More Sunny Days at the Beach

It's been a heck of a time here at the beach for us, waking up to sunny beautiful days.  This is the ocean from the door of our caravan.  The Pacific Ocean as far as the eye can see.  If I sailed straight west from here I'd reach Asia.  Thanks, Google. :-)

Looking south.. Australia is down there.. hi Wendy, Dorothy and Susan!  :-)  We used to park our caravan on the front row but you ended up looking at the trailer next to you.. now we look out at the sea.. much better.

Yes, this is a better view.

On Saturday we headed out on our daily safari to find a hot meal.. around 2-3 pm. We fix our own coffee and breakfast in the caravan but we like to get out and about and see some of the beautiful scenery each day.  This day we drove north to have lunch at this tiny cafe.  At one point the whole town of Otis was for sale.  LOL!

The inside of this cute cafe.. 4 booths and 1 table and a lunch counter with 4 stools.  :-)

I had a bacon, mushroom cheeseburger, they even bake their own buns.  Dayle had biscuits and gravy, eggs over easy and a big pancake with syrup.  LOL!

After lunch I asked a local on his bike at the tiny Post Office directions to Pacific City.  I obviously was confused and took the "scenic route" over a mountain through deep forests and a very bumpy road.. fortunately we made it out the other side without meeting any bears or a bigfoot.

We pulled into the public beach of Pacific City.

This huge big rock out in the sea is Haystack Rock.  Yes, we have two of them.  :-)

The rock is backlit by the sun in this shot so you can't see the texture of it, but I do like the sparkling sea around it.

When we returned "home" the sun was slanting in illuminating the table decorations.  *snap*

Day is done, gone the sun...

Sunday dawned to another gorgeous warm day.  Such a relaxing week.

I did some tidying up on Sunday and thought I'd snap a few photos of the interior of our home away from home.  The kitchen is really roomy which is one of the reasons I fell in love with this model of travel trailer.

I spread my Sweet Pea Trellis blanket over the sofa and it goes pretty well with the pillow I made years ago.

The dining area and our two recliners.  My small lap blankets add color and homey-ness to the place.  Mocha's crate and her toys.

I just did a little photo shoot of the bedroom.. including spreading the Sweet Pea blanket over the bed and putting my crocheted pillows on top.  It's a pretty comfortable bed.

Someone asked where the bathroom is so I snapped a photo of it.  There is a door so it's private.  

And here is the bath sink and shower - it's between the lounge and the bedroom.  

The lounge where we spend so many peaceful hours watching the ocean waves and sea gulls flying by.

What you see when you enter.  It's amazing what you can have in a small space.. the two slide-outs make it so much roomier.

Another sunset.. our 10th.  Two more before we head home.

The sun really warms up our space as the big window faces west.

Little Mocha has really settled into enjoying our little home at the beach.  I wonder what she'll do when we go home?

We went to Momiji Sushi and Japanese restaurant for lunch yesterday, we had noodles with shrimp, beef and chicken which was delicious.  Then we drove into Taft to a public beach there and I walked over to get a few photos of the seals sunning on the beach.  To be honest the sun was in my eyes and I had no idea if I'd gotten a photo but I did.  This is the best beach to take children as it's protected from the ocean but you can still enjoy seeing it.

Zoooom.. snap.. hmmm.. oh.. I got the seals!  Cute fuzzy things.

Another nearly cloudless sunset but I do love the colors in the sky.

When Dayle walked Mocha this morning he came back all excited to tell me there is a dead whale on the beach in front of our caravan!  Oh my!

It's Monday now, our wonderful son Travis and DIL Kristi are bringing the boys down this evening after he gets home from work and they're staying in a motel.  They'll spend the next day visiting us and enjoying the beach, then on Wednesday they'll help us pack up and hook up the trailer to leave.  Travis will drive the trailer home for us.  Aren't they great kids?

I wonder what adventures we'll have today.  What are you up to?  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

🌊 Celebrating at the Beach 🌊

🌊 We are really enjoying our time at the coast.  I found something I'd been eyeing for a few years, a driftwood hanging.  It looks perfect next to the door in the caravan.  :-)

I think the trailer/caravan is so much cozier with artworks and crocheted blankets and pillows around.  

I might hang it on our gazebo at home for the summer.

We visited a plant nursery to look for sea oats, a nautical grass plant, and I saw this in the shop and snapped it up.

My sister Denise was here on Tuesday and Wednesday and here we are at Kyllo's for lunch before she headed home.  She spent one night in Taft and hung out with us for 2 days.  She's a precious sister.

We've spent a lot of down time in the trailer watching for whale's spouting right out of our picture window.  Our darling little Mocha has fit right in as a beach dog.  This is how she cuddles in and sits with me.  :-)

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Yesterday we had my birthday lunch at Tidal Raves in Depoe Bay with fellow blogger Betsy and her husband Dennis.  We enjoyed the lunch and mostly the chatting.  :-) 

The waiter treated me to a warm cookie, vanilla ice cream, a lit candle and 4 spoons.  :-)  We hugged them goodbye on our way out as they headed home this morning.  

  
After lunch we watched for whales spouting at Depoe Bay, then drove south a bit so I could take a photo of this wonderful concrete totem pole.  I just love this.

It is a native person, I like to think it's a woman, all dressed in native regalia, a blanket with local native motifs, a carved rattle and hat.

It guards the entrance to Little Whale Cove, a gated community.

Then on south on Hwy 101 to see my favorite stone house that sits on a cliff with an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean.. there is a waterfall into the ocean here that I also love to snap a photo of.

It's pretty cool to have a waterfall flowing into the ocean.

Here is Cragganmore, the stone house of my dreams.

Next stop was to pick up a new toaster for the trailer.  I asked Dayle to get a red one.. lol.. and look what he found?  It's called the "Retro Series".  I just love it and it reminds me of a mid-century luxury car, two tone with chrome bumpers.  :-)

The sunset on Wednesday was the best of the week so far.

Such pretty colors in the sky!

Last night's sunset was majorly pale compared to the other one.

I just snapped this of Mocha looking out the window.  LOL!  Another sunny day.  We're heading out soon to find some lunch and see what kind of adventures we can find.  :-)  I've seen 4 or 5 whales spouting and one's back as it rose to the surface right out there!

On a sad note, my friend Sally passed away this morning.  I remember 4 years ago she told me she dearly wanted to visit the beach again.  A bunch of her friends pitched in some $ for her to go on a trip after her retirement from Vista House.  So I booked us a hotel and drove us down and I took her to all my favorite places and she told me stories of how her family came down here often as a child.  She had not been to the beach for 20 years when I brought her here.  I'm so glad we gave her this trip down memory lane.  Click HERE to see our first day and HERE to see our second day adventure with Sally.

If you have a special friend, make sure you see them and tell them you love them.  You never know when you might lose them.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Beach Tripping with Family and Friends

Ahoy there!  We've been enjoying our beach vacation and sharing our time with our kids on Fri, Sat and Sunday.  Then on Monday we met fellow blogger Betsy from "The Simple Life of a Queen" and her husband Dennis for lunch at Kyllo's restaurant.  Yesterday we visited the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, more on that later in the post.

At lunch with Betsy and Dennis, she pulled out her iPhone to snap a photo of us so I did the same.. Dennis found that funny.  lol!

After lunch they came to visit us in our caravan and Betsy gave me a birthday gift of some taffy, handmade soap, some huckleberry lip gloss and 3 hand-knit eggs! Thank you, Betsy!

She also delivered to me some gifts from BeckyL, another blog friend of ours that she met on Saturday, along with Gracie, on their way to the beach. Thank you, Becky!

A local restaurant to where we stay changed hands and now offers Cajun food!  I had the crawfish and shrimp etouffee and it was great!!  

Yesterday my sister Denise came to visit and spend the night in a hotel in Taft.. we went to Georgie's Grill in Newport and I had the crab Louis and it was outstanding.

After lunch we did some sightseeing with Denise, first up is the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse.  

Next is the Yaquina Bay Bridge.

Then we drive by the Coast Guard Station, I think it's beautiful.

We drove through the historic bay front which is a working fishing port with canneries and shops and restaurants and dives.. lol.. and down to the fisherman's yard that is full of crab pots and a great view of the bridge.

The colorful crab pots.

Dayle took my camera down to the dock and got some photos of the sea lions for me.  You should hear the seals and sea lions barking.. ORK ORK ORRRRK!

They are fun to watch and listen to.

Dayle thought this one was neat.

I thought it was interesting how this big bronze weather vane seal looks so much like the one above.

Next stop is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.. a favorite place of mine.  

I enjoy using my big Lumix camera to zoom in on the top of the lighthouse.

The Fresnel lens fascinates me.

We zoomed in on a big boat off the lighthouse.  Any ideas of what this boat is doing?  I wonder if it's a NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) vessel?  They have a facility in Yaquina Bay.

Denise came back to hang out with us in the caravan for the evening and then headed back to her hotel.. and then we got our best sunset photo so far.

Soooo pretty!

I do love me a good sunset.

We had a restful night listening to the waves crashing on the beach and awoke to a beautiful sunny day!!

And now I'm enjoying this view while I type this post to share with you.. Denise is here with us and we'll head out to lunch and our biggest decision is where we want to dine.  :-)

((hugs)), Teresa :-)