We saw a lot of these signs at both beach towns.
On the way in, we had some cell reception and Marilyn looked up coffee places in Seaside. The number one choice was a place called Auntie M's. That happens to be Marilyn's nickname from Paige, so we had to go there. They had really good coffee and we also had an Oregon Berry scone.
Next stop was Cannon Beach and it was still overcast. However, it was a lighter overcast and the beach still looked amazing. We knew we were looking for a giant rock called the Haystack. I saw these as we walked down the stairs to the beach and thought we had found it.
That was a nice view but then we turned left and saw the real Haystack Rock.
It was a massive presence on the beach. As we approached, we could hear a constant noise of seagulls and other birds that were nesting on the rock.
This is a mysterious looking cave on the other side of the rock. I'm thinking aliens but you never know...
There were many very expensive looking homes and probably condos along the beach. We decided that we could easily live here. Just one major lottery win, and we're here!
We thought that maybe we'd walk back to town and have lunch and see if the weather would change. It was a good plan. For lunch we ended up at Bill's Tavern and Brew House in our continuing quest to support local brewers all over the continent. I wasn't going to take pictures of lunch because they were just burgers but the presentation was interesting so here they are. Marilyn had a local creation called shrimp and cheese! It was surprisingly good and we think we'll make it at home.
Mine was basically a cheeseburger but it had local cheddar from a place called Tillamook that we visited later in the day.
After lunch, we wandered around the town a bit and it was mostly touristy shops. I think we bought a fridge magnet. We hopped in the car and drove down the beach a bit and entered closer to the Haystack. Well, what a surprise. The sun was out and so had the tide! I keep forgetting about tides. This time it was pretty cool because you could actually walk out to the rock. The water was freezing as it always is to me but we had to get out there. My only fear was tripping and dumping my camera into the sea but we made it. And it was really worth the effort because we got a whole different perspective of the rock and the sea around it.
Here's Marilyn in the shallower part as we walked out. She doesn't seem to be showing the same ill effects of the freezing water as I was.
There were barnacles and mussels all over the base of the rocks.
These guys were stuck to the back of one of the rocks.
This is looking straight up the rock face. The gulls would just float in the updrafts. I have to believe they were just having fun!
You could watch as the clouds rolled in over the mountains.
This is a telephoto shot where I was trying to compress the foreground a bit and get all the layers of clouds, sea and hills. It was quite a bit darker in this direction.
Reluctantly, we left Cannon beach and headed off in the direction of Tillamook where there was a cheese factory that we thought we'd visit. It was a different way back to Portland through a lot of small towns, old growth forests and farmland. The only minor disappointment of the drive was the cheese factory. When we got there we noticed that everyone else within 500 km was also there. And they were all lined up to buy ice cream and/or cheese. Not being great with long lines I thought we should leave and get some cheese elsewhere! We continued the drive and stopped a couple of times at look out points to see other beaches from far above.
As we passed through another small town called Garibaldi, I noticed an old train engine sitting behind some buildings. I parked and walked behind the buildings along some tracks to find the engine. There was also an interesting old truck back there. You don't always get the opportunity to see things like this and I've driven by before. I think it's better to stop and check things out.
Our final stop of the day was at a state park in an old growth forest. It bordered the sea and there was a lighthouse. The views from the cliffs were incredible.
And the lighthouse... It's the shortest one we've ever seen but it's on a rather giant cliff so I guess it all works out.
The trip home was on another windy road through the Coastal Mountains. This one was quite narrow, the turns were sharp and the hills steep. That translates into a fun drive for me! Here is the view that we had for a lot of the drive. It was much steeper than it looks.
Tomorrow, we're going back into Portland to do some more exploring and eating!
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