The kids have the week off from school for Spring Break. Since I have a bunch of leave time that I must start using, I took the week off too. We decided that a short break to Oregon would be a drivable, fun distraction from just staying at home. We kicked off the festivities with a camping trip for me and Ian on the weekend. Catherine and Leah had a roller skating party which kept them partially occupied while we were gone.
On Monday we took a leisurely drive to Oregon, crossed the Coastal Range and made our way to little, sleepy Waldport, Oregon. We've rented a house that overlooks the Pacific, which has been wonderful! We've also completely lucked out weather-wise. Rain at night and in the mornings, followed by beautiful sunshine in the afternoons.
Tuesday we headed north into Newport to do some exploring. We were shut down by the Marine Museum (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays - fortunately open on Thursday which we'll hit on our way to Portland). It rained while we explored the downtown, then the rain stopped after lunch.
We drove north about five to ten minutes to Yaquina Head to check out the lighthouse. The highlight for Ian was spotting the nesting Peregrine Falcons at the visitor's center. Someone had said there were Peregrine Falcons there. I told Ian to look for them and within a nanosecond he had spotted them - I wouldn't have found them without him!
We came back to home for dinner (fresh seafood). Since the weather was holding, I decided to make my way down to the Newport Marina for some photos. The light wasn't that good, and the marina wasn't quite full enough to make a compelling photograph, so I headed back to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. I had the park to myself.
With about 20 minutes of light remaining, it started to rain pretty hard. So I packed up and headed back to the house in time to sing goodnight to the kids. Wednesday we headed south to Yachats and the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. They have the highest point along the coast that one can drive up to, which we did. They have an observation bunker a very short hike away (about five minutes) from the parking lot with great views along the coast. The kids had a nice time running around the bunker and playing hide and seek.
On the coast are some very cool features - the Devil's Churn, the Spouting Horn, and this one below which is NOT advertised anywhere - Thor's Well. I have more photos of that one that will be posted sometime in the future that I took at sunset. Easily one of the most amazing sunset experiences I've ever had. The tide was coming in, the waves were smashing into shore shooting water high into the air with a colorful sun and storm in the distance. Good times.
Have a wonderful day everybody - we sure will!
Marc
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