As Spring Break approached, I really felt the calling of the beach. We haven't had a beach trip in such a long time, and I needed a "fix"! So, I booked a couple of nights on the Oregon Coast. Originally, the idea was for the whole family to go. But, available dates precluded Larry because of work, and Sarah decided she had far too much schoolwork that needed to be finished. That left Emily and me. Off we went!
Our room was at the Looking Glass Inn in the Taft Historical District in the south part of Lincoln City.
I had no idea where this was when I booked the room, but it ended up being a pretty cool location. Turns out it's on Siletz Bay, right where the bay meets the Pacific Ocean. Although it rained on us during the entire drive over, it stopped shortly after we checked in, so we took advantage of the rare break in what would become an incessant storm, and took a walk on the beach.
It was delightful! Walking along the bay, we picked up rocks, many with lovely patterns, and enjoyed seeing the harbor seals that peeked at us from the waves.
We marveled in the union of the bay and ocean waters.
Suddenly, there we were, alongside huge ocean waves, having left the relatively calm bay behind. The beach changed markedly; here, there were fewer rocks and more logs and driftwood strewn about.
Despite being prepared with our rubber boots, we managed to find a wave that was quicker than we were and walked back to the room squishing water inside our shoes.
Once cleaned up and with boots left to dry, we made our way across the street to Mo's for dinner - another benefit of our convenient location. By now, mind you, the rain had come back in full force, and with the wind whipping, it was harder than we expected just to make our way to the restaurant. The storm continued unabated the entire weekend, and, in fact, left us without power the next evening. The sideways rain was so powerful it was a challenge just to stand. That night, we opted to stay in with games and a movie, and ordered pizza delivery. A smart decision! (For us; perhaps not for the delivery guy! We did tip him well...) Galucci's makes good pizza! We slept both nights with the sound of wind gusting - up to 50 mph! - all around us.
We are Oregonians, though, and rain doesn't keep us from doing much. Shopping was high on the agenda, as Emily needed some clothes, and we hadn't been very successful finding time to shop at home. Lincoln City is home to Tanger Outlets, so we had plenty to choose from. Emily was able to find clothes at a number of stores; we came home with several bags full! We visited a kite shop, too, where I found some new flags for our house, as well as a gift for Larry for Father's Day.
Whale watching was high on our list of things to do - we even remembered to bring our binoculars - but the weather just wasn't cooperative. Days one and two were just too stormy. It would have been impossible to see them amidst all the blowing foam from waves in the storm. Day three loomed calmer, and thus, looked more promising as we left town, but the whales had not ventured back in close to shore after being run out to deeper waters by the storm. We'll have to try another time, perhaps at summer's end.
Two other activities deserve their own posts, so I'll blog separately about our trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and our Emily's glass-making experience. Suffice it to say both were wonderful experiences, and good way to spend a rainy day.
Our drive home was calmer than the trip over, as the weather decided to be kinder to us. We discovered a covered bridge on the way, and stopped to check it out.
It was a most picturesque spot, and made me wish we'd had a picnic lunch to enjoy creekside. Maybe next time - in drier weather!
No comments:
Post a Comment