Day 17 - Further Up & Further In

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Since the drive up to Oregon was relatively short, I had time to wander around Crescent City for a little while and see the sights. My host, turned tourguide, took me to all the hotspots.

I got a nice picture of the local lighthouse (there are 2 in the area, but the other is way out at sea), but we couldn't get closer because the tide was in. Yes, access to the lighthouse is "tide permitting" due to a land bridge that gets completely covered by water when the tide rolls in. It's also too close to the shore and too rocky to allow boat access. So, no lighthouse tour for me.

Then we headed over to a restaurant called the Chart Room. We didn't go in, though. Instead, we went around back and watched the sea lions for a while. We both agreed that they shouldn't have been named sealions. They should have been called seadogs for all their barking and lazing around (we're talking a really fat, lazy dog). It was funny to see them argue about who was allowed up on the piece of dock.

Finally, we headed up to an overlook of the city. From there you could see why it was called Crescent City, with the shoreline following the shape of a crescent moon. We took a few pictures and then headed back to the house with just enough time for me to write a blog entry, eat some lunch and jump in the car.

The drive up to Tigard was pretty as well, especially the part on the Redwood Highway, up to Grants Pass. The road was twisty in some spots and afforded amazing views in others. I arrived in Grants pass, regained cell signal, and discovered that my aunt, who's house I was going to, thought I was coming in the next day and was currently juggling plans for the evening. By the time I reached Tigard it was all ironed out.

The basic rundown is that I got there, parked my car, used the facilities and we were off to dinner in Portland with a huge group of my aunt's friends. We went to a nice Middle Eastern place that had the best shish tawouk I've had in recent memory. Then we headed over to a rum bar. For those of you who don't know my M.O. when it comes to alcohol, a rum bar would be the equivalent of my drinking nirvana. Can't do wine or beer, and out of liquor, rum is my favorite! So, along with lots of lovely conversation with relative strangers I had a Caiparinha (prob'ly butchered the spelling...a Brazillian sugarcane rum drink with lime) and a Captain Chino (think Spanish coffee, but with Capt Morgan, Kaluha, and creme de cacao).

At this point we headed home, where neither of us apparently could sleep.

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Photos

Battery Point Lighthouse
A lovely colonial style lighthouse, just off the shore, at least when tide is in. Otherwise, it's on the shore!

Sealions
The lazy sealions, hanging out on the dock. The one in front is scratching its ear like a dog.

Crescent City
OK, not much of the city, but this is the beach just south of it. Note the curve of the shoreline.