Newport Beach,Oregon
The sign in Depoe Bay reads-The World's smallest harbor
Beautiful Beaches galore!! And Breathtaking sights all along the way to Newport Beach! We must have stopped like a "zillion" times...well it seemed like it anyway but with no complaints from anyone. We went through Gold Beach, Port Orford ( famous Cape Blanco lighthouse & Battle Rock)http://www.el.com/to/portorford/. We were now passing through harbor/ fishing & lumber towns.Some of these lovely towns had buildings painted in different pastel colors and the countryside had red barns standing against the green forest, old bridges with those old towers and signs for bogfarms (cranberry)-was always curious how the bogs and cranberries work-will stop next time-needless to say our whole ride was very scenic and enjoyable. Come away with me and imagine; cattle grazing in the hillside pastures & people fishing in streams and pristine rivers and then of course the gorgeous beaches...miles and miles and miles of it...white sandy beaches...not the narrow ones but expansive ones. I was taking pictures when I got out of the car and even when we were driving I took some pictures..some even came out pretty good. LOL--I wanted to capture every bit of the fantastic views. The sights, the sunshine and the cool breezes made us a little hungry and we needed to stretch again. So,we stopped at Coos Bay for lunch and to gas up,searched for a gift shop to get a souvenior bell but couldn't find one (on that side of town anyway) so had to stop by a casino further down the road. We didn't go off Hwy 101 at all so,all these towns were on 101. After driving for about 70 miles (1.5 hrs) we came upon the Sea Lion Caves...and of course we just had to stop at the Sea Lion Caves and so glad that we did. The world's largest sea lion cave is about 10 miles from Florence. You can see the sea lions basking in the sun or playing in the ocean at the edge of the cliff way down but to get a closer look have to take the elevator down (200 ft down) to the caves. Fascinating to watch the sea lions play in their natural habitat--what an awesome sight! Hundreds of sea lions barking away ,slipping and sliding into the ocean and the sea gulls and other birds which I couldn't identify were all over the rocks heedless of all the visitors watching them. Flash photography wasn't allowed in the caves so didn't take many pics but nevertheless took some without the flash & then from the outside platform where the lions were on the side of the cliff. http://www.oregon.com/attractions/sealioncave.cfm We didn't stop at the Heceta Head Lighthouse because there was a lot of traffic and of course we didn't make our turn on time (had to admit it) :-). Next time-have to make that turn.. well I did manage to capture the view from the platform @ the sea lion cave attraction -The lighthouse had been built in 1894 and looks gorgeous from outside and also offers a B&B--heard through the locals it's a great site for weddings!http://lighthousegetaway.com/lights/heceta.html . I tell you the gorgeous scenery didn't seem to end- we saw rivers & rivers & bays with lumber mills, wood chips piled high and did I mention sand dunes also....yes dunes after dunes -The Oregon Dunes-we must have passed miles and miles of towering sand dunes (Florence OR). Didn't stop there because it was late in the afternoon plus we had decided that since we didn't know the area we need to get to our hotel before dark. The sun was just setting when we reached our hotel in Newport Beach & what a treat...our window faced the Pacific Ocean and we could hear the surf as soon as the the windows were opened. As night set in the humungous flood lights off the hotel roofs were turned on and the whole beach was lit up. I'm not able to describe it in words-you just have to see it! The Pacific Ocean was gorgeous even in the night and we could see people walking, playing with their dogs and some sitting by the fire enjoying the night ocean. For now our beds were calling us ...so, the beach had to wait till the next day...we had driven 232 miles that day and were ready for our warm cozy beds. There was so much to do in Newport and Depoe Bay(one city over). We stayed there for 3 days...ate one of the best salmon dishes & clam chowders were yummilicious! Next day we took the whale watching boat trip and later just walked on the expansive sandy beaches and enjoyed the blue ocean. Simply sat on the beach for a long long time to watch the children swim, jump & laugh while flying their colorful kites.Whale watching was fun too-I lost myself there running from one side of the boat to the other when the skipper would scream-"watch out here it comes". We were laughing & screaming-strangers giving high fives and sharing our enthusiasm. This was my favorite part of the whole stay in Newport Beach. The whales were feeding only a few miles off the coast...it was like a spiritual experience-(coming so close to the hugh creatures)..if you know what I mean. Other than Whale Watching,there's a hugh aquarium to see, lighthouses (Oregon's tallest-had to walk up the stairs all the way up), undersea gardens, crabbing & fishing trips to take and so many more attractions to see...needless to say we didn't have enough time to see all of these...we'll just have to go back! :-) If not for anything else then just for the beautiful Oregon beaches....till next time...I'll take you with me to the other side --to Interstate 5 back home to California after stopping here & there for a couple of days more.
