The Oregon Coast

The Oregon coast has been one of the best features of living in Portland since John and I moved out West last year. The drive is so quick and the scenery changes so rapidly, which is always surprising and exciting. Probably the most visited and loved beach close to Portland is Cannon Beach, which includes its iconic Haystack Rock. The Pacific water is very cold and everytime I've visit it seems to only get colder. I love seeing all the different types of natural life that flourishes around the beach, in addition to all the families, strolling people, and surfing loving dogs. I love the coast so much that I'm already looking forward to finding some time to visit again. The last photo below includes a great shot of John with his parents who visited us a couple weeks ago.

Astoria, OR

Astoria is a small historic town situated in the Northwest corner of Oregon.  It punctuates the end of the Columbia river where it meets the Pacific.  Lewis and Clark stayed in a fort close to here, which marked the last encampment for the expedition before the navigators headed back to the East.  Astoria today has lots of little shops, cafes, and restaurants.  John and I got lunch after we scoped out the Goonies house and the Astoria Column (which I'll mention next week).  

A historical house/museum in downtown Astoria

Goonies house - now a private residence

Cape Lookout State Park

A frosty morning excursion this past weekend, through the western hills of Oregon, brought John and me to a beautiful coastal park known as Cape Lookout State Park.  Within ten minutes of driving away from Portland, the land flattened out into rural countryside.  Thirty minutes into our journey the road was surrounded by large groves of Douglas fir trees.  This was our second adventure to the Pacific coast, the first time we visited Canon beach, which is located north of where we were.  We didn't stay too long in the park because our primary focus for the day trip was to check out the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  I'll post photos of the factory next week.  

Here are some photos from the amazing beach at Cape Lookout State Park.