Off Across the Country

For some time, Heidelbeere has been trying to convince us that we should go on vacation with her and her family.  This spring we finally did; we went with them to the Pacific Northwest.  To Oregon specifically. Our reluctance was because we didn't want to intrude, I've heard too many stories about parents and in-laws crashing vacations and get-togethers and ruining an otherwise good time.  Boundaries and all that jazz.  But they finally convinced us they really did want us there so we went, and let them set the agenda and all.  For us, just being there was more than enough.  It had been a long time since I had been there and Brombeere had never been to this part of the country. We were excited to be going. We had actually been planning a trip on our own to this part of the country anyway, probably next year.  So going in any case was a win for us, going with Heidelbeere was an added bonus.  They'd been there before and were also excited to be going back. This was going to be a good time!  So we made the initial plans and reservations.  

Late in the game, Maulbeere talked to Heidelbeere and arranged to tag along so we tucked her in with us and we were all set.  The day finally came, Maulbeere got to our house the day before we were to leave, and the next day, with all the packing done, we crammed it all in our little car and took off for the airport!

The airport we left from was small, which was wonderful - I really don't like airports and airplanes. Not for fear of flying but because they are hard to navigate and uncomfortable for me. But we made it onto the first plane for the first leg of the trip.

Our flight included a layover in Minneapolis.

We survived the transfer and were soon on our way to Portland.

We got into Portland as the sun was setting.  That made for a real pretty view of the sunset.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a real clear view from where we were sitting on the plane.  But what we saw was still very nice.  

But finally we made it to Portland, found our way through this gigantic airport (fortunately, we had some real good help with that), got our rental car picked up, and ventured forth from the airport.  We were all starving because, except for snack food, we really really hadn't eaten since before we got on the first airplane.  The first order of business was to find something to eat. We did that and went back to the hotel to eat and then get to bed.  That first travel day was so full!  But finally we were settled, which was so good because were were all very tired, even though (local time) it was not so terribly late.

We landed in Portland on a Friday. Heidelbeere and her family weren't planning on getting to the hotel we were all staying at until Sunday so we had Saturday to do some sightseeing before we needed to get to the hotel in the tiny little town of Netarts, OR, where we were all staying. First stop for the day was Multnomah Falls, a little east of Portland. That was beautiful. It's a popular place; a little later in the season you have to make reservations to go there.  Even at the time we were there it was pretty busy but not so bad that we couldn't find a place to park in the small parking lot there. It's in a canyon, there isn't a lot of space available.

The next stop was a little quilt shop in Vancouver, WA.  We wanted to add a state to all the states  Brombeere has ever visited and since she'd never been to Washington we decided to hop across the state line.  And a quilt shop was certainly a good excuse to go there.

Brombeere bought some fabric that reminded her of the ocean.  Then we headed to a little gift shop to look for a magnet (which we found), and then took the Glen L Jackson Memorial Bridge across the Columbia River back into Oregon.

The next stop was a place we'd heard a lot about.  Both Heidelbeere and Moosbeere have been to the pacific northwest before and had told us about a fantastic donut place called Voodoo Doughnut. So, of course, we had to go there.

They have several locations in several states but none in the Midwest so we had to be sure to make this stop.  And it was well worth it.  A quirky little store but they were very good doughnuts.  

Our last stop of the day in the Portland area was to see a troll.  I had learned about these trolls in the last year.  The guy who makes them is from Denmark and has made them all over Europe and the US.  Since there was one in the Portland area we had to stop.  

This troll was named "Ole-Bolle" and is located at the Nordic Northwest Center in Portland.  I find these trolls amazing and was glad we were able to stop.  Well worth the trip.  Then it was off to Netarts and the hotel we were staying at for our week in the pacific northwest. Netarts is a little town on the coast, about 80 miles from Portland.  After all the playing we'd done in and around Portland, it was getting late by the time we got to the hotel and all checked in.  But it was a nice place.

After a full day of sight-seeing, it was nice to get there, get settled in, and get some rest.  This was to be "home base" for the next week while we ventured out for more sight-seeing up and down the Oregon coast.

The next day was Sunday.  We were up early enough to tune into our own ward's services over Zoom.  They had some technical issues at first so there was no sound.  But soon enough they got it fixed and we enjoyed a good Easter program.  We found out later they had begun the day with some excitement.  They were just beginning the opening hymn when the police and fire department showed up. It seems a blower motor had over heated and put out enough smoke to trip the automatic alarm.  So the fire department, some police officers, and an EMT truck all showed up.  The building was evacuated while they checked it out and cleared out the little bit of smoke there was.  Then they they gave the "all clear" and all left and services resumed.  That explained why they were a little slow and having sound trouble at first. The alarm had also notified the folks at church headquarters.  Anyway, the motor was serviced and cleared during the following week - everything was good to go.

After watching our own ward we left the hotel and went into Tillamook to attend church in person there.  Their services were much calmer.  It was nice to go in person.  The rest of the day was a nice, quiet sabbath.  We did a "Sunday drive" down the coast a little ways, just to look around and take in the amazing scenery. Also a walk down to the beach since it wasn't a long way from the hotel.  Heidelbeere and her family arrived in the afternoon and got settled in.  We were happy to see them and they were happy to be out of the car after driving over 800 miles.  They had broken the trip into two days and were plenty happy to finally be there. 

Monday morning a few of us made another trip into Tillamook to hit the grocery store and pick up a few things we would need in the coming week, mostly groceries.  

After lunch, our first stop was north of Netarts a little bit, at Cape Meares lighthouse. A "cape", in the geographical sense of the word, is a point of land jutting out into the sea.  In Oregon, capes are very common and often quite elevated above the water.  That is the case with Cape Meares.  So the lighthouse is actually only a little more than the size of a regular house but sits high on the cliff top above the water. Higher than a lot of regular lighthouses elsewhere.  But first, we stopped at an observation deck overlooking the ocean.  It was an amazing view, down the cliff face to the rocky shoreline quite a ways below.

It was a short walk down a path from the observation deck but also had an amazing view.

The path did go on down beyond the lighthouse.  It was all a wooded area and very beautiful.

A short walk the other direction from the lighthouse is what they call the Octopus Tree.  It's a Sitka Pine, estimated to be 250-300 years old.  How it got to be the shape it is has been debated.  Some think it was shaped by Native Americans as a landmark.  Others think it's natural.  In any case, it's an interesting tree.

The next stop was into Tillamook to visit the Tillamook Creamery.  They make all kinds of stuff there, ice cream and cheese being the main stays.  I worked in the cheese industry when I was in college and my grandparents ran a dairy herd for a while so I am familiar with the cheese making process from the cow to the grocery shelf.  I was helping one of my uncles with the milking once when he offered to show me where the milk came from on the cow.  When I leaned in real close to get a good look I got a squirt of milk in the face instead.  But I digress.  I was kind of amazed to see how much the cheese making process has changed since I was involved in it.  At the Tillamook Creamery it was totally automated and enclosed.  Very interesting (to me anyway) and very different.  They have a food court at the creamery so we stopped and enjoyed some of their very good ice cream.  Another worthwhile stop on our vacation on the coast.

After the creamery, we headed north again to Rockaway Beach to play and have dinner on the beach.  Being the first of April, nobody had any desire to get in the water; it was still plenty cool for that.  But the sand can be a lot of fun.  The kids played in the sand while the grownups walked and looked for shells and other interesting things laying in the sand.  We even tried to get a kite up but, despite all the wind, couldn't get it to stay up very well.

As the kids played, the grownups got a fire going and let it burn down to some good coals.  Then everybody came and we roasted hot dogs over the fire as the sun set.  A very nice way to pass the evening and end the day.

The next day we headed south to Newport, OR.  On the way we spent time looking for the Drift Creek Falls, a waterfall aways south of Netarts.  We knew it was a bit of a hike but it sounded like a real nice waterfall.  We never did find it. Apparently it's completely undeveloped. Not even a parking lot or a trailhead sign. We followed the GPS and the road signs but never found it.  We did find a cool little covered bridge, though, near where the falls were supposed to be.

After giving up the search for the falls and heading south again, we stopped at the Boiler Bay State Lookout, a little north of Depoe Bay. This was an amazing lookout over a very rough stretch of ocean front. Lots of turbulent water. It was easy to see how it got its name. We stopped there and ate the picnic lunch we had brought.

The plan in coming south was to meet Moosbeere and his family in Newport for dinner and another evening on the beach. We met at the Newport Chowder Bowl. That was a bit of a drive north for Moosbeere's family, from where they were vacationing, but it was a favorite of theirs.  And it certainly was good.  Fresh seafood, right on the coast.

After dinner everybody went to the Nye Beach, which was right there by the restaurant, and played on the beach some more. The water was way too rough to get in, and it was still windy and cold.  But the kids had a good time playing in the sand while the grownups talked and visited.  Another excellent way to spend an evening.   

All too soon, it was time for everyone to head back to their hotels. So we said our good-byes and were on our way.

The next day everybody slept late so we got a slow start, which was perfectly okay with me.  We rented some beachcombing tools and just spent the bulk of the day right there in Netarts, at the Happy Camper Beach.  The tide was out and the kids dug in the sand, looking for whatever they could find that was of interest. Some even got in the water a little. Lots of shells and stuff there at the water's edge and just in the water.  

We got to see plenty of wildlife on the beach, too.  Heidlebeere found a tiny little hermit crab.  We watched loons fishing and saw plenty of seagulls flying and standing around, waiting for a handout.  A seal swam into the inlet and a big, old sealion was lounging on the sand bar across the way.

As the afternoon wore on and the tide began coming in, several people showed up and began "crabbing", catching crabs.  They had traps they'd bait with something like a chicken leg and then throw it out in the water, as far as they could throw them.  Then they'd wait five or ten minutes and haul them in to see what they had caught.  This one guy was using three traps and catching something nearly every time but apparently there's rules about what you can keep.  They have to be male and over a certain size.  He was throwing most of what he caught back in.  But it was interesting to watch.

Beginning a little ways south of Netarts, there is a peninsula that runs to the north and ends near the north end of Netarts, which is where the Happy Camper Beach is. So out beyond the end of the peninsula, we could see the waves pounding in from the ocean.  Like every other day we'd been to the beach, these waves were big and hard.  I was glad for the peninsula and that it was taking the beating instead of the beach we were sitting on.  I think one of the reasons we were seeing so much wildlife was because of the calmer water inside the peninsula.  It was making a nice buffer.  

One thing we kept seeing as we drove up and down the coast were signs relating to tsunamis.  I'd never given much thought to them as a hazard before.  Sure, we knew what they were and on those times when they'd  make the news, we'd hear of them. But I'd never given them much thought beyond that.  But here, on the pacific coast, they would be a constant hazard to keep in mind, like tornados and hurricanes.  It was eye opening.

The next day we all drove into Portland. Heidlebeere hadn't been here when we did all our sight-seeing so we went back to see some things they wanted to see.  First stop was a bridge they wanted to see, St Johns Bridge.  Specifically, they wanted to see it from Cathedral Park, which was under the bridge in Portland. So we went there and let the kids play in the park for a while, work off some of the energy kids always seem to be filled with.

After that we went to another park, the Ester Short Park and Playground.  We didn't spend a lot of time at this park because it kept trying to rain.  But the kids did get some more play time in and were happy.

Then we went back to Voodoo Doughnuts for some more yummy donuts.  Everybody loved it. 

Friday morning, Heidlebeere and Maulbeere wanted to go get their nails done. Brombeere wasn't so excited to do that so she chose instead to visit a little quilt shop in Tillamook. It's wasn't right in Tillamook, more a little southwest of town.  The owner had converted her garage into a shop so it was out in the country, on a farm.  Fortunately, there were a couple of signs along the way so we knew we were on the right track.

The road back to Netarts followed Killam Creek for a ways and it was in that creek that we saw a most interesting bird.  I have no idea when kind it was.  We also saw a great white egret but it took off when we slowed to get a picture.

After lunch we wanted to go see the Neskowin Ghost Forest, at Neskowin, OR.  This was another place Heidlebeere had been before.  You can only visit it at low tide.  It's a bunch of ancient tree stumps sticking up out of the water just off the beach.  That's why you can only see it at low tide.  At high tide they're under water.  Alas, this time there was a small river running across the beach, cutting off access to the the stumps (unless you wanted to go wading pretty deep) so they didn't get to the best view of the stumps.  But the visit to the beach was still pretty nice.

After the beach it was back to the hotel for dinner.  A dinner of leftovers so we could empty the fridge and cupboards as much as possible as this was our last day.  Then back to our room to do as much of the packing as we could before going to bed.  Saturday promised to be a long day.

When we turned in the rental car we'd had we had put nearly 1,000 miles on it. Then it was another full day of airplanes ...

... and airports, a full day of travel back to home.  We got in pretty late in the evening, all tired and worn out from a full week of vacationing and a full day of travel.  But it sure beat driving all that way and back.

After all the unpacking was done there was nothing left but the detritus of our souvenirs and the memories of the good times we'd had.  And it was a very good time. But we're already looking forward to the next excursion. We just need to decide when and where ...