Day Nine, Astoria to Newport

This morning we woke to the smell of breakfast cooking at about 6:45. We have just finished that breakfast of quiche, oven roasted potatoes and a slice of bacon, and raisin bread toast. This morning we are leaving the Rosebriar on an overcast day. No rain though.

It is now Thursday Evening and I will fill you in on the trip from Astoria. Heading South we first stopped at Ecola State Park to take a picture of Tillamook Rock Light House. The trail was real muddy and slippery. A lot of trees were down. This winter they had 100 to 115 mph winds for 28 hours.

We stopped at the Tillamook cheese factory for some ice cream and pick up a few packages of cheese. We also stopped at a Myrtle Wood Factory and picked up a block of myrtle wood in case Paul does not have a myrtle wood block. Then South to Cape Mears for another light house picture.

Toward evening we checked out the Yaquina Head light house and decided that we needed a picture in the morning. We drove around Nye Beach and tried to get a room at Sylvia's Beach Hotel but they were booked (pun intended). We ate at Nana's Irish Pub on the patio. It was a great evening.

That evening we did get a good late afternoon picture at Yaquina Bay. After that we drove South an hour to get a sunset picture of a beach just South of Heceta Head. This is the same picture of the beach that you have at your place, Tiffany. The sand was not as interesting but the lighting was better. We then headed back to our hotel room in Newport. Nice hotel suite with a balcony overlooking the Yaquina River mouth and an interesting steel bridge. (Sorry these pictures are in RAW form on my Nikon so I can't include them here).

For a planned 180 mile day, we managed to drive much more and do more side trips and back tracking so we used the entire 12 hour day to see the sights. I am impressed with all the lush green along the highway and acres and acres of forests. It is also shocking how many trees and forests are either down from the winter storms, cut for lumber, or cut for developments.