Newport perfection

Hello everyone! I had an absolutely wonderful weekend on the coast. I left work at noon and was on I-5 south by quarter to one. It's about a 2 hour drive to Newport but since I was driving by myself I stopped whenever I felt like it. Driving through the Willamette Valley it's obvious that spring has emerged. The flowering plum trees are blooming in a riot of pink and the forsythias are gorgeous bright yellow against the solid green fields. Coming over the coast range I could see a dusting of snow on the summit. I took some pictures of mossy trees in the Van Duzer Forest Corridor. When I arrived at Hwy 101 and the beach I stopped to take some shots of Siletz Bay. I pulled over at Boiler Bay where I hung out for quite a while. The tide was in and enormous waves were crashing on the rocks in a most impressive display. I love the salty sea! I watched some harbor seals swimming in the waves before continuing south. I listened to Van Morrison and drove down Hwy 101 totally content. I stopped at the Cape Foulweather. This headland was named by Captain Cook as he sailed past in 1778 during some particularly nasty weather. There was an ominous looking storm looming but it stayed offshore and seemed appropriate given the cape's name. I kept hoping to spot a whale as several have taken up year round residence in this area but no luck on this trip.

I arrived at Mark's house in Newport and brought my stuff inside. He was in Tahoe for an annual guy's vacation he takes and had generously offered the use of his beach house to me. I accepted with much pleasure. The house is beautiful and is right across from the ocean. I made myself a drink and listened to some music and relaxed on the unbelievably cushy sofa. I was a happy, happy girl. I went down to Nye Beach to watch the sunset but the clouds were pretty thick at that point. There was a soft peach horizon from the last of the sunlight and the clouds seemed to lit be from within by a lavender glow. So lovely!

I went home and listened to music and made some dinner then watched a documentary about the making of one of my favorite albums, Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. I laid in the giant window seat, surrounded by pillows and marvelled at how lucky I was.

Saturday I woke up early to catch low tide. I drove up to Boiler Bay which I had visited a few years ago with Greta. It had the most impressive tidepools I'd ever seen, a distinction it still has. The sky was blue, tide was out and I had the bay all to myself. I hoped from rock to rock, mindful of the freakishly slippery seaweed. The tidepools were a wonder! There were armies of purple sea urchins and the occasional bright red one, always much larger than his purple buddies. There were little hermit crabs, snails, gorgeous green anenomes, orange and purple starfish and an alien creature that I had never seen before. It was huge (over a foot in diameter) and resembled a starfish except that it had 20 arms (!!!) and moved fast enough for me to see it moving (quite unlike a starfish). After exploring more of the tidepools I came across a total of 5 or 6 of these creatures. Some grayish-purple, some orangey-pink. AMAZING! I was enjoying my solitude when a sudden crowd of about 15 people appeared up on the cliff and begin working their way down the rocks towards the tide pools. One of the women apologized for ruining my solitude as they were a biology class on a field trip. I asked her to identify the alien creature for me which turned out to be a sun star, which is in fact related to a starfish. I took lots of pictures and poked around before slowly working my way back up to the cliff. I took some photos of the rocks & the driftwood before climbing back up to my car and heading south on 101.

I stopped at Devil's Punchbowl which I had never explored before. It once was a huge sea cave but the roof collapsed so now it's an open from above with 2 entrances into the cave. I watched some surfers and wondered how cold it must be in that water even with a wetsuit/drysuit. brrrrr! I hiked down to the beach to the Marine Gardens, an impressive rock shelf with more amazing tide pools. I then climbed up around the giant boulders and went into Devil's Punchbowl. It's important to be mindful of the tides here as you can actually get stuck inside when high tide rolls in. It was amazing to look through the arch of rock as the waves rolled into the cave. I was amazed but a bit nervous about the approaching tide. I have a healthy respect for the ocean. I took lots of photos then retreated to safe territory. I took lots more photos on the beach of driftwood and intricate sand patterns. I was on the verge of sensory overload by everything I was seeing.

I drove back into Newport where I stopped to get a mexican mocha. I then found a bench in the sun where I watched the waves roll in and read my book. The sun was glorious and so warm. I've been really feeling starved for sunshine so it was incredible. After the wind picked up I headed back to the house where I took a shower and changed my jeans with their sea-soaked cuffs. I left again to do more exploring. I walked around Agate Beach which is huge and had the softest sand, warm from the sun shining down. I then went to the bayfront area of Newport and up to a lookout on the Yaquina Bay Bridge. I hopped out to take a photo and realized right away that I'd made a huge mistake. Yes folks...after 29 years I had finally locked my keys in my car. Dammit! I stood there for a few moments trying to figure out what to do. I must admit I eyed a rock but decided that would create a bigger pain for me to deal with. A man pulled over to look at the bridge and I approached his truck. I explained my predicament and he very kindly offered to help. His name was Dick and he lived in Newport part-time so he was familiar with the area. We drove to a nearby locksmith where Dick used his cellphone to call the service number. We then drove back up to my car and waited for the locksmith who arrived within 10 minutes. Sixty dollars and after just a moment with a slim jim my keys were in hand and I left. I'm most grateful to Dick who took what could have been a major pain for me and turned it into just a minor blip in my day. He gave me his business card which I'll be using to send him a gushing thank you card.

After that fiasco I went home where I lounged in the window seat and read my book for a few hours. Mark's fridge is stocked with tons of Rogue Brewery beers as they are brewed right in Newport. My absolute favorite is the Hazelnut Brown Nectar. My happy state of mind was restored. I spent the evening relishing the nut brown ale, reading my book, listening to music and watching the Johnny Cash/June Carter movie Walk the Line. I slept very well.

Sunday morning I woke up to more blue sky. I showered and packed up some stuff before heading out for another mocha. I went to Yaquina Bay State Park where I watched the waves crash on the jetties. I explored the beach for quite a while and took some pictures. The sun was shining brightly but the wind was really picking up. I hiked back up to my car and finished packing up my stuff then hit the road. I stopped at several turnouts to enjoy the view and the sunny skies. My last stop was at Lincoln City where the beach was packed with kids chasing after balls blowing in the wind and lots of people with their kites. It was gorgeous and painful for me to leave. Thankfully right around that time the wind really picked up and the clouds rolled in making it possible for me to pull myself away from the beach.

I arrived in Portland around 4:30 and went to Elaine's to get my photos of my camera. I stopped at home & unpacked before heading over to Mark's house. We watched the end of the Oscars before going out to the Lompoc for dinner and a beer before exhaustion hit us both. I gave him back the key to his beach house and thanked him profusely. It really was an amazing weekend at the beach.

I haven't had a chance to be able to go through all my photos yet so please check back as I'll post more throughout the week. Please let me know what you've been up to & how you are!

xoxo,
carolyn