Oregon Coast

While Portland brought out "Huh, you are going where?" responses, when you say "We're heading to the Pacific Northwest", you get a much more interested reaction! So that's what we did...we headed a couple hours west to the Oregon Coast. This looks more like a vacation, eh?

We did make a touristy stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Mmmmm....cheese! (a top 3 food in my book!) We didn't actually witness the cheese-making process, as that is done inside humongous closed vats, which is then followed by the cheese sitting on a shelf for 60-90 days. However, we did watch the cheese-packaging process. Ooooohhhh! Big large blocks get cut into smaller blocks, they ride across a scale that kicks it to the side if the weight is too much/too little, it gets corrected (by a human) and then continues down the line to get wrapped up and boxed. It is somewhat mesmerizing to watch as things whir along. It was all worth it for the cheese sampling. Ever had squeaky cheese curds?

So back to the beautiful coast...

When you are on the coast, what do you see? Lighthouses of course! Cape Meares Lighthouse is just outside of Tillamook.

Our main destination along the coast was Newport, which has a neat Historic District for eating, dining, and wandering. Eventually you will hear the familiar sounds of sea lions barking at each other. We stopped to watch most of the sea lions sleeping. However, there was one that went along antagonizing each peaceful sea lion (he's jumping up on the side of the pier heading back). Perhaps he was looking for someone to play with, or maybe he's just annoying.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse (not to be confused with the nearby, defunct Yaquina Bay Lighthouse) is another interesting destination in NewPort. We toured the inside and climbed the 114 steps to the top.

The area is beautiful for hiking and exploring...gazillions of birds and even some tide pools.

Our final coastal site, which we've never toured before, is the U.S. Coast Guard station house. When you think about the U.S. military, you don't usually think about the Coast Guard, but it too is an official military base (looks like an old historic house to us!). We had a private tour and boarded the rescue boats and heard cool stories about these guys and gals protecting our coasts and enforcing the laws.

Two thumbs up for the Pacific Northwest!