After driving south on the Oregon coast, we landed in tiny Rockaway Beach for the night. Unlike many of the more popular, busy spots along the coastline, this quiet beach was just our speed. A handful of motels and low-rise condos, cute beach cottages, a few restaurants and shops, and a very light smattering of people on the beach. Here's the cute little motel we stayed at. It wasn't fancy, but was clean, pet-friendly, and had a super friendly staff, so it suited us perfectly fine for a night. It was only half a block from the beach. And they had absolutely delicious fresh coffee cake in the morning along with Starbucks coffee. A lovely surprise! We had a separate cottage, which we liked since there was no one stomping around above us. It was actually on the back side of the one in this photo (to the right), but the lighting was better on this side for a photo. Here's the sandy beach, just a quick walk from the motel. It was almost deserted at around 5pm. Perfect! After checking out the beach, we took a short walk through town, checking out the few restaurants. We decided on a takeout pizza from Upper Crust, and it was a fine choice indeed. We can definitely recommend this place if you're ever in the area. After chowing down on our delicious 'za, we headed back out to the beach. Western-facing beaches at sunset are amazing, and Paisley had as much fun as we did enjoying the last moments of beautiful sunshine of the day. Paisley was fascinated by the seagulls in the sand. She loves chasing birds, so we have to keep her close at hand. I think this is maybe my favorite photo of Paisley ever. Everyone looks amazing during the "golden hour"! Goodbye sun... The next morning we continued our drive down the beautiful Oregon coast, but that's for the next post. Stay tuned!
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Leaving Portland, we wanted to see the Oregon coast for the first time ever, so we actually drove northwest and back into Washington State so we could cross the long bridge into Astoria, Oregon. The drive was beautiful. Here's the bridge across the Columbia River over to Astoria. It's too long to fit in one photo. And this is the portion leading right into the city (under repair, thus the coverings on the left side). We didn't actually stop in Astoria as we wanted to see as much of the coast as we could and get some quality beach time in, so we continued south from there along Oregon Coastal Highway 101. Friends Terese and Rick recommended that we check out Cannon Beach, and we're so glad we listened to them. There are many possible places to stop along the way, but this was a real treat. We were hungry for lunch when we arrived so started with that. We found this great little authentic Mexican place where we could have Paisley join us outside while we ate. The food was delicious, and the setting perfect. And Paisley loved it too! Proceeding down to the beach, we found it absolutely stunning and incredibly wide. Just look at it! The houses along the seashore looked like something I associate with Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard -- not that I've ever been either of those places! They were charming and beachy, though, and I am sure they cost a pretty penny. I was determined to get my toes in the Pacific Ocean, and I did. And yes, it was boo chilly! We ended up walking a long ways down the beach to get to the far side of Haystack Rock so the sun would be right for photos. Here it is to the left in the photo below. Note that the haziness in the photo is from sea fog and not camera blur or a smudged lens! Haystack Rock is on the right below with smaller rocks to the left.... The crashing waves were awesome! After enjoying our long beach walk, we had room for a little dessert, so walked back into town and spied this cupcake place, Simply Cakes. Sounded good to us! Paisley was hoping we might bring her something. Sorry little girl, not this time! I got a chocolate-peanut butter filled cupcake for myself and a chocolate-raspberry filled cupcake for Barry. We inhaled them. So so good! Hitting the road again and continuing south to our destination for the night, tiny Rockaway Beach, we stopped several times along the way at overlooks to take photos. The scenery speaks for itself. Beautiful beaches and mountains side by side -- stunning! Ahhhhh.... Up next: Rockaway Beach!
We've been having some sunny and warm weather here on North Padre Island since the "polar vortex" has moved on -- and good riddance! Beach walks, bike rides, watching birds, and a bountiful German bakery are four the "B"s we've been enjoying lately. It's a tough life, but someone's gotta live it! BeachWe're just a block from Whitecap Beach, a great place to walk and watch birds, despite the ubiquitous pickup trucks driving up and down. They really mess up the sand, so you are limited to walking right at the shoreline. There were thousands of dead starfish littering the shoreline. Barry suggested the die-off may have occurred due to the unusually cold conditions towards the beginning of our time here. I think he's probably right. It was very sad to see. Bike ridesAlthough it's pretty breezy here, Barry has been a cycling machine, riding nearly every day. I haven't gotten out quite as often but have enjoyed several good rides, including a 40-miler yesterday, when we rode into the Padre Island National Seashore for the first time. Prior to this we've ridden up to the entrance and turned back. Park Road 22, the only way to get to the park, has a wide shoulder and traffic is relatively light this time of year, but it's rather bone-jarring on a bike without suspension, closer to chip-seal than silky smooth asphalt. So it wears us out a bit to ride but is worth it in the end. This time we paid the $5 each to get a week's entry pass into the park. It was definitely worth seeing. There's a nice visitor's center, rest rooms (always welcome on a long bike ride!), a small campground, and a beautiful stretch of beach. Padre Island is the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world -- who knew? It's definitely beautiful. 4WD vehicles are allowed to drive 20 miles south on the beach after the pavement ends, but there's no bridge or ferry over to the very popular South Padre Island. To get there, you have to go back inland and south on the highway, and it's over three hours driving time from Corpus Christi! The sand is packed down at the beginning of the beach where the paved road ends, so we were able to ride a little bit even on our road bikes, but a beach bike would be fun here. There were a couple of small RVs parked here...what a place to camp this would be, with the sound of the waves breaking all night long! BirdsSouth Texas is a well-known birding destination, and even though we haven't even hit many of the "official" hot spots yet, we've been able to do plenty of casual birding along the beach and ponds near the condo we're staying in and have already added several new birds to our life lists. BakeryWe walked over to the nearby German bakery yesterday for the first time. The selection was amazing! Here is what we came home with to reward ourselves for our long bike rides. Several different strudels, a slice of plum cake, a pumpkin seed "coin", and more. Of course a lot of this bounty went into the freezer for later, but we sampled a few. Excellent! All in all, life's pretty good here on the Texas coast in January!
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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