a place for my thoughts: Oregon coast

Monday, June 28, 2010

Oregon coast

Hi, again. :) In case you couldn't tell from the picture, I spent the second half of the weekend touring some of the Oregon coast. The weather was supposed to be the sunniest and warmest of the week, so we decided it was our best bet to head out on Sunday and spend the day doing touristy coastal stuff. I want to be sure to document the trip as best I can - but I know these posts tend to read more like scrapbook captions than real bloggy-blog stuff. And that's ok, right?

So, before we went coastal, we put in our time at the gym and walked the dogs, got ready and headed to lunch. Billie Jo took me to a little BBQ place that had some pretty yummy ribs. Mmm. It took an hour or so to drive out to the coast and it was beautiful the whole way - very scenic. As we approached the beach town where we were going to stop, things started getting overcast - of course.

By the time we were on the beach, things were a little chilly again, but that was fine after a while - you get used to it. Billie Jo took be to a place called Haystack Rock - basically, it's a huge rock (that looks like a haystack) right on the beach. It's impressive and kinda pretty too.

Haystack rock - much bigger than it looks in the picture

We took some time to take silly pictures of each other, draw in the sand, and walk along the beach. I'll spare you most of the silly sand pictures, but it was a lot of this kinda thing.

So, we went back to the car, and drove down the scenic highways along the coast. We stopped every so often to peek out over the lookout and designated view spots. At one lookout - there were these kids selling lemonade. They were too cute. Donations only please. So, we bought a glass and asked for a photo op. The kids have been living in Spain and are moving back to OR - they were just raising money for something they might want one day. They were really really cute.

Next thing we know, the blue sky is back, out of nowhere. So, we made sure to stop again and take pictures to prove that the oregon coast does see some sunlight on occasion. :)

After a little bit, we made our way to the Tillamook Cheese factory - known for their cheese curds, ice cream, and homemade waffle cones. It was my first cheese factory to visit. Kinda neat to see all the machinery and the workings of how things are processed and packaged and such.

the factory working' away

(ok, ok, so we went on a Sunday and there actually weren't any workers there - but this picture of a poster is, I'm sure, what the factory Would have looked like had it been open)

We got to sample several different cheeses - my favorite was called Squeaky Cheese - which squeaks when you eat it. It made me laugh.

So, the cheese was great and all, but you really go to Tillamook for the ice cream. We ran/walk 5 miles that morning for this purpose alone. I had a scoop of Rocky Road and one of Carmel Toffee Crunch. Yes. Yum.

After the cheese factory, we headed home and enjoyed the car time to just chat and talk about life. I was exhausted, again, by the time we got home. I think I was a tiny bit jet lagged still, but also just worn out from seeing so much cool stuff.