Cruising with the neighbours- The Oregon Coast

(Continued from last post)

Driving west, we came to the Pacific coast around 5 o'clock and looked for a hotel on the beach. Under blue skies, we went right out and walked along the beach for awhile.

I picked up these mussel shells and rocks to show the grandchildren. I found the rocks with the holes in them so fascinating as it looked as though the holes had been machine drilled. However there were so many on the beach we knew that it was the power of the waves that did the boring.







We found a great place for supper and indulged in fresh fish for supper while watching the tide come in.
After supper it was back to the beach to enjoy the setting sun. Breathtakingly beautiful and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore was so restful.

The next day we drove south as far as Florence, stopping to take lots of pictures and to visit the famous sea lion caves. .
As promised, it was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed the scenery topless again.

We found a hotel in the early afternoon and then went looking for adventure. We found it at the Sand dunes where we rented ATV's.

Now I was a little out of my comfort zone - I'm usually uncomfortable on the BACK of an ATV. But I gave it a try and tried at least to look as though I knew what I was doing. It was alot of fun, I must say.
The next morning it was raining - hard. But we headed north with Canon Beach as our destination. Even under heavy skies, the coastline is beautiful.

At Canon Beach we again looked for a hotel on the beach. The first one we went to wanted over $400.00 / night for one room! Finding that a bit rich for our pocketbooks we turned into the next road to a weathered group of buildings advertising rooms. We found ourselves a gem of a place.

Gorgeous views, seaside decor and ambiance to spare.

Enjoying a class of wine just a step outside our rooms.

Haystack Rock at Canon Beach.

From the Master Artist's Canvas -

'Still Lifes' embedded in the sand after the tide retreated.

This jelly fish was left high and dry - a creature out of it's watery home - for us to marvel over.

The next day we headed back north and home. A wonderful trip made so enjoyable by sharing it with our next door neighbours/friends.

Cruising with the Neighbours – Washington State

When our neighbours bought a Pontiac Soltice Convertible last year the four of us began making plans for a "Topless" holiday.

Well the weather has not exactly been conducive to topless driving but we decided to go anyway and perhaps we could find a little sun.

We heard that it wasn't raining in Leavenworth so off we went.

At Stevens Pass it wasn't raining but there was still snow on the ground.

Near Leavenworth the sun peeked out for a short while and we cruised into town with the tops down.

After spending the evening window shopping, we stayed the night at the Enzian Inn, enjoying a lovely piano concert in the hotel lobby before going to bed.

The next day we heard that sunny skies were predicted for the Oregon Coast on Sunday so we headed south to the Columbia River and Oregon.

Stopping for pictures in Eastern Washington.

As you can see it wasn't topless weather here.

Near Goldendale "Bugly", our VW, began coughing a little so it was a good thing we'd brought along our mechanic. Harv did a little magic to the fuel pump which seemed to solve the problem.

Once we got near the Columbia River Gorge we took advantage of the sunny skies and enjoyed the view.

There's a good reason the wind turbines are located here. The winds were strong enough to make whitecaps on the river. As we headed closer to the coast, the winds diminished and the rain clouds gradually turned to white cumulus clouds and we traveled under mostly clear skies.

Stay tuned for the Oregon Coast.