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Thursday, December 26, 2013

Christmas - Beyond the Sea

With the Willamette Valley once again filled with dense fog and a predicted high temperature of 38˚F (3˚C) yesterday, we were inspired by Sonja and Roland and decided to head for the coast, which was forecast for sunny skies and 58˚F (14.4˚C).

Just before noon we stashed the kites in the Subaru, grabbed some protein bars for lunch and pointed the car West.  The drive to Newport takes about an hour on Highway 20.

Our first stop was the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse and park to use the facilities.  The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was built in 1871 and is the oldest building in Newport.  It was active for only three years until the traditional lighthouse was built at Yaquina Head in 1873.  It was decommissioned in 1874 as Yaquina Head Lighthouse made it obsolete.

(Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon)
Also in the park is the Fisherman's Memorial Sanctuary, built in remembrance of those Lincoln County fisherman lost at sea.



From Yaquina Bay we drove north looking for a spot to play on the beach and fly a kite.  We decided to turn into the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, in which the lighthouse is located.  Neither of us have ever been there before and we were intrigued.  It is normally a fee park but for Christmas it was a free day.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, originally called Cape Foulweather Lighthouse, is the tallest lighthouse in Oregon - the tower stands 93 feet (23 m) tall.  The lighthouse still uses its 1868 French made fixed Fresnel lens that can be seen 19 miles out to sea.

(Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon)
The park was a lot larger than anticipated with the lighthouse, hiking trails, an interpretive center (closed) and also stairs leading down the cliff to tide pools.  Did someone say tide pools?  We walked down the stairs and wandered for a good hour or so.  Here are some pics of the highlights.



(Beds of muscles) 
(A snail on the left and other crunchy bits)




(Giant Green Sea Anemone)


(Sea Star, aka Starfish)
(Troubadour tickling the anemone)
(Tide pool with anemone, urchins, and muscle shells) 
(Purple Urchins)


(Artsy rust on the railing)






While the tide pools were sheltered from the wind, being up on the bluff at the lighthouse made us realize it was quite breezy and there was enough wind for kite flying.  We got back in the car and drove a little further north to Moolack Beach.  What appealed to us about Moolack was that it was undeveloped with no facilities and there was only one other car there.  We put on our hats and I donned gloves my as well.  We walked down the path and Troubadour brought out his para-foil kite while I did some beach combing.

(Looking south towards Yaquina Head Lighthouse from Moolack Beach) 





(Half a Sand Dollar - does that make it fifty cents?)


(Me and my shadow)




We, and by we I mean me, were a little chilly from the wind and decided to pack it in.  The beach was getting busier and there were now a dozen or so people and half as many dogs running around.

We managed to find the only open coffee shop in town, which happened to be Starbucks.  We stopped for a couple of grande soy chai tea lattes and headed east.  We arrived home just after 5 pm.  Our batteries were sufficiently recharged from the sunshine and we were ready to hold down the sofa for the evening.

I hope everyone else had an enjoyable day as well.

- Au Revoir

" Somewhere beyond the sea, somewhere waiting for me, my lover stands on golden sands, and watches the ships that go sailin'." - Bobby Darin 'Beyond the Sea'
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24 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures! I envy your day at the beach. Kiri and I always love to wander up and down the coast with the feel of sand on our toes. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thank you. It would have been nice if it was warm enough to dip our toes in the sand, but we were just happy seeing sunshine and temp in the 50's.

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  2. Gorgeous photos. I always love the things that catch your eye. What a great day at the coast. Some winter days are nicer than than the summer ones.

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    1. Thank you. I always try to find different things to take pictures of. Look up, look down.....

      It was beautiful at the coast as it wasn't as busy as summer, but more people than we expected. Lots of tourists. License plates from Alberta, Colorado, Alaska to name a few.

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  3. Fabulous pics and it looked like an ok winter's day. No bikes though :(

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    1. For us it was a great winter's day, we just had to get out of the valley. Unfortunately no bikes as we would have had to ride through freezing fog to get to the coast and ride back into it to get home. Sigh.

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  4. Thanks so much for taking me to the pacific coast (as a matter of fact I have the Yaquina Bay lighthouse in my lighthouse collection). That's the shore I really miss, the North Sea is merely a cheap replacement for it. What a brilliant day. I love the action shots with the kite. And bonus: the tide pools. I could spend hours watching those. You guys look like you had a wonderful outing.

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    1. You are most welcome. I am glad you enjoyed the coastal pics. You would have loved the tide pools. And the fact that it wasn't windy in the cove was nice too. We had a lovely day.

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  5. Great photos and nice weather for a change. What more could you want for christmas?

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    1. We wanted to be on two wheels, lol. But yes, we were happy to have nice weather. No complaints about that.

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  6. Breathtaking views! I feel like I just went on a "mini" vacation!

    What a glorious place to hang out...COOL!

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    1. Thanks Deb. Going to the coast is like a mini vacation since the climate can be so different from ours. In the summer when it is 90˚ here in the valley it will be cool and 60 at the coast.

      We don't go over there very often so it is more of a treat when we do.

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  7. I take it you meant 3°C instead of 33.

    Wonderful photos of the lighthouses, tidal pools and beaches along the coast. And so much warmer too. I love the area and really miss the smell of salt water.

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    1. Nice catch on the typo. Thanks for letting me know, I fixed it. And yes I meant 3˚, lol.

      Funny you mentioned the smell. At one point at the tidal pools it brought back memories of walking the coast with my grandpa when we were kids and he lived in Florence. I'd never smelled the exact smell since so it was odd.

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  8. Trobairitz:

    I liked those tidal pools. We don't have any tidal pools close to us. I would have been tempted to wade in as water is like a magnet. Sonja and I were at the entrance to the Lighthouse during our iMBC2010 trip but we didn't pay the fee nor go in as we only wanted a photo. While we have lots of water around Vancouver, it is not the ocean so we don't get the wave action nor the full brunt of the wind

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. You would have had fun Bob. So many things to take pictures of, but your bare feet would be so cold in the water. You could handle the rocks in bare feet I am sure, but the cold, brrrr.

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  9. Wow there is nothing better than a sunny day, good wind and a spacious beach on which to fly! I need to pull out my kites a little more often. Beautiful pictures Brandy!

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    1. Thanks Dar. A sunny day this time of year just helps recharge the batteries and up the Vitamin D levels. It is like a happy pill.

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  10. Any day with sunshine is a great day isn't it? What a wonderful trip and so many great photos.

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    1. We definitely needed the sun. Still no sun in the valley, we've been socked in with fog every day so it is a good thing we went to the coast when we did.

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  11. Mmmm a nice sunny winters day, flying the kite looks like a bit of fun. No bikes though, such a shame really....

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    1. Tis a crying shame we weren't on the bikes. But with temperatures hovering near freezing in the valley combined with the fog, we didn't want to ride 45 minutes in the cold and crap weather to get there. I think we're getting soft as we get older.

      Brad enjoys the kites and I enjoy wandering and taking pics so it works out well.

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  12. oddly enough that made me miss beaches. the Keys have terrible beaches, much to many visitors disappointment.

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    1. That is odd to think you live in Key West and miss the beach. Sorry to hear you have terrible beaches. is that because they are so rocky?

      At least you have gorgeous sunrises and sunsets to help compensate.

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