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Published: August 8th 2009
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Northwest Portland
Restaurants line the street at NW Hoyt and NW 23rd Avenue. We drove down I-5 from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon where we stopped for lunch. It was July 28, 2009 and we were on a three-day trip to the Oregon Coast. We were in the midst of a heat wave. Our temperature is usually in the mid-80's at the most; today it was 108 degrees in Portland.
Our Alki Tours motor coach was filled with 54 excited passengers, plus Tyson, our tour manager, and Michael, our driver. After a three-hour drive from Seattle to Portland, it was time for a lunch stop. Tyson chose a neighborhood where the streets are filled with restaurants. It's known as the Northwest District and the intersection is NW Hoyt and NW 23rd Avenue. Most of us headed for the air-conditioning in the Ram's Head or Noah's Bagels. Fortunately, Portland has many shady, tree-lined streets and we enjoyed the the ambience of the historical buildings.
After lunch, we traveled west through the Willamette Valley toward the coast. The fields were flourishing with cherry orchards, vineyards, and filbert trees. At Lafayette, we passed an enormous airplane hanger that houses the world's largest wooden airplane--Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose. We could see how large the plane was
Northwest Neighborhood
Tree-lined streets shade historic homes from the summer heat wave. through the tall glass windows. At Sheridan, we passed a Federal Correction Institution. Someone commented it looked more like a retirement community than a prison.
Around four o'clock we made a brief stop at Spirit Mountain Casino in Grande Ronde, Oregon. It is owned by Five Federated Tribes of Yamhill County. We enjoyed the free beverages, deli, and gift shop. Thirty minutes later we were in Lincoln City on the Oregon coast. The 73-degree temperature was a great relief. Most of us put on windbreakers to walk the beach. We learned that Lincoln City has the largest number of hotel rooms in the area from San Francisco to Seattle, and every room in town was booked tonight because of the 100-degree weather in Portland.
At Chinook Winds Hotel, every room has a view of the Pacific Ocean that sweeps clear across the horizon. I had forgotten how loud and fierce the ocean roars, far exceeding any power made by man. The wind puffed out my jacket and whipped at my slacks like sails. After we settled into our rooms, we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach. Then it was time to get our cameras for the
Spirit Mountain
Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde, Oregon offers us a rest stop. sunset on the ocean.
Around 9 o'clock we gathered on a grassy, windswept hill looking down at the sand, sea, and setting sun. Nearby, a young couple stood at the top of a wooden staircase and focused on the sunset. At the moment the sun met the sea, a young man stood in the reflection of the sinking sun on the shore. He, too, was transfixed by the beauty of scene. I was the lucky one with the camera, and I captured the sunset and afterglow. The evening was enhanced by a half moon that rose above the brilliant red horizon as it faded into purple. My neighbor exclaimed: "I was so hot in Portland, I came here. Now I'm cool and comfortable, breathing the ocean air. I am such a lucky guy!"
At 6 o'clock in the morning of our second day, we arose to find the ocean under a huge blanket of fog. It was roaring and pounding against the shoreline, but there was no wind to speak of. In the distance, someone was walking along the beach. After breakfast, we boarded our motor coach at 9 a.m. for a grand tour of the Oregon Coast.
Chinook Winds
Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City provides lodging and a restaurant with an ocean view. Our first stop was around 11 o'clock at Tillamook Creamery. We joined an enthusiastic crowd taking a self-guided tour of the cheese and ice cream processing plants. Tillamook is a cooperative founded by local farmers in 1919. We snacked on samples and bought cheese to take home. Tyson generously offered to keep it in his cooler.
As we left, the fog lifted revealing blue skies and white, puffy clouds. The temperature once again was perfect at 71 degrees.
We were supposed to arrive in Cannon Beach in 40 minutes, but road construction delayed us for half an hour as crews resurfaced the highway with fresh asphalt. Meanwhile, Tyson told us how Cannon Beach got its name. A schooner sailing ship became stuck on a sandbar near the small settlement. To lighten its load, the sailors threw their cannons overboard. One of the cannons washed ashore, the townspeople retrieved it and put it in a place of honor where it still stands today. Haystack Rock is another striking landmark on the beach.
What a crowd there was at Cannon Beach! The parking lots were filled and restaurants had waiting lines. I was told when the temperature reaches 90
Chonook Winds Hotel
Every room has a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean. in Portland, everyone who can goes to the ocean. Here was the proof. Our driver wanted to take a group to the nearby town of Seaside, but traffic moved so slowly, he turned the motor coach around and returned to Cannon Beach. After getting a sandwich for lunch, we left the crowds behind as we drove up Highway 101 along the ocean to Astoria, Oregon.
Astoria is the oldest settlement west of the Rocky Mountains, founded by John Jacob Astor as a fur-trading center when Oregon was still a territory. We drove across the 1.4-mile long Astoria bridge, the longest truss-span bridge in the world. From the bridge, we saw people walking on the Columbia Bar, a sandbar that has caused numerous shipwrecks even in modern times.
It's a 60-minute drive from Astoria,Oregon to Raymond, Washington. We arrived in Raymond at 4 o'clock where we made a rest stop and enjoyed the breeze that gave us a mild 84-degrees. This was more to our liking that the 103 degrees Seattle was having today.
Raymond and Cosmopolis (a Greek name) are lumber towns. One-sixth of our country's timber came out of this area in the 1930's. The hard-working,
Sunset Magic
A couple pauses to absorb the beauty of the sunset. underpaid lumberjacks were so unruly, the Army was stationed here to keep them under control. We continued on our way to Quinault Beach Resort, near Aberdeen and Hoquiam, only 22 miles away. Aberdeen is an Indian name which means "hungry for wood." Both towns were founded by Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company.
At 6 o'clock we arrived at Quinault Beach Resort, a 159-room hotel opened by the Quinault Indian Nation in 2000. Our rooms were luxurious with gas-powered fireplaces, comfortable beds made by Nordstrom, and views of the Pacific Ocean. A large buffet provided a delicious dinner for our hungry group.
The next day, our third and last day, we met Tyson and Michael for a 10-minute drive to Ocean Shores for lunch. In the 1950's, popular vocalist Pat Boone promoted Ocean Shores as a high-end resort for glamorous Hollywood stars, but it failed to attract any big spenders. As a result, Ocean Shores offers a few excellent hotels, like Shilo Inn and Best Western, but little in the way of shops or amusements. Still, the town of 5,000 was bustling with visitors to the cool Washington coast.
At 2 o'clock, it was time to begin our trip back
Sunset Moment
A young man steps into the reflection of the setting sun. to Seattle where we hoped the 3-day heat wave had subsided. Rush hour traffic was fierce and it took us four hours to negotiate a two-and-a-half hour trip. But the temperature was 88 degrees and falling. We had missed the heat wave and enjoyed a glorious trip!
The highlight of this journey was the ocean and the striking sunset that lasted several hours. I had forgotten how loud the ocean roars, how powerful it is, and how strong the wind can blow. Being there was like capturing a moment in eternity as the horizon stretched on and on, seemingly forever. The colors of the sunset were breathtaking as I shared it with others on the beach. Everyone seemed drawn by the beauty of the evening as they talked quietly and took photos. It made everything else in life suddenly insignificant and unimportant compared to this magnificent scene provided by nature. I felt grateful for being there to appreciate such beauty and I hoped I would remember it forever.
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