A Beauty Filled Day

Saturday September 5th was a day full of beauty. It also involved a lot of driving!

I wanted to spend some time together as a family before A returned to LA on Sunday. He spent a week with us including his birthday.

The constraint for Saturday was that I had booked (months ago) to go to the Dahlia Festival at Triple Wren Farms located in Ferndale (up north near the Canadian border). 

I picked Snoqualmie Falls as our morning destination. We took a scenic back road to get there. The leaves are starting to change. 

We enjoyed the views of the falls at the top and I got a coffee from the shop there. Just a note: the customer service was really bad, the girl could barely carry out a conversation. 

We hiked down the lower viewing area. It isn't a long way but it is steep. Coming back was a challenge. I stopped to grab a few blackberries to keep me going. 

It was too early to get lunch so we explored the little town of Snoqualmie. The place I had in mind opened at noon. The TV show Twin Peaks was filmed in the area and we had a brochure telling us where to go on a mini tour of those spots. Alexander has watched this show recently and has friends who are fans.

Jonathan found a place in Snoqualmie (Hot Diggity Doug's) that sells hot dogs and he decided to eat there first.

We had lunch outside at Snoqualmie Brewing and then headed to Woodinville to meet up with Mary. I hadn't done exact logistical planning. We drove home to drop off the guys at our house and then Mary and I headed north.

We had an early dinner in the small town of Lynden which is very Dutch and very Christian. Mary hadn't been there before. We ate at The Mill and were happy with the service and food.

We then drove to Triple Wren Farms. I've been there twice or three times before. This time the festival was at golden hour (the hour before the sun sets) which was perfect.  In the past, they had a u-cut but this time we were just allowed to roam the fields, take as many photos as we wanted and they had buckets of dahlias available to create a bouquet for $1 a stem. 

Mary and I both made notes of which dahlias we like best. I currently have about 12 in my garden. 

When we returned I had to drive Mary to Woodinville since her car was parked in a parking lot. 

I'm so glad that I discovered dahlias and have some in my garden. There are so many different colours and shapes.

 

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A Taste of the Oregon Coast

J agreed to go on a short vacation about a week before we left. I scrambled to make some hotel reservations. I knew that the pickings would be slim. Our time in Oregon was brief but enjoyable.

We started out on Sunday afternoon. I wanted to start with Cape Disappointment lighthouse which is across the Columbia River (on the Washington side) from Astoria, Oregon. I chose a route that I thought would be scenic. Unfortunately it wasn't. It was quite windy with little interest.

We arrived at Cape Disappointment quite late in the day when I was hungry and needed a bathroom. After wandering a bit aimlessly due to poor signage, we were eventually able to see the lighthouse from the viewpoint of the closed visitor centre. I didn't have the energy to hike up to see it.

We drove to Astoria and checked into our motel (Astoria Rivershore Motel). It was right on the highway so it wasn't quiet. The road noise didn't bother me for sleeping but the room had a musty smell. We found fish and chips locally for supper at Buoy Beer Company.

Monday morning we had breakfast at Pig n Pancake which is a chain restaurant in Oregon. We went to Fort Stevens State park. I wanted to see the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale. 

The Peter Iredale went aground in October 1906 due to fog and heavy wind. No lives were lost including two stowaways. The ship wasn't salvageable so it remains as a popular tourist attraction.

The weather wasn't very warm at this point so we didn't stay long. Our next stop on Highway 101 was Seaside for some coffee.

Our next stop was Ecola State Park which is just north of Cannon Beach. This viewpoint is amazing. It is probably one of my favourite spots. J and I have visited it at least twice before.

We saw an entire family of elk on the way down the hill to Cannon Beach.

We stopped in Cannon Beach and it was so busy! Parking was difficult to find. I explored a couple of shops including one that was all socks. We found these benches in front of a store. One bench was labelled Democrats and one was labelled Republicans.

We intended to go see the famous Haystack Rock but decided to skip it since we'd have to find parking again at the south end of town.

We stopped for lunch at the Tillamook Creamery in Tillamook.

They are masters of marketing. The amount of things in their gift store is astounding. The parking lot was full, the eating area was also full, and this was near 2pm. The place feels like a theme park. Our lunch was mac 'n' cheese for J and a salad (with cheese on top) for me. And curds to take with us.

The drive after lunch was beautiful but a bit long. We stopped at Boiler Bay State park Scenic Lookout and we spotted whales in the distance.

Oregon has many small state parks that are viewpoints. One notable stop on the way to Yachats was Depoe Bay. It bills itself as a whale watching location and we did see whales from a tiny park by the side of the road.

I thought this cliffs were pretty.

Our final destination was Yachats. We had no idea how to pronounce the word but apparently it is Ya HATS. Our room at Yachats Inn was old and small but the view was amazing. We were steps from the beach and could hear the sound of the waves in the night. 

We had dinner at a fancy restaurant (called Ona) in town that was very popular. I had meatloaf and J just had clam chowder. We confused the woman bringing the food. She assumed J was eating the meatloaf!

After dinner we explored the town a bit and found a great spot to watch the sunset. We climbed around on rocks and watched the surf.

This is the view of the sunset from just outside our motel room.

The next day we decided to have a cheap breakfast so we drove 30 minutes to Florence for a McDonalds. I was amazed at the sand dunes which bordered the Fred Meyer store.

After getting coffee from Starbucks, we drove to the Sea Lion Caves.

(J wrote this next part)

The Sea Lion Caves are just right there on the side of Highway101 with lots of parking. Apparently the cave is the largest sea cave in the US and was first opened as a tourist destination in 1932. Technically it's a cavern, not a cave, since it's open to the ocean on one hand, so don't worry about it feeling all claustrophobic.

 

To get to it you have to pay $18 each and take a 200 foot elevator, which felt perfectly safe and didn't take very long. The tourist area is spacious with exhibits, but the main event is an overlook which looks out on the huge cave where the sea lions are. 

Peak tourist season isn't peak sea lion season, but there were still a few on the main rock moving around and making lots of noise. If you really want to see the place full of sea lions in every direction you have to come back in winter. A second viewpoint lets you view hundreds of cormorants atop giant rocks and cliffsides.

 

The sound the cormorants make is very loud.

You can actually see a lot more sea lions in summer from the viewpoint back at the top, a short walk from the elevator. 

Be sure to click on this photo to see the sea lions.

But the cave is worth the visit. Some reviews online said to be prepared for an awful smell, but that was not our experience. From an engineering point of view, the history of how the original owners built a staircase to access the cave, and then decades later excavated and installed the elevator is seriously impressive.

Our next stop was Heceta Head lighthouse. We could see it in the distance from the Sea Lion Caves.

From the parking lot you can see this bridge.

The walk up to the lighthouse was a good opportunity for exercise. I bought a miniature lighthouse in the gift shop. J thinks I should have a lighthouse themed mantle.

Next we drove to Newport. It is an interesting combination of a touristy restaurants and shops and hundreds of fishing boats and fish processing plants. I got lunch to go from The Coffee house. I ate while sitting on a bench with a view of the many boats.

Next we found the sea lions. So entertaining! We could hear their barks from blocks away.

Later in the day we went to Yaquina Head lighthouse which is just north of town. The fog was rolling in at this point.

Again we saw seabirds gathering on rocks. I wished that I had binoculars.

We walked down to see tide pools but didn't see any sea life.

We had supper at Ocean Bleu Seafoods on Newport's historic waterfront. I had crab cakes and a salad.

We spotted Agate Beach from Yaquina Head Lighthouse and thought it would be a good sunset spot. Unfortunately, the fog had completely rolled in and we couldn't see very far. It was also very misty. The beach was amazing, though. So many dunes, barely any other people there. 

J thought it would be fun to pretend he was in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

In Newport we stayed at La Quinta Inn which is a reliable chain. Nice large rooms with a complimentary breakfast buffet and a hot tub which we both used. 

On Wednesday we drove home.  Stopped for coffee in Salem. We stopped for lunch in Kelso at Subway. We stopped at quilt store in Chehalis. I bought a pattern to make a cosmetic bag.

I've found that I can't do long stretches in the car anymore. I get too stiff. Two hours is about my limit. We arrived home at 4 pm. I would've liked one more day away but I'm thankful for the beautiful places we saw.

Here is a map of the Oregon coast.

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A Perfect Day on Whidbey Island

Ebey bluff

Jonathan and I got a late start on our day trip. We arrived the Mukilteo ferry terminal at 1025 am. We managed to catch the 1030 ferry. That never happens!

Our first stop was Double Bluff Beach. It is a favourite of mine. We happened to arrive at low tide. We could walk forever. I found some pretty purple shells.

We had lunch at the Flower Café at Bayview Garden with Gwendy, a gal that Jonathan met through his volunteering for political campaigns.

Hanging baskets at Bayview Nursery

Next J and I explored Langley. We like the Start Store. Jonathan picked out a new shirt for himself and I was duly impressed. He's wearing it in the photo above. I spotted these hollyhocks in Langley.

Next was a stop in the town of Coupeville. Next we hiked/walked at Ebey Bluff. The views are amazing. 

We finished the day at Lakeside Bible Camp with a salmon bake with our friends the Nakinishis. We had no wait for the ferry ride home.

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