What a marvelous weekend! We had some guests Friday evening for beers and snacks. Saturday we woke slowly and packed our bags for a trip to Depoe Bay. It's where the whales migrate through. We didn't see any but will go back in December when they pass in droves on their way to southern waters.
On our way in we stopped in Lincoln City where they were having an annual Kite competition on the beach. Cool kites and kinda crazy fliers! It was like watching an ice skating competition. They had a song they flew to and did stunts with the kites, as they sort of danced. We watched for awhile, let Ayla get some laps in.
We were at the D river, the shortest river in the world, It comes from a lake where the speed boat record was set, and flows into the ocean.
We continued south to find a hotel in our usual last minute hope for the best, accept most anything that doesn't have bed bugs way. We found a wonderful place called The Harbor Lights Inn. Which sat overlooking the smallest harbor in the world! We felt like we had driven into the Popeye movie!
We had a lovely room with a sliding door to the grassy area, so Ayla could get out as needed, and we had patio chairs to sit in, and drink the brandy(?) that was left complimentary in the room. We then went upstairs to eat dinner, we were surprised at the quality! It was Italian fare. I had Chicken Vesuvio, lightly breaded, covered in lemon juice, onions and mushrooms, with a side of homemade Italian mac and cheese, salad. Ed had baked ziti, and Lydia had her regular pasta in butter. It was all beautifully done and presented.
After eating we rushed to a beach to watch the sun go down. Absolutely beautiful! The colors in the sky, the textures of the land, the river running into the ocean, the waves crashing high and loud over the rocks! Ayla ran like a crazy beast, sniffing everything, tongue hanging out, that dumb look on her face she gets in moments of extreme glee. We three wandered around the scattered starfish, poking at Sea Anemones, and stumbled on an Octopus tentacle. Fascinating.
It was so peaceful.
As it got dark we made our way back to the car and headed back to our room to lay in bed and have a family movie night, watching Dolphin Tale, (again). Sleep did not come in a restful manner. There was a constant drip sound, I got up and put a washcloth on the spigot outside, it solved the issue, until it was soaked, so as I was drifting in and out of sleep, when, like nails on a chalk board it started up again.
Morning came gracefully, we went up for a delicious free breakfast. Italian Fritatta, biscuits and gravy, juice and good coffee. We took coffee back to the room and sat for a bit on the patio watching the mist rise and the day get to moving. We made our way to the whale watching site where the Park service was set up. Leaving there we went south, stopping at a few different beaches. All different, The first one we found fossils and participated in a Surfrider sponsored garbage pick up. The next stop was a grassy knoll overlooking the coast, the next was a great expanse of dunes and beach, we took in some good sea air here, then on to I think Agate beach where Lydia almost landed in dog poop, coming out of a round off! When I say almost, it was about an inch! This beach was a bit grubby, we didn't stay long, on to our last destination, Newport beach, which was similar to Newport R.I. except for the barking seals.
From here we headed home. The weather was perfect, it was the best birthday I can remember! Oh, this was my birthday trip, postponed because of stormy weather last weekend.
And now we are back to our norm, yesterday Lydia's school had a fun run, Ed and I went to cheer them on, he ran with them. And today is picture day. We were able to get Lydia into something besides the tie dye she had tried insisting on wearing. I suppose we do want an accurate representation of what she's into at this mile marker, but I couldn't let that go. We compromised and found an outfit to agree on, and got to school on the late side. Didn't enjoy the walk today.
On our way in we stopped in Lincoln City where they were having an annual Kite competition on the beach. Cool kites and kinda crazy fliers! It was like watching an ice skating competition. They had a song they flew to and did stunts with the kites, as they sort of danced. We watched for awhile, let Ayla get some laps in.
We were at the D river, the shortest river in the world, It comes from a lake where the speed boat record was set, and flows into the ocean.
We continued south to find a hotel in our usual last minute hope for the best, accept most anything that doesn't have bed bugs way. We found a wonderful place called The Harbor Lights Inn. Which sat overlooking the smallest harbor in the world! We felt like we had driven into the Popeye movie!
We had a lovely room with a sliding door to the grassy area, so Ayla could get out as needed, and we had patio chairs to sit in, and drink the brandy(?) that was left complimentary in the room. We then went upstairs to eat dinner, we were surprised at the quality! It was Italian fare. I had Chicken Vesuvio, lightly breaded, covered in lemon juice, onions and mushrooms, with a side of homemade Italian mac and cheese, salad. Ed had baked ziti, and Lydia had her regular pasta in butter. It was all beautifully done and presented.
After eating we rushed to a beach to watch the sun go down. Absolutely beautiful! The colors in the sky, the textures of the land, the river running into the ocean, the waves crashing high and loud over the rocks! Ayla ran like a crazy beast, sniffing everything, tongue hanging out, that dumb look on her face she gets in moments of extreme glee. We three wandered around the scattered starfish, poking at Sea Anemones, and stumbled on an Octopus tentacle. Fascinating.
It was so peaceful.
As it got dark we made our way back to the car and headed back to our room to lay in bed and have a family movie night, watching Dolphin Tale, (again). Sleep did not come in a restful manner. There was a constant drip sound, I got up and put a washcloth on the spigot outside, it solved the issue, until it was soaked, so as I was drifting in and out of sleep, when, like nails on a chalk board it started up again.
Morning came gracefully, we went up for a delicious free breakfast. Italian Fritatta, biscuits and gravy, juice and good coffee. We took coffee back to the room and sat for a bit on the patio watching the mist rise and the day get to moving. We made our way to the whale watching site where the Park service was set up. Leaving there we went south, stopping at a few different beaches. All different, The first one we found fossils and participated in a Surfrider sponsored garbage pick up. The next stop was a grassy knoll overlooking the coast, the next was a great expanse of dunes and beach, we took in some good sea air here, then on to I think Agate beach where Lydia almost landed in dog poop, coming out of a round off! When I say almost, it was about an inch! This beach was a bit grubby, we didn't stay long, on to our last destination, Newport beach, which was similar to Newport R.I. except for the barking seals.
From here we headed home. The weather was perfect, it was the best birthday I can remember! Oh, this was my birthday trip, postponed because of stormy weather last weekend.
And now we are back to our norm, yesterday Lydia's school had a fun run, Ed and I went to cheer them on, he ran with them. And today is picture day. We were able to get Lydia into something besides the tie dye she had tried insisting on wearing. I suppose we do want an accurate representation of what she's into at this mile marker, but I couldn't let that go. We compromised and found an outfit to agree on, and got to school on the late side. Didn't enjoy the walk today.
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