We were ready to head to central Oregon last weekend. But the weather report showed cold. And Laurel was getting a cold. The sunny, balmier Oregon coast seemed more appealing.
Good choice.
We had our peanut butter sandwich lunch at Neskowin, north of Lincoln City. The beach is a short walk from the parking area.
Walking toward the ocean, a large rock that's often surrounded by water looks like an island in the sand.
Damn! I hate the crowded Oregon beaches! Laurel and Serena can barely move without stepping on a...
Seagull. God, I love the powerful zoom lens and image stabilization on my new Sony camera.
Along with watching the waves crash onto the "island" rock.
Next stop up the coast was Cape Lookout State Park. We got there fairly late in the day, so weren't able to quite make it to the end of the Cape Trail, which starts out looking like a typical forest walk.
However, it doesn't take long before peek-a-boo views of the southern exposure start appearing through the trees.
Then the scenery really opens up.
The trail meanders back and forth between the south and north sides of Cape Lookout. Here's a photo looking north.
We were glad the ground was almost entirely firm and dry, rather than slippery and wet. In many places along the trail the dropoffs are attention-getting. And lacking guard rails.
Wet season walking is aided by boardwalks.
Our overnight stop was Cannon Beach. We got to the Hallmark Resort after dark. So the morning view of Haystack Rock from our room's balcony was an appealing surprise.
Things looked pretty nice in the other direction also.
Avid boogie boarder (in Hawaii) that I am, I lusted after the waves. But not the cold water.
I had a good time taking dogs-on-the-beach photos from our room with the zoom lens zoomed. These three canines had just met up and instantly started a play group.
Our own canine took advantage of a tennis ball thoughtfully provided by the dog-friendly Hallmark Resort. For $20 your dog can stay in the room with you, and gets a basket filled with doggie goodies.
Serena, however, spent much of her ball-throwing time ignoring the ball (unless Laurel bribed her with a treat). Here she is, engaged in a more entertaining activity which she never tires of: making some territory with pee. (Serena hit every abandoned sand castle she came to along the beach; keep this in mind next time you resurrect a used sand castle on the Oregon coast.)
Serena makes a friend. The other dog was quicker retrieving a stick, but Serena was hot on his/her heels.
When we were getting some coffee in Neskowin, Laurel pointed out some outrageously colored hoodie sweatshirts as a joke. She didn't think that I'd get one. Hey, I couldn't resist. This one made me think "far out!" Also, "on sale."
Laurel is a bit more conservatively dressed. Serena is licking her chops, recalling the cat that she almost caught on the beach earlier in the day.
This bright American flag against a misty backdrop of Cannon Beach mountains caught my eye on our beach walk.
Exciting news! Serena, our Shepherd-Lab mix, could be more mixed than we thought. We'd always wondered where her curly tail came from. Talking with the owners of this Malamute, it was agreed that the similar tails and coloring implied that Serena might have some sled dog genes in her.
The Neskowin beach is beautiful! I believe your "island" rock is called "Proposal Rock", but that may be my wife's family's name for it. I think that *is* the actual name however.
That's the beach where my family and I went to do Beach Clean-up.
Posted by: Eric | October 14, 2009 at 02:11 PM
Eric, I think you're right: Proposal Rock it is. Nice job with the beach clean-up. We didn't see a bit of trash.
Posted by: Blogger Brian | October 14, 2009 at 03:36 PM