Oregon Coast

Two days after returning home from Mount Whitney, Jon and I headed for a week on the Oregon Coast. He was able to be a sub for his boss at an annual work conference that rotates each year in the North Western states. We were both pretty excited for the opportunity. We even bought a new bike rack and decided to take our road bikes.

"Two Sisters" in the background of the lava fields

Sun-August 2- We left around 7 a.m. and drove as far as "Sisters" where we spent the night at the Ponderosa Lodge. It was so beautiful (a bit chilly for me) but perfect on Jon's temperature meter. We ate a lot of snacks and read "I am Malala" which we hadn't finished from our Whitney trip.

Mon-Aug 3-We had a really fun day making our way to Gleneden on the Oregon coast. We stopped at some huge lava fields and took turns riding our bikes down the McKenzie pass for 25 miles. That was a blast. It felt so good to be back on my road bike. Jon seems to know the area really well and was excited to show me around and where he had lived in Springfield and Corvalis. We stayed at a really nice country club resort in Gleneden called the "Salishan." Our room was huge with a king sized bed, fridge and fireplace. Jon made it to the "icebreaker" meeting then we met Jim and Cheryl Higbee at "Mo's" in Lincoln City for some clam chowder. Yum! There seem to be beautiful beaches along the coast for as far as you can see. It's too bad it is too cold outside to really enjoy them. At least to me.

Tues-Aug 4-While Jon was at his conference I went exploring. I found a couple beautiful foot paths and a nature trail that turned out to just be a 10 min walk around a small lake but it was through a beautiful fern grotto. I met Jon for lunch and we had a picnic overlooking the beautiful beach at Gleneden. I spent the afternoon in Lincoln City at the outlet malls looking for some pants to wear to my class reunion. I had hoped to find some white jeans but learned Karen had bought some new white jeans to wear so out went that idea. Probably a little too twinzy. When Jon was finished we went for a 16 mile ride from Neskowin to Otis. It was really beautiful and fun.

Wed-Aug 5-During Jon's conference today I drove down to Newport after checking the tide pool charts and realizing I needed to hurry for low tide. I got to the Yaquina Head just as the visitor center was opening so also was able to get on a free tour of the light house. The tide pools were a bit of a disappointment because there were so many rules and checkpoints to go through to make sure you knew the rules. It seemed like the best places were blocked off. I realized (later of course) that I had encroached on some of the restricted areas. The only living thing I saw besides lots and lots of mussels was a large starfish. I was studying it along with a little girl who told me we weren't allowed to touch it. I told her it was okay to touch it very softly but later learned that was another rule I apparently had not absorbed and she was right. I hope I didn't kill it!

The lighthouse tour took 45 minutes and was pretty cool except that I meticulously counted each stair to the top and at the end of the tour the guide asked how many stairs there were. I announced 111, confident that I was right. He said there were 114. How did I miss 3? At least I remembered the name of the cow that had lived there a hundred years ago (Lady Washington). I went on all the walks and hikes in the area. None of them were more than 20 minutes long but it gave me something to do. I came back to the room and got in some guitar practice. When Jon got back I took him on the nature walk around the small lake then we went to his conference awards banquet where the "Oosik (large petrified walrus penis) is awarded to the person who had the "project from hell." It is a very prestigious award. Jon has won is before.

There were lots of these on the beach. What are they?

Thur-Aug 6-This morning I went for a run to a beach. I love running on the beach and felt like I could go forever. I found a large mussel shell and hid it in a special place in case I wanted to come get it later to take it home. After my practice, I explored some roads we could take our bikes on, stopped by a glass blowing place then headed down to Depoe Bay. It was the nicest and warmest day so far. I had decided I could never live along the coast because I need warm sun so badly but today I almost changed my mind. The weather reminds me of living in the East Bay and feeling chilly all year long. I loved walking through the shops at Depoe Bay and watching the people. After Jon's conference we went for a 25 mile ride on the Siletz river. We rode right from our room. It was perfect. Later we drove down to Newport and ate at Mo's. 

It reminded me a lot of Pier 49 in SF with all the barking sea lions and smell of fish. There was an outdoor market with people fileting large fish. I think they were tuna. They were also catching crab. That was hard to watch for me. I saw them bring up one basket with 2 crabs. The guy threw the smaller one back but threw the other one in a bucket where it struggled to breathe until it wasn't moving anymore. It was so sad. I don't know if I will ever want to eat crab again. We also stopped by Yaquina Head again so Jon could see the lighthouse. The weather was so surreal and creepy. We were in fast moving clouds and were the only ones there except for one photographer.

Fri-Aug 7-We left for home stopping at "Pigs n Pancakes" for breakfast. Unfortunately Ellen and Jeena were out of town so we missed getting to visit with them in Portland. We rode part of the 3 capes bike ride near Tillamook. It was about 23miles and part of the road was closed due to land slides which made it really great. We stopped to see one lighthouse. On the way back up the paved foot path my chain came off while trying to shift. I couldn't get my feet unclipped in time and had no choice but to tip over. It reminded me off that guy on the old TV show "Laugh-In" who would tip over on his tricycle. A guy came along and was all concerned and tried to help twist my foot out of the pedal but it wouldn't budge. I ended up just taking my feet out of my shoes. It was kind of funny. We took the scenic road home along the Columbia river gorge and stopped to hike a couple water falls. It was really beautiful. We spent the night in Pendleton. The next morning we had breakfast with a nice older Jewish couple who had spent the summer in Logan. It was really fun visiting with them about Logan and the church. They said they weren't married but were just "hooking up."

A scenic spot along the gorge

Karen called and mom may have had a slight stroke. She is pretty sick but can't get in to see a doctor. Apparently you need to plan your illnesses way in advance to get an appointment. They are pretty worried about her and now I am too.

Sat-Aug 8 We made it back to Mom's in time to get ready for my 40th high school class reunion held at the Logan Golf and Country Club. I was really worried about going for fear I would get asked to plan the next reunion. It turned out really fun and it was a blast seeing old friends. I felt like the women were all well preserved while the men had grown old. It's a good thing everyone was wearing name tags. Karen & I were nominated to plan the next reunion but luckily another couple was chosen and I actually think they wanted to do it! We spent the night at mom's. I had a rather unusual conversation with her when I got home and went to bed worried that she might have had a stroke but luckily she didn't remember anything.....thanks to her sleeping pill.

Me and Jon at the reunion with friend Marsha in the background.

Sun-Aug 9 Jon and I got home around 10:30 a.m. and soon after I got a call from Amanda's cell phone. It was her friend who said that they had been riding their bikes down Mill Creek canyon when a dog jumped out in front of Amanda and she went down. She would be okay but was at the ER getting checked out. We went over there and the CT scan was good. Thank goodness for helmets! She had pretty bad road rash on her back and side of her face, a broken right collar bone and a fx in her index finger on the left hand. The next three days I was pretty busy playing nurse. I think she would have liked to have fired me a few times and I'm sure is relieved that I will be gone from Wed to Fri as the band has gigs in Logan. I did my best though.