Oregon Coast - Day Six

Saturday April 4th turned out to be a beautiful day... the best of all the days that we have spent on the Oregon Coast so far.  We got out of the house around nine this morning... pretty good for a herd of girls.  We headed back down the coast to Cape Perpetua in the Suislaw National Forest.  This is where Thor's Well is located.  Today it was sunny all day long, and there was only a light breeze.  The temperature got up to around 54F [14C]. 

The high tide has been arriving later every morning since we arrived on the coast.  Today it was at about 1:20 in the afternoon.  The surf was also quite high with the wind coming in off the Pacific.  This made for ideal conditions at Cape Perpetua.  The heavy surf was driving in to Cooks Chasm and making the Spouting Horn really erupt.  And, the show at Thor's Well was spectacular with big crashing waves.  When we first arrived, at around 11:00, it was pretty easy to get down onto the rocks beside the well.  But, within a half hour or so we all had wet feet as the surf splashed up onto the rocks and the tide came in.  I had to grab my camera gear and scramble for higher ground a couple of times.  I was more than a little nervous leaving my tripod and camera standing in the surf as I scrambled further away from the advancing water with my backpack.  But, I managed to get a couple of shots of the well with my 4x5, as well as a few of the crashing surf onto the rocks.

After we finished up here we headed back north towards Newport.  We stopped in Yachats a couple of little antique shops and the girls quickly drained my wallet.  Yachats as a really cool little town, much more laid back and low key than Newport.  Lots of cool little shops, galleries and cafes and the shoreline around here is a lot more interesting than the barren, sandy beaches further north.  If we ever make a return visit to the Oregon Coast I think we will try to stay somewhere in this area.

Further north still at Waldport we stopped for lunch a pizza place that had the most amazing Four Cheese pizza that I have ever had.  The girls devoured it, while Margarit and I had chowder and a salad.

On our way back north towards Newport we stopped at three State Parks...  Driftwood Beach, Ona Beach and South Beach.  They were all OK, but pretty much just broad open sandy beaches with crashing surf.  No headlands, no tidepools, no marine life... nothing but a few pebbles and scraps of smashed up sea shells in a big expanse of sand.

By late afternoon we headed back in to Newport.  I stopped down by the marina and took a couple shots of all the fishing boats moored in the bay.  Then we headed back over to the Ocean Bleu restaurant.  The girls and I really built this place up for Margarit but I'm afraid she was a little disappointed.  They were sold out of smoked salmon... her favorite.  But, our server didn't let us know until everyone else's meals were ready.  So, she had to make a hasty second choice, and then eat by herself, after everyone else was done.  The food was still good, but the service was sure lacking this time.  After we finished up our meal we headed back up to the house to unwind for the evening. 

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, our last day at the rental house in Newport.  The girls are sure hoping that the Easter Bunny finds them.  It will end up being a low key day, spent close to home, with some packing up for the return trip home.

Started out the day with a shot of my favorite lighthouse in morning light.  Notice how heavy the surf was on this day, which made things pretty exciting later on...

At Cape Pertpetua that heavy surf made things pretty exciting as we explored down on the rocks beside Cooks Chasm, the Spouting Horn, and Thor's Well.

I just had to stop at this roadside pond and take a few snapshots of these pond lilies.  So much greener in April here in Oregon as compared to back home where everything remains so drab and frozen.

Our next stop was Driftwood Beach, which did not live up to its name.  Yet another open expanse of sandy beach with nothing but a few busted up seashells and scraps of wood.

Then we continued on to Ona Beach, where Beaver Creek empties into the Pacific.  A little more interesting but still just mostly more of the same.

Finally we stopped at South Beach, just across the Yaquina Bay Bridge from Newport.  Probably a great place to be on a hot summer day but on this day it was very much like so many others that we had already stopped at.