later on, I sat in a recliner for a half hour or more just watching the surf and the people out for a stroll. Many of them had dogs eager to play in the waves.
After a short debacle where we could not get the shower to come on, we got ready for the day. Our plan was to "head north" with no concrete plans. There were a few places we wanted to see, but did not really care what we did. We could always go back later in the week. So we headed north towards Wheeler. About a mile before the town, we saw a lot of smoke up in the hills. Around a few more bends we saw that the forest was on fire in one area in a rather straight line. We assumed it was an intentional burn, but promised to ask when we got into town.
We parked the car and walked to a nearby information center. We asked the woman working there if the fires were intentional or not. She said that they were burning the areas that had been logged. That made sense. Then we made our way to The Sea Shack, a restaurant that looked a little bit like a dive, but seemed inviting enough. The food turned out to be pretty good, if a little pricy. The service was a slow, but we did not care. We enjoyed a spectacular view of the nearby river leading out to the ocean with plenty of wildlife.
After lunch we walked out to the dock to see if there were any new sights or wildlife. As we were standing there, a middle aged man in a motorized wheelchair came up to us. He asked us if we were "looking for the princess". Based on our confused look he clarified, "Princess Neahkahnie, in the hill". He then pointed out where we should look and the features of the princess. Sure enough, it looked like a woman lying on her side to form the nearby hills. The man then introduced himself as Dave, "Wheeler Dave", with the hat to back it up. We soon gathered that he was a sort of self-appointed welcoming committee.
We talked to Wheeler Dave for several minutes. Somehow we got onto the conversation of kids running around on the dock and he told us a story where he had saved a little girl not six months back. Her parents were taking pictures and not paying attention when she went in. He was nearby, raced his wheelchair to the end of the dock, and threw himself in (without the chair, or course). He said the water at the dock is probably 20 feet deep and she was well on her way down. When he pulled her up, it took a short while for him to get the attention of the parents. How they did not hear the splashing, one will never know. Then when they pulled her out of the water, they did not help him out or even give thanks. Whether the story is true or not, it was nice to meet the friendly local celebrity.
After saying goodbye, we headed to our next destination. Only a few miles down the road we pulled onto Highway 53, with another mile to the Nehalem Bay Winery. It was a somewhat small, unassuming building nestled amongst farms and hills. The inside was mostly open with a large wooden bar on which were a few dozen bottles of wine, some already open. A pair of young women were talking with a man named Wes who worked there. They were tasting the wines and socializing. They also talked about local sights. We stood nearby, listening to the advice.
The plan he laid out, and we later followed was this: Head south. When you get to Tillamook and come to Netarts Highway, take that west. A few miles down you will come to a fork. At that point and pretty much all forks you come to, take a right. This will take you on a scenic tour around Three Capes, Cape Meares, the city of Oceanside, and a lot of other great sights. Eventually you will make it to Pacific City where they have great oysters (no thanks) and a very good pub called the Pelican Pub. But I will leave the details until later when we actually took that route.
The girls soon left and we were left with Wes. We tried several wines, starting with a very good Riesling. We tried a few whites, a few reds, a few fruit-based wines, and an awesome mead. We ended up ordering five bottles, which got us shipping and an extra bottle "free". They were not cheap, but we knew that we would enjoy them. We also found out that the guy spent a few years in Michigan up near Alpena as a cook at some fancy, exclusive hunting lodge. We often find ties to Michigan when we travel.
After the winery we headed back to US-101 and turned north. We made it about five miles before we made our first stop to take pictures high up above the ocean in Oswald West State Park. It is rather amazing at the rapid change of elevation along the coast. It is not unheard of to be at sea level and then find yourself 400 feet up 2-3 miles down the road. We also stopped at a place called Hug Point to take pictures.
We made it as far north as Cannon Beach, a cute, artsy little town. We parked the car and walked around, stopping in the little shops and a few of the many art galleries. We also stopped to buy some fudge and ice cream. I now have a new all-time favorite fudge: cookie dough. It has all the wonders of raw cookie dough with the density and richness of fudge.
While we were in the sweet shop, I got a text message from Dustin: "FYI, west coasters do not have very good senses of humor. For example, when ordering the Black Butte Porter, make sure to pronounce butte properly." This made us laugh as it was both good advice and very "Dustin". I could imagine him ordering "black butt", likely with an intentional mispronunciation to be funny. I am not sure if I agree about the lack of humor, but it was amusing.
We ended our trip to Cannon Beach by walking to the beach proper. We took a few pictures of the beach, a nearby lighthouse, and even a pair of pelicans hanging out with some seagulls. Cannon Beach is also where you can find the Haystack, one of the largest sea stacks in the world. If you are ever in the area, I would recommend making a stop at the town.
By that time it was late afternoon so we headed back towards home. A few miles before Wheeler we once again saw the fires above town. We took a few pictures from the moving car that did not turn out too bad. When we got to Rockaway Beach, we did not stop at the condo, but kept going. We stopped at a secluded pullout with a narrow path to the beach where we found a good view of Twin Rocks, a sight that is often identified with the town. It was a little hard to find, but worth the stop. Of course we took pictures.
We still had a couple of hours before dinner so we kept driving and ended up in Tillamook. Our intended destination was the Tillamook Cheese Factory. A place devoted to cheese?! We were in heaven. We walked through the two gift shops and took ourselves on the self-guided tour. Since it was the weekend, the packaging plant was not running. Oh well. For your information, if you like to "buy local", many places along the coast offer ice cream created at the T.M.C. and it is quite good, as is the cheese. You can also buy Tellamook cheese in some stores in Michigan.
After the Cheese Factory we drove a little further into Tillamook to check out the town. We turned around near the edge of town. Tillamook is not very large, but I did not want to get lost so I headed back to the original road and turned onto it heading north... the wrong way on a one-way street. It took about 5 seconds to realize what was wrong. Thankfully there was little traffic so a quick U-turn got us out of harm's way. We were both laughing for several blocks.
Driving back towards Rockaway Beach, we stopped at a place called the Pirate's Cove in Garibaldi. According to our handy travel book (which never steered us wrong), it was a good place to eat. As we were waiting in the front area for the hostess we looked at the menu. It was pretty expensive and we realized we were in jeans and sweatshirts. But also as the book told us, and our observation concurred, there are few places in Oregon where you have to dress up.
The place was very unassuming. It looked more like an old small-town diner (minus the counter with stools) than a fancy restaurant. It had a great view of Tillamook Bay. We talked with our very friendly waitress and I ended up ordering the blackened sturgeon with crab and shrimp on top. Jaime ordered a grilled chicken covered in Hollandaise sauce and shredded crab meat. We both got French onion soup and ate hot, fresh bread. We split a crème brulee for dessert. Diner or not, the food was excellent.
[ Preface] [ Day 1] [ Day 3] [ Day 4] [ Day 5] [ Day 6] [ Day 7] [ Day 8] [ Day 9]