From Yachats we started the day with a walk along the ocean-front. As mentioned in the previous post the Fireside Motel has a great location right on the water. Might come back and get a room with a fire and watch some of the winter storms from here!
After short stop at the bakery for rations – we headed South to see a few of the promising looking viewpoints that we had passed the previous evening when food rather than photos was on our minds. We were not disappointed Saw and heard Sea Lions and some lighter coloured California sea lions right next to the coast road!
!
Driving just a little further South to pick towards the sand dunes.
Then North again back just South of Yachats to take a hike at Cape Perpetua. First along the rocks taking in a blow-hole – and the tide was just right for a regular display – and also seeing a flood of photographers – it looked like they were being washed up with the tide!
Higher up at Cape Perpetua we enjoyed one of the best lunch views of the trip – not to mention the great fare from the bakery! And a Douglas Squirrel – but I didn’t quite nail the focus…
North again with regular stops to admire all the Oregon coast had to offer
A long walk on Cannon Beach – the sun was getting quite low in the sky – and about the last planned stop as we headed for Astoria and our last night away.
Out hotel at Astoria was the Hampton Inn and Suites – which initially looked to mean a trek back to town for some evening meal – but this welcoming site gave us better options – and within waling distance! For the uninitiated Rogue is a river in Oregon – but also one of my favourite Oregon breweries!
209 beautiful coastal miles!
We had a look around Astoria – and more Sea Lions – which we had heard on our walk to the brewery the previous evening but could quite work out where they were. It appears they have their own dock. A local was telling us they are quite thinner than they have been – and are caught and branded for later identification up river. If they are found eating salmon then they can be killed. Why do we have a right to the salmon and the sea lions don’t?
For a higher view South we headed up to the Astoria Column – although my poor head for heights kept me from getting to the top of the narrow spiral staircase – the view from the mound was nearly as good (I tell myself..)
Back in to Washington a short stop at Long Beach then passing through some towns we see on sign posts but never get near – Hoquiam and Aberdeen – which to be honest looked very run g=down and depressing (perhaps we caught them on a bad day…) and then a final stop at Olympia which we hadn’t visited for probably 10+ years.
Back home and our final day had been 221 miles in under 5 hours – with the final tally for the whole trip being over 54 hours of driving and a total of 2,317 miles. Average of 37mpg not too bad – but the Ford Focus is a little bit thirstier than I had hoped.
These and more pictures from the trip (and other trips!) can be viewed at https://www.flickr.com/photos/bsmi067/
Lunch with a Lens 