For Chuck and my annual anniversary adventure this year, we decided on a road trip to the Oregon Coast and Crater Lake. Last year’s adventure to Kaua’i and the Kalalau Trail would be hard to top but this trip was close!
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Through the years… our wedding, Yellowstone, Kaua’i/Kalalau, and Crater Lake
May 24, 2012 – North Coast
Astoria –
Astoria from above
Astoria Column – 164 steps to the top
The best $1 that I’ve ever spent – a (biodegradable) balsawood plane to throw off the top of the Column; My plane aflyin’ (if you can find it)
Self-guided ‘Goonies’ tour
Chuck casually inserting himself in my shot, Abbey Road style
Astoria waterfront
On the boardwalk
Fort Stevens State Park -
The ‘Peter Iredale’ schooner (or sailboat). Slowly decaying since running aground in 1906.
Rusted glory
Ecola State Park -
Off the hiking trail to Indian Beach
Pacific Northwest jungle
Haystack Rock in the distance
Cannon Beach (which was named after a cannon found on the beach in the 1800s – just a little bit of trivia for you…) -
Haystack Rock (because it’s shaped like a haystack)
Tillamook: home of the famous Cheese Factory -
The factory full of dairy goodness; The Baby Loaf bus
Three Capes Scenic Loop -
Cape Meares Lighthouse; Oregon coastal beauty
The ‘Octopus Tree’
Cape Lookout beach
Token sunset photo
Our beachside camp spot
May 25, 2012 – Down the coast
Beverly Beach – Can you find the surfer?
Seal Rock State Park -
Colorful tidepools
Chuck reflecting
Sealife
Oregon Dunes National Park -
Number of times that Chuck mentioned how much he wished he had his dirtbike? About 20
Shore Acres State Park -
Rugged coastline
Red Hot Poker Plant
Simpson Beach – excellent…
Don’t be fooled by Chuck’s casual posture – he was quite nervous about standing on this point for the sake of the photo
May 26, 2012 – Bandon
Coquille Point – Elephant Rock is on the far right (it’s peeking its head and ears out of the water)
Cow parsnip
Beachy self-timer
Bandon collage – Seastar; Man on Fire; Rhody; Cribbage; Lovers; Dog poo; Cheers; Lily
Beach at night
May 27, 2012 – Our anniversary! Inland to Crater Lake
The Sandy Creek Covered Bridge
Umpqua River -
Chuck wishin’ he was fishin’
Crater Lake National Park -
The Lake – so gorgeous!
3 wonderful years! Anniversary self-timer at Crater Lake
Crater Lake, Crater Colada, and Cribbage
May 28, 2012 – Homeward bound
Shoe tree
Horsetail Falls (named after its shape)
Happy trees
Multnomah Falls – Oregon’s tallest waterfall
There you have it – 1,400 miles of roadtrip fun! The past 3 years of wedded bliss have been fantastic and I’m so excited for the adventures to come!
Trip details -
Where we stayed:
Lincoln Inn, Astoria – Nothing fancy but it had a nice view of the Columbia River. We enjoyed watching the season finales of ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Revenge’ here.
Cape Lookout State Park, outside Tillamook – Awesome beachside camping spot. What could be better than having the ocean lulling you to sleep?
Sunset Bay State Park, outside Coos Bay – Another great camping spot
Bandon Beach Motel, Bandon – Cute little family-owned motel with an amazing view. Literally steps from the beach.
Crater Lake Lodge, Crater Lake – We decided to splurge for our anniversary and stay at ‘the Lodge’. Beautiful place with an amazing view, although, I was a little disappointed that the old lodge wasn’t more like the one in ‘The Shining’…
Where we ate (restaurant highlights):
Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe, Astoria – Great coffee and the best scone that I’ve ever tasted
Fort George Brewery, Astoria – Tasty pub food and the best IPA that I’ve ever tasted
Mojo Coffee, Lincoln City – The best mocha that I had on our trip. And I just saw on their website that they donate 10% of their profits to the children of Lincoln county and Ethiopia – gotta love socially responsible companies!
Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room, Crater Lake – Ooh, la la – the tastiest (and most expensive dinner) of our trip
10 Barrel Brewing Co, Bend - I loved everything about this place – the atmosphere (great patio seating), the beers (I loved the ISA – Indian Session Ale), and the food (steak gorgonzola nachos and buffalo chicken pizza)
What we listened to:
LOTS of music, particularly my ‘Favorites’ iTunes playlist which included Eddie Vedder, M83, Blink 182, Florence + The Machine, Rihanna, and R Kelly’s ‘Ignition‘ (as a joke, since Dave Chappelle’s version is so hilariously similar)
Audiobook ‘Bloodman‘ by Robert Pobi – We tried our first audiobook (‘Shutter Island’ by Dennis Lehane) on our 1st anniversary roadtrip to Yellowstone and loved it – there were so many amazing sights to stop and see but it was hard to stop listening. ‘Bloodman’ was no different – we were so intrigued that we didn’t talk for several hours straight.
What we read:
The Rough Guide to Oregon and Washington – I love guidebooks and this one did a pretty good job of providing little bits of trivia and keeping us from getting lost
How Well Do You Know Your Boyfriend? – This was a book that I picked up for a buck a few years ago. Did you know that Chuck used to collect stamps?
Some images available for purchase here.
by Jamie
I just want to thank you for doing this. I have lived in Oregon off and on for 20 odd years. It will always be in my heart. I live in Arizona now and there is obviously quite a difference in terrain lol The Coast is just amazing and wonderful. You captured so many good photos. I love your site and I hope you continue to do this. But I have to say that this one will always be my favorite. Theres just something about Oregons Trees, and waterfalls, you will find rivers down nearly every road. The flowers are so beautiful there. Lived in Eugene and Portland Area. Portland within itself is pretty. If you happen to have any photos that you didnt post of the Portland area ….please do. Its beautiful at night with the river running through it and people on the riverwalk and boats drifting up and down the river. Sometimes there are festivals like the Blues Festival etc that are so much fun. Also around Brookings and Ashland they have jet boat rides up and down the Rogue River that are just awesome. I traveled all over this state and your photos captured so much of it. Ive been in Arizona for almost 2 years now and I sure miss Oregon. I know these areas that you posted oh so well. Flooded me with happy memories spent there. I lost most all the photos that I had on my computer. I wish I had had them developed instead of leaving them on here only. Something crashed and I lost them all. Soooo your pictures mean alot to me. Thank You so much for posting this. Sincerely Rita
I just love your photos from the Oregon Coast. It is one of my favorite spots to visit. I’ve seen most of the places you took photos of. We stay at a beach house at Seal Rock. Thanks for sharing the photos on Facebook via the Oregon Coast page. We will actually be going there in about a month. Can’t wait.
Hi Melanie!
Thank you for the nice comments – I’m glad that you enjoyed the pictures! My husband and I had such a fantastic time – I can’t wait to go back!
Thank you,
Jamie
Hi Rita!
I really appreciate your sweet comments – my husband and I had such an amazing time on our trip and I hope our pictures reflect that!
We didn’t stop in Portland but we hope to come back for another trip – there are a lot of other places we couldn’t get to in our timeframe but it gives us an excuse to come back again (and again).
Take care Rita!
Jamie