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Published: July 24th 2013
hike view
hikes in northern California and Oregon all include steep hills, forest, and then whalla beach. I believe this one is in California.Bummer we're back home now. The circadas are strumming their "it's hot and steamy" song. I wrote a few more entries during our trip, but they're all on my iPad (hard to publish when you don't have time for slow/sketchy wifi). Sure, I could stream them into here and then organize all of my photos to go with entries, but let's face it I'm lazy. Besides, I have some curriculum mapping to do (work begins again next week). So, I've decided to spare you all my ramblings and blast you with photos and a highlight summary (which turns out is still too many words). The good news is I'm only sharing a few pics out of the almost 2,000 we took. They're not necessarily the best photos (although I like them), but they show off some of our favorite things.
I'll skip the first few days since I told you about them in my previous post (oh that chipmunk).
Newport and Central Coast: Loved the lighthouse tour. It's cold, misty, windy and a wonderful trip back into time while sea lions nap on the rocks below, and sea birds shit all over the place.
We heard Newport
was a great little town to stroll around the shops, but we got side tracked at an Irish Pub (and realized it just happened to be on the date we left for Ireland last year). A few hours and pints later we'd made friends with all sorts of locals, including a winery guy, a single dad escaping his small town to drink in peace, and a few salty dogs who quickly warmed up to us and gave us pointers on where to go, which led us to a busy area with lots of fish processing and a rough dive bar. Of course we had fun at the bar --- is there anything better than 50 something and aboves rocking their version of AC/DC on a stage flanked by groupies whose boobs have quit defying gravity? Better yet was the bartender who almost slapped me because I asked if she had ginger beer (I wanted more Dark & Stormies). She literally growled at me, so I stuck with a bud light while listening to the toothless guy tell Joe about fishing in Alaska (and I think a long-haired singer dude flirted with me ... Mama still has it). Um, no shopping
was done that day, nor were we able to hike much the next day.
Newport beaches are soooo incredibly cold and windy. So cold that beachcombers are all wrapped up, huddled around fire pits built behind wind shields made of driftwood. It's quite prehistoric looking.
Oddly enough the further north you drive, the warmer the beaches get. WTF?
My absolute favorite bits about driving up the coast are the little parking lot pull offs. Each one has a steep trail that goes through lush forest and leads to unbelievable beaches. Just amazing.
Astoria We stayed at the Hotel Elliot, which is well known around these parts. It's a classic 1920s hotel smack dab in the middle of the historic district. It has a rooftop patio where you can watch the sun set over the Columbia River. Sticking with the drinking theme we hit two micro breweries and had an awesome dinner near the pier.
Mt. St Helens It's an odd drive to the volcano. Because all of the trees were planted at the same time (thanks to the absolute destruction within the blast zone) it feels like you're driving through a lego forest.
Ireland? No.
One of many paths that lead through tunnel trees. I believe this one is at Patrick's Point in California. It's hard to explain, but the trees are too perfectly aligned so it messes with your eyes. Driving through the blast zone is humbling because you realize just how big of a blast it was. It's also just a little bit freaky seeing smoke come out of what's left of Mt. St. Helen's top. That bitch is still very much alive.
Other than visiting the volcano, my favorite was where we had lunch. I wish I could remember the name of this family-owned place, but it's right off the river and looks like a lovely place to visit. An ornery boy waited on us. He managed to mix worst and best service into the same experience. The kid did not have time for bullshit, and some of his one liners were hysterical. The burgers and marionberry cobbler were awesome. Oh, how I love Oregon and Washington's blackberry anything. yum, yum.
Williamette Valley wine tasting So much fun. Basically, it's a high class pub crawl. I sooo want to do this again. Each winery, like wine, has its own personality. The little towns along the way are just as much fun. We liked McMinnisville the best (will want
going down....
when there are stairs to help you out, they normally lead down steep, curvy paths. Good news is there's a beach at the end. to spend the night there one day). My favorite Pinot Gris was at Johan Winery, and much to my dismay I only bought one bottle. Turns out you can't buy it online. Aaargh. We also discovered there is such a thing as Pinot Noir Rose, which is quite tasty. I still love my reds, and, um, I made it home with 16 bottles of wine (bought more but drank them before we got home). I have a special Pinot Noir that we're saving for Christmas Eve.
Ashland and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Adorable, eclectic town with fantastic restaurants and beautiful surroundings. I'm told there's a woman who rides her motorcycle while completely nude (poor Joe didn't get to witness this). So you have sophistication mixing with, well, whatever works. It was also surprisingly hot (maybe that's why Miss Harley doesn't bother to dress). We met fun people (most of them teachers and/or writers --- good God we're a special blend of folk!) and absolutely loved the production (Heart of Robin Hood) we saw. Even Joe, who didn't think he was going to get into it all that much, loved it and wants to go back. Hell, he's even
and the beach...
see that little thing jutting off the cliff. that's a tree. up for watching a Shakespeare play. If you've been wanting to do this but keep putting it off, don't. It is worth every single penny. I'm so glad I bought the expensive tickets too because we were right up front where all the action was.
Crater Lake We went back to roughing it here, but it didn't feel that way. We rented a tiny cabin and hiked around the Rogue River where we got to see waterfalls. Our only bummer was we couldn't get tickets to the Crater Lake boat ride, which our cabin neighbors said was an awesome experience. On the bright side we were spared the brutal hike that goes with it, but you already know I like those sorts of things (that said at the end of a two-week adventure, easier hikes are so, so welcome). Crater Lake is as blue as the pictures I posted.
Our cabin was in Union Creek Resort, which has paths that lead to the creek and Rogue River. It also has Becky's Cafe, which just happens to have "world famous" pie, so hell's yeah we had some pie. There's also an ice cream stand that stays busy. Don't
cliff side path
this led to a steep hill in the forest, but first we saw the sea. This was near Crescent City. let the resort name fool you, this is no posh golf club place. It's rustic, just the way we like it. We'll be back.
And then we went home. We changed our return route (skipping the Idaho/Utah track) and came back down through California, which is the quickest way home (Joe had to be back at work today, so we figured it best to save Idaho for another trip).
And while we found ourselves alone in some thick woods, near fast-flowing rivers and brooks, we're happy to report we did not run into any bears.
As always there are a ton of pics if you just keep scrolling. I uploaded a panoramic of Crater Lake too. Anyway, hope you enjoy.
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