This past Saturday we loaded up the dogs and headed for the coast. We decided to follow the advice of our landlady and go the back roads along a scenic route. We drove along the Umpqua River for most of the trip and drove past an Elk Reserve where we pulled off to enjoy the sights. After about an hour and a half we were at the small coastal town of Reedsport. From here we took Highway 101 and headed north towards the
Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. Once at the dunes we unloaded the dogs and took off. From the top of the dunes we could see the ocean, but once we started hiking down we lost track of the water (we could still hear it and smell it). We felt like we were in the forest as there were trees and flowers all around us. We certainly did not feel like we were at the beach, and, just a tidbit of information about Oregon....they don't call it the "beach", they call it the "coast". It was a beautiful hike and after about a mile of walking down the dunes and through the woods, all of the sudden we were right beside the ocean! We had the entire beach all to ourselves and so we let the dogs run a little bit and get wet.
After our hike we kept trucking north on highway 101, which runs right along the coast and provides some pretty amazing views. The coast in Oregon is much different then the beaches of North Carolina and Virginia. Instead of miles and miles of sandy beaches, there are miles and miles of rocks and steep cliffs. Our next stop was at the
sea lion cave. We took an elevator 208 feet down into the largest sea cave in the world where you can view hundreds of sea lions lying around and swimming in the water. Just being in this cave was impressive enough, but being able to view the sea lions in their natural habitat was definitely a highlight of our time in Oregon so far!
After seeing the sea lions we drove just a little farther north to the
Heceta Head Lighthouse, which is supposedly the most photographed lighthouse in the world. It was a mile hike to see the lighthouse, and so once we were done walking it was about 5 in the evening and we had left Cottage Grove at 11, so needless to say we were ready for some food, and since we were at the coast, there was no doubt about what we were having for dinner! We drove into old town Florence which is a nice area right on the water that has shops and restaurants. After doing a little shopping we went to a place called the Bridgewater Seafood Restaurant for dinner....we knew it must be good because of its name! The two of us split an appetizer of crab cakes and salmon cakes, and then for our main course we had a fettuccine pasta with homemade marinara sauce that had salmon, scallops, and shrimp in it! It was a delicious meal and to top it off we even had desert...a hot fudge brownie sundae! It was a great day and by the time we pulled back into our driveway Katy was knocked out in the passenger seat and went right inside and to bed....it was only 9:00pm!
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| Katy on skype with June beside our deck! |
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| Eli with Jack...they've come to expect treats! |
On Sunday we enjoyed a gorgeous day of blue skies and temperatures in the 60s! We played tennis in the morning and then went up to Eugene to go to the
5th Street Market Place to do some shopping and grab lunch. When we got back home we enjoyed spending time with the animals and being outside, and then we settled in to watch the super bowl...which came on at 3:30pm for us! It was another great weekend and now we're ready for week 3!
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| Spot |
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| Blue |
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| June |
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| Rex |
This past Saturday we loaded up the dogs and headed for the coast. We decided to follow the advice of our landlady and go the back roads along a scenic route. We drove along the Umpqua River for most of the trip and drove past an Elk Reserve where we pulled off to enjoy the sights. After about an hour and a half we were at the small coastal town of Reedsport. From here we took Highway 101 and headed north towards the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. Once at the dunes we unloaded the dogs and took off. From the top of the dunes we could see the ocean, but once we started hiking down we lost track of the water (we could still hear it and smell it). We felt like we were in the forest as there were trees and flowers all around us. We certainly did not feel like we were at the beach, and, just a tidbit of information about Oregon....they don't call it the "beach", they call it the "coast". It was a beautiful hike and after about a mile of walking down the dunes and through the woods, all of the sudden we were right beside the ocean! We had the entire beach all to ourselves and so we let the dogs run a little bit and get wet.
After seeing the sea lions we drove just a little farther north to the Heceta Head Lighthouse, which is supposedly the most photographed lighthouse in the world. It was a mile hike to see the lighthouse, and so once we were done walking it was about 5 in the evening and we had left Cottage Grove at 11, so needless to say we were ready for some food, and since we were at the coast, there was no doubt about what we were having for dinner! We drove into old town Florence which is a nice area right on the water that has shops and restaurants. After doing a little shopping we went to a place called the Bridgewater Seafood Restaurant for dinner....we knew it must be good because of its name! The two of us split an appetizer of crab cakes and salmon cakes, and then for our main course we had a fettuccine pasta with homemade marinara sauce that had salmon, scallops, and shrimp in it! It was a delicious meal and to top it off we even had desert...a hot fudge brownie sundae! It was a great day and by the time we pulled back into our driveway Katy was knocked out in the passenger seat and went right inside and to bed....it was only 9:00pm!
Wow, I had no idea you were going to do traveling PT! (I'm so out of the loop on everything that isn't Maddox related) That's awesome! I look forward to reading your blog posts!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of a dog is spot? He reminds me of Abby!
ReplyDeleteHey, Rachel! Hope you enjoy the blog! Brittany, Spot is just a good ol mutt...not sure what he is mixed with? He is about 85 pounds according to Paula, so he is a big boy...a bigger version of Abby. We think he looks like Abby as well...and to top that he will chase a tennis ball all day...remind you of another dog?
ReplyDelete