A Day at the Coast

One sunny Friday in early September, I had the day off and both kids happened to be home.  I suggested a trip to the coast.  Although the Oregon coast is only an hour's drive from our home, we never seem to head that way.  It seems I'm always headed in the opposite direction - either to Mt. Hood or the Gorge, which are longer drives.  Maybe it's because I grew up in a land-locked state and don't know enough to miss the ocean!

Denise bagged out on the trip.  She was heading to college in a week, and had lots of stuff to do.  But I was able to convince Cody to come along with me.

So we grabbed Bear, gassed up the car, bought some snacks, and were on our way!  We headed down towards Tillamook.  I took the "Three Capes Scenic Loop" and stopped at Cape Meares Lighthouse.  I love lighthouses!  They are always great photo subjects.  Above is my attempt at photographing this cute little lighthouse.

There were lots of people visiting the lighthouse.  We brought Bear along on a leash, and everyone loved him.  A lady that was working at the lighthouse gave him some dog treats. 

After that, we took a short trail that wound along the rocky headland.  There were lots of viewpoints off of the trail to look out upon the sea.  Above is a great view of the ocean from one of the trail overlooks.

After our visit at Cape Meares, we drove on to the town of Oceanside.  Oceanside has a really nice beach, and is a little bit off of the beaten path, so you don't encounter hordes of people like you do at Cannon Beach or Seaside.  Above is a beach scene from Oceanside.  These are two of the Three Arch Rocks.

Of course Bear's favorite thing to do at the beach is PLAY FRISBEE!  He runs and runs and runs.....

Until he is absolutely too pooped to do anything!

Eventually Bear gets a second wind, and is ready for more frisbee games.

Cody enjoyed walking in the sand.  It was a nice, warm, not-too-windy day.  Perfect weather for the coast!

Poop patrol - the downside to dog ownership!

There is a tunnel between the two beaches at Oceanside.  The beach on the other side of the tunnel is a rocky beach.  We didn't stay here long - the rocks were hard on bare feet!  However, we were here long enough for Bear to lose his frisbee in the ocean.  I think he set it down for some reason, and the waves instantly took it out to sea!  That was the end of his frisbee games.

The coast is a great place for photography.  Every time I visit, I wonder why I don't come out here more often.

It was a great way to spend a day.  We couldn't have asked for better weather.  And it was nice to spend some time with Cody before he left for Montana.