Sea lions, tide pools and sunsets

I'm a day behind on my photos, so here is what happened yesterday... In the morning we woke and went to the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (a Bureau of Land Management-BLM-designation), just north of Newport, Oregon. This is - big surprise - the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, which is Oregon's tallest lighthouse at 93 feet tall. The light has been active since 1873. Newport is on the northern part of the Central Oregon Coast - the region we're exploring.
As you walk down some stairs, you get to a cobblestone beach - which is at low tide in this photo. Rebecah (Director, Central Oregon Coast Association) said that it sounds really neat when the water is up and the waves wash over the cobblestones.
A closer view of the gray rocks/cobblestones.
As you walk further out, the cobbles give way to rocky tidepools where you see seaweeds, seastars, anemones, mussels and so much more. This is Rebecah checking them out.
A purple-colored ochre seastar.
Another view of seaweeds, seastars, anemones
All of the rocky islands and islets off the Oregon coast are protected as part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. This is Eileen checking out the sign on the walkway down to the beach.
A view of the islets and the cliffs from Yaquina Head ONA.
Nest we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and we got "kisses" from a California sea lion named Lea. After that we meandered the aquarium which is very large and impressive. My photos didn't turn our fabulous and I prefer the natural areas but it really was a nice one, especially for kids.
This was one of my favorite places so far. I don't know why but I just had a blast getting a tour of this brewery. It's not even a microbrewery anymore, but a regional brewery because it's larger in size. It's officially called the Rogue Ales World Headquarters and we even met the brewmeister himself, John Maier.
The brewery has a restaurant called Brewer's on the Bay and it overlooks the scenic Newport Bayfront where boats are docked in their slips. They make a gazillion (OK maybe not QUITE that many) and they also sell other companys' beers. You can order a sampler, which I did. I had them listed out and of course I lost the paper... so these may not be in the right order as shown but I tried the Hazelnut Brown, Ginger (not listed on their beer list, and it is a beer not a soda pop drink), Mom Hefeweizen, Chamamellow (with chamomile), Orange Honey Ale. My fave was the hazelnut! But what I REALLY loved was - get this - the chocolate stout ice cream float!!! Of course, when I saw it on the menu, I had to try it. I thought it sounded completely disgusting but in fact it was freaking delicious!!! Go figure.
Next, we wandered around the Newport Historic Bayfront area. I wandered off to find the public bathroom when I heard a sea lion barking. I thought maybe it was some artificial sound to attract people to some store, but no, in fact it was a group of them hanging on a dock. They remind me so much of that children's book Sammy the Sea Lion (wasn't that what it was called? Now I cant find it on Google). Anyway so... they're just cute and cantankerous. These people are hanging over the dock looking at...
These guys. Ar ar ar! Here's a video I recorded.
Big boy!
Love this sign in one of the windows. As a Cancer I totally wanted the crab hat. But alas the store was closed.
I bought some handmade truffles not to mention a boatload of saltwater taffy!
This was the alcohol day, I guess! Next we went to the Flying Dutchman Winery, owned by Richard (Dick) Cutler and his family (he also manages the Inn at Otter Crest where we stayed this night - another stellar resort. I'm getting seriously spoiled). The Flying Dutchman doesn't have their own vineyard but instead buy grapes from five Oregon vineyards and then make the wines here in the salt air along the coast. I believe he said they don't sell it at any restaurants or stores, and so it's very exclusive and several of their wines have won awards. I'm no wine connoisseur but I had fun tasting them!
And THIS is the view they have out the back of their winery!! The yellow flowering things are Scottish broom which is apparently a non-native weed, but it still makes for a pretty picture. But the scenery would be gorgeous without them too. What a view. Dick told us that his kids are involved in the biz too so he has grandkids underfoot and he couldn't ask for anything more. I think I am beginning to know where I may want to move after my kids graduate from high school! We have been blessed with sun every day, but that's not that typical of the Oregon coast.
I thought this made a cool pic!
Richard graciously gave us each a bottle of wine, signed by him. Wow! What a gift! They are like $38 bottles of wine...
Me, Pat Cusick (who works at the PR firm representing the Oregon coast), Rebeca, Dan High (sales manager at the winery), and Eileen a writer who wrote How to Be A Sister: A Love Story with a Twist of Autism about growing up with an autistic sister. She also has an autism blog at Psychology Today, and now works at Media America writing about the Oregon coast. Here's some of her stuff on the Travel Oregon blog. There were not many writers on this trip. One cancelled last minute but they've had up to 13 in past years. This area is absolutely fantabulous and the trip is great. I think I've gained about 10 pounds...
After the winery, we ate dinner at "the original" Mo's - a local Oregon chain - and then stopped to shoot this pic on the way to the hotel (The Inn at Otter Crest). The Oregon coast has a lot of these rivers flowing into the ocean. The Inn at Otter Crest is set on 35 forested acres. The rooms are condos that owners rent out so each one is different but they have fireplaces, desks, kitchenettes. The condos are set up on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and I watched the sun set through the window. And... I saw the green flash for the first time ever!! I actually had thought maybe it was an urban myth, or something people tell others they have seen as sort of an inside joke , but no I really saw it right after the sun sank into the sea (I used to think the Green Flash was a superhero! Ha!)
This is Gull Rock which was visible out my room's window.

Oregon coast is paradise!

Sunset this evening, through my window at the Salishan Spa & Golf Resort, Gleneden Beach, OR
All photos copyright (c) 2011 Wendee Holtcamp

I've been in Oregon since Thursday and I want to share all my photos of my trip so far (including visiting my dad's Crackerbox Palace - aka log cabin in the woods) and a gathering of writers in Portland and seeing my 7th grade BFF but first, I'm going to share the images of the beautiful Central Oregon coast because I spent the last half of today exploring and photographing and it's freshest on my mind -so this is 'live and in person'! Right now, I'm sitting in an incredible hotel room complete with a gas fireplace, couch, King-sized bed, massive bathroom - and a view you see above...

The natural beauty of Oregon inspires me. Yes, I'm from here, and yes my visit is hosted by the Central Oregon Coast Association or COCA but I'm not just saying that because COCA is sponsoring my trip. Anyone who has been to the Oregon coast will pretty much say the same thing! It rains a lot and there are often clouds, but the entire coast (that I have seen before - and more this trip) has absolutely breathtaking scenery.

At any rate, this morning I left my dad's place and headed south of Portland and when I got near Corvallis, headed coast-ward up and over the mountains to Newport, a small town right near the coast. There I met up with the Executive Director of COCA who is driving me around (we are meeting up with a couple others tomorrow). We have only had half a day on the coast so far but I've taken so many pictures already that I wanted to upload them or I'll never be able to catch up when I get home. So here are some images to whet your appetite! Most of these I took with my Android phone, which has some apps that allow me to create cool-looking images, but others are from my Canon SLR.

First we went to the Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center (run by Oregon State Parks - and free to the public). Gray whales can be spotted here year-round. Right now they are migrating northward, and just minutes before we got there a mother and calf swam by but we didn't see any. Bummer! Orcas, seals and sea lions can also be spotted. We saw a couple of sea lions on the jetty (visible with the multiple pairs of binoculars provided at the center).

We drove a mile up the road to Boiler Bay where we thought maybe we would spot the mother and calf, but no luck. However it was beautiful! Notice the waterfall on the right.

Next we stopped in at Alder House III - the "oldest glassblowing studio in the Pacific NW."
Buzz Williams, owner of Alderhouse, shows us how he creates glassware.

ome glass balls (floats) in the studio.

Loved the look of all the colorful glass artwork!
Funky tilt lens effect on a St. Francis statuette.

I had hardly eaten all day so was very excited about dinner. We ate at the 3-star Bay House Restaurant in Lincoln City. I had the Alaskan halibut with cucumber, baby bok choy, coriander, meyer lemon, celeriac, and micro-arugula. It was tender, flavorful, and beautifully presented.

Owner Stephen Wilson sat and chatted with us for a while. They use as much locally farmed veggies and meat as possible and did so way before it became popular to. I also got a lesson in what it means to be 3, 4, and 5 star. Wow! They have to jump through hoops to get those stars! Interesting stuff.

Holy yumness, the truffles were gorgeously presented and freaking delicious. In fact I nibbled two halves, then took the rest back to my hotel room where I had them in front of the fireplace with a cup of coffee!

There was a guy catching sand shrimp out the window as we ate - can you see him on the right?These shrimp are apparently bait for catching halibut. While we ate, the sun peeped out of the clouds and then it gradually cleared up! Sun on the Oregon coast - I couldn't ask for more! The forecast had called for rain all week so I'm very happy. I thought this image was Boiler Bay but it turns out it's actually Siletz Bay that the Bay House overlooks.

The sun through the clouds over Siletz Bay near Lincoln City (where the Bay House sets). And you know what? My stepdad's parents lived here for many years, and I spent one Thanksgiving there as a kid. We are going to go visit their house on the trip. My stepdad's dad passed away many years ago and his mom moved to Sequim, WA but now she lives near them in Dallas.

After dinner we walked down to the bay/beach and I accidentally shot this with my phone. I thought it looked totally surreal and beautiful. I want to start a website with accidental photos!

This is my room at The Salishan Spa & Golf Resort. The room is huge, and decorated in ranch style luxury. This pic doesn't do it justice!
And that brings us to... the sunset over the bay!

But before I leave you for tonight I wanted to give you a taste of the images I shot at my dad's log cabin, aka the Crackerbox Palace as he calls it. This is a window of the bathroom from the outside.

And the cabin itself. Very small, quaint, rustic. Home! I spent every summer here and lived with my dad here for two years when I was 8 through 10.

Goodbye to Oregon! For now...

A seagull playing in the freshwater creek that spills into the Pacific on the Oregon coast, north of Newport. Copyright (c) 2011 Wendee Holtcamp

"Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." - Mark Twain

I'm home now! In a couple days, I'll add some from my visit to my dad's Crackerbox palace (aka log cabin in the woods) and a few others from my trip to Portland. But for now, I wanted to post the final images from the Central Oregon coast. On the last day of our trip (Friday), we went on a truly crazy wild dune buggy ride at Sandland Adventures. The dune buggy ride at Sand Master Park had nothing on this one!

We met the dune buggy driver at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area which is technically part of the Siuslaw National Forest.

It was an absolutely beautiful area, with mountains and evergreen trees but with miles and miles of cafe-au-lait colored sand dunes - but we were told not to bring cameras or cell phones because if it gets lost in the sand, it's gone for good. And the dune buggy ride was like a roller coaster. We were strapped in tight and thank God for that! We went down several extremely high and steep dunes - the highest being a whopping 390 feet drop! I thought it was quite fun and it gave me butterflies but not everyone in our group was loving it!

Riding in the buggy up and around and down the dunes can be a massive adrenaline rush especially if you don't like heights or not being in control... And lack of control is an issue I have devoted the last few years overcoming and I can honestly say I am not really scared of flying anymore (though I had some mild trepidation before up in the helicopter the day before, I did it and was not scared!) - and I can also imagine that if the driver had pushed it just a little bit more, I probably would've been a bit scared. But I had a blast!

So, after almost dying (ha ha - just kidding) on the dune buggy ride, we headed to a much calmer experience in historic downtown Florence. We checked out this yummy bakery (which had a delicious gluten-free cheddar-dill scone) and then went to the Siuslaw River Coffee Roasters where I had a soy misto redeye, with Mexican chocolate...and then we wandered around a bit and shopped.

And while out, our fearless leader Rebecah decided she wanted to sit on some motorcycles of these guys who were on the street. So we did. And borrowed their jackets. I didn't get a shot of Rebecah but below are a couple pics of me and Eileen on our turn on the bikes. No, we didn't ride them!Me on the bike. I would never drive a motorcycle - too scary! I have ridden on several in the past, but couldn't do it on a regular basis. Drivers are just too careless...Would you?
One of Conde McCoullough's famous Oregon bridges - in downtown/Old town Florence. After this, we headed back to Newport where our cars were, but not before stopping in Yachats (pronounced Yah-hots) for lunch at the Green Salmon Cafe and Teahouse, a place recommended to me by one of my Twitter followers (follow me on Twitter here)! It was awesome! Here's their menu. I had the sustainable tuna melt, and this delish ginger coffee - called Kopi Jahe.
We took this silly hat photo at The Drift Inn restaurant in Yachats the night before - which had a really diverse menu and good food. The place had a quirky feel, which made me feel right at home! It had some info about the Oregon Country Fair, which naturally made me think of my brother! Anyway, after saying our goodbyes, we went our separate ways. My flight didn't leave until midnight, so I drove slowly back to Portland via the coast.
I decided to stop roadside and watch the ocean for a while. This spot just north of Newport is where I stopped, photographed, relaxed, journaled and listened to the waves.
These seagulls were all hanging out where the freshwater creek spilled into the ocean and after a bit of watching them I realized they were drinking the water. They were also splashing and bathing in it! I didn't know seagulls bathe in the freshwater, but they certainly did. Ya learn something new every day!
Another shot of the area - love these rounded river rocks.
And a view of a large piece of driftwood!
After staring for a while, I also noticed that there were these pillars of sand on top of the larger rocks in the creek bed. Pretty cool.The wave is chasing me! So, until next time... Which may not be too far away. I am taking my kiddos on a summer trip to California so my daughter can look at a few colleges and originally I was going to go to San Francisco and then drive south to L.A., now I'm thinking seriously of driving north to the Oregon coast instead and taking my kids to experience some of this awesomeness! I need to pitch some articles on the cool stuff I saw! The ones I'm leaning towards are sandboarding, the Rogue Brewery, and some family travel pieces. Oh and some culinary/food ideas. Oregon is big on farm to fork. And did you know that 99.9% of commercial hazelnuts come from Oregon? See now you have learned at least two new things today!