We happened upon places Oregonians go: food trucks, Powell’s books, Fred Meyer, and the Tillamook Cheese Factory. The cheese factory turned out to be a big hit. We ate grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream cones for our anniversary lunch. They were delicious.
Having a gas station attendant fill up our car with fuel took us by surprise. I enjoyed sights from the airplane window, the color of the sky when we arrived on the tarmac, and an Octopus tree that defies explanation. We had a wonderful 25th Anniversary holiday get-a-way.
Thank you, husband. I’m glad you married me 25 years ago. Lord willing, we’ll get 25+ more years together.
I was amazed at all the trees and roses in Oregon towering over me. The old growth trees in Siuslaw National Forest were magnificent. The Giant Spruce Tree at Cape Perpetua was certifiably giant, and the coastal road was cut through tall trees as it went up to the capes and back down. It makes for a very scenic drive which my father would love.
Most of the lighthouses were tall, but Cape Meares was a short thing positioned at just the right height for ships at sea.
I had to take a picture of Sacagawea’s statue at the rebuilt Fort Clatsop where Lewis and Clark overwintered before heading back east. (During their winter stay, they experienced only 12 days without rain. During my summer stay, I had 10 days with at least some sun.) Sacagawea may not have been tall, but what she accomplished with a baby strapped to her back is magnificent indeed.
We enjoyed looking in the tide pools below Cape Perpetua where Dale spotted all manner of creatures. Watching the cormorant land with their feet extended forward made us laugh as did the antics of the sea lions.
A big fat dad sea lion was busy bossing around the young males who were caught up in a wrestling match and jumping into the sea. The dad would belly flop himself into the ocean and chase them back up on the rock where the young males would attempt to escape by hiding in and amongst the sleeping masses. We could hear his roaring from up on the cliff.
Our happiest day on the coast was our anniversary when we found 17 whole sand dollars on a lone stretch of beach.
We spent our final three days in Oregon driving up the coast from the dunes to Astoria. The scenery was spectacular and the wind was howling. When we crossed the Coast Range from the Valley to the Pacific, the temperature dropped 20 degrees and the wind picked up to a ferocious level. (When it’s hot in the valley, it’s windy on the coast.)
Jeff and Janet had warned us of how cold it could be. Telling us of how Jeff spent his first coast holiday wearing a trench coat on the beach. It wasn’t until the wind died down on the third day that I saw a guy shirtless on the beach.
Dale wasn’t too keen about the wind, but was a good sport to stop at the various capes, viewpoints, state parks, and lighthouses. When we came down from the capes, we found some sunny sheltered beaches. However, we never observed anyone laying out on a towel and getting a tan.
Dale drove the scenic route between heirloom roses and the Oregon Garden. Throughout our drives, we saw orchards, vineyards, berry farms, tree farms, greenhouses, nurseries, crops, hops, cows, goats, and alpacas. I was most astounded by the fields of Japanese Maples. Oregon is truly an agriculture state.
In support of all the agriculture and to spur on more people to grow things, they have created the Oregon Garden. Each garden is designed to give people ideas for what they can plant or create in their backyard.
Do you want to create a children’s garden or a native planting or a woodlands or a conifer garden or a medicinal garden or a wetlands or a sensory garden or a bosque? They’ll give you plenty of ideas and show you how to do it.
Dale enjoyed the plant whose leaves smelled like peanut butter. Janet admired the chickens. (She loves chickens.) Jeff cooled off under the massive grape vine.
And for the first time in my life, I heard a hummingbird sing.
