Cannon Beach was definitely our favorite. We stayed just a short block off
the beach at Sea Breeze Court, a lovely place on the main highway coming into
town. The people who ran the place were incredibly nice, most of them former
teachers.
In the front entryway were gorgeous purple hydrangeas. Everywhere you
looked, hydrangeas grew like wild weeds. Their heads were absolutely
incredible.
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| Some of the sand dollars |
We loved the early morning walks along the huge expanse of beach that is
mostly under water during high tide. We found lots of sand dollars although not
many of them were in perfect shape, but just finding them lying all by
themselves on a beautiful beach sparked a feeling of joy. Those pesky seagulls
wake up earlier than we did and have a tendency to peck out anything that might
be edible. Thus, numerous portions and pieces of crabs lay strewn helter-skelter
along the beach.
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| Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach |
Haystack Rock is a favorite. I suspect it has been photographed a
zillion times, and each photo is different. Its massiveness stirred me. Around
it were other small but impressive rocks. Hundreds of birds, most seagulls,
clung to the far-reaches of the Haystack while others lazily glided in and out
of the many crags. The music from these birds enthralled us, a mixture of both
shrillness and urgency.
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| Haystack Rock with her sisters |
One morning we walked up close to Haystack Rock and marveled at the
many little sea creatures that had attached themselves to the rocks. During
high tide, they are underwater; at low tide, they are under scrutiny from a
multitude of beach walks and anyone with a camera.
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| Stranded Starfish |
The starfish intrigued us most. While we in the Caribbean, we saw
starfish. In fact, Joanne even picked one up when we swam in the natural
swimming pool just off the coast of Bayahibe between Bayahibe and la Isla
Saona. The Oregon starfish are differently colored and beautiful. One of the
starfish seemed to be clinging for its life.
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| Little Clark playing on the beach |
Little Clark loved the beach and the water and the birds. Especially
the birds! With his big brown eyes, he would follow the seagulls in the air and
then when they landed. These little scavengers were always on the lookout for
anything—cookies, bread, crackers, candy. A little family from eastern Europe was
there with a loaf of bread and began throwing it into the air. Soon, hoards—perhaps
flocks—of seagulls of all colors, sizes, shapes, and shrill cries began hovering
and catching the bread as the people tossed it to them. Clark was absolutely
fascinated.
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| Hailey with little Clark on the beach playing in the sand |
While Clark was playing on the beach with his little sand toys and
truck, he had a cracker in one hand and dug with the other. As we watched, the
crafty seagulls cautiously landed and then began sauntering sideways toward
Clark. I think they thought this: “If the kid doesn’t give it to us, we’re
going to take it from him.” Hailey wouldn’t let them close enough to fulfill
their assignment.
We also spent some time in Tillamook because we wanted to go to the
Tillamook Cheese Factory and to the Cape Meares lighthouse.
On the way to Tillamook, we stopped at a roadside stand of glass works
called
The Original Ring of Fire Glass Works. Actually, we had passed it, and
Joanne said she wanted to go back; so, we did a u-turn and headed back. We met
John. Joanne looked at all of the glass and decided on a beautiful round blue
one that we can use as a light once it is filled with oil. Then, Joanne and
Hailey headed out while John and I chatted about his business.
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| Vases from the Original Ring of Fire Glass Works |
The cheese factory was interesting. We took the self-guided tour and
watched the cheese being made. Automation also has fascinated me. Of course, we had to eat ice cream. We sat
down in the cafeteria to eat our ice cream. Next to us were three Chinese
monks. One of them stopped on their way out and made a face at Clark. It was so
totally weird. We discovered, ironically, we could buy Tillamook cheese and
yogurt for much less here in Pleasant Grove than at the factory. One would
think that price gouging tourists is an okay thing.
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| Cape Meares Lighthouse |
The
Cape Meares Lighthouse was actually rather cool. It was a few
hundred yards from the parking lot to the actual lighthouse, down this path
that skirted the ocean. Joanne and I made the trundle down.
Periodically, it had view spaces where you could look out over drop off
and into the little bay below. One lady said, “Look, a sea lion.” I looked, and
a sea lion was lazily swimming far below us. The water was so clear and
beautiful, I wanted to snorkel. But I also knew, I would freeze in that water.
Fortunately, we were part of the last group tour. We climbed the
extremely narrow, winding staircase up into the loft area where we could see
out into the ocean. They have maintained the lighthouse well, mainly through
donations.
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| Roseanna's Café in Oceanside |
On the way back to Tillamook, we stopped at Oceanside, a small touristy
place with typical seaside homes and lovely views, and had a lovely dinner
($$$) at
Roseanna’s Café, overlooking the beautiful bay. Again, huge rocks jutted
out in the ocean like memorials to the beach and the community.
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| Beach at Oceanside, Oregon |
Overall, our trip to the Oregon was short, and we didn’t
drive all the way down—just to Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Tillamook, Cape
Meares, and Oceanside. But it was just enough to entice me to do it again and
again and drive the rest of the way and take loads of photos.
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| Haystock Rock |
There is just something about the beauty of huge rocks sitting out in
the ocean and cascading waves crashing on the rocks and then rolling along the
beach, spreading and oozing and oozing and spreading their watery fingers and
then seeping and retreating silently back into water only to repeat the eternal
event in a few minutes. I could stand and/or sit there for hours, taking in the
cadences and the cacophony of birds and ocean sounds. Plus, I could take a
thousand pictures and never be bored.
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| More of Haystack Rock from the other side |
Perhaps, that is the essence of travel—soaking in the sights and sounds
of your surroundings, feelings its majesty and wonder and understanding once
again the majesty and simplicity of God’s works for all to enjoy.
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| Joanne and Hailey in downtown Cannon Beach |
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