Oregon 2026 - Saturday-Sunday, June 27-28, 2026

Saturday Morning - ahh, the weekend! How is this day any different than any other vacation day on the Oregon coast? It’s not. Another gray day with the temperatures in the mid to upper 50º F temperatures. The ocean pounding away at the beach with a mesmerizing roar.  A fire in the fireplace.  All is right with the world.  Mark prepared bacon, fried eggs and toast with orange juice for the late morning meal. Cereal with fruit and bananas were also on offer. This was a wonderful, lazy day.

We spent the afternoon chatting, and, when the weather cleared a bit, Ann and Deb walked on the beach. Deb had so been looking forward to her beach walk and her anticipation was justified. She collected a few rocks for her collection back home and thoroughly enjoyed the stroll. She noted however that the climb back up from the beach seemed more strenuous than she recalled. 

We worked on the million piece puzzle, snacked for dinner, and watched some television between snoozes. The day ended as it began, quietly and lazily.

Sunday morning breakfast was hot oatmeal with berries, bananas and some of the remaining sourdough toasted and slathered with marionberry jam. Very Tasty. Determined not to let the day descend into another of restful indulgence, we broke camp and piled into the rental car to explore.  This time we headed north towards Lincoln City. We stopped for lunch at the Wildflower Grill, a local dining favorite. Deb ordered the Wildflower soup and salad, Don opted for Fish & Chips; Ann chose the fish tacos so that she could sponge some of Don’s fries. Mark thought he was ordering the Wildflower soup and sandwich combo, but ended up with a large cup of soup, a ham & swiss on a po’boy roll and chips. All the menu stated was Wildflower soup of the day. When we inquired, we learned that the soup of the day, every day, was clam chowder! As our tasting of clam chowder continues, this was not the best. A bit more bland than some we have tasted. Overall the meal rated well, though. 

As we departed, the weather remained clear, allowing us a chance to pause and admire all the wildflowers and shrubs planted along the walkway to the restaurant; towering flowering pea, a vibrant plant our phones identified as falling stars or Valentine flower, and one of the largest lavender bushes we had ever seen.  A beautiful display. We continued northward, our destination being Tillamook and the Tillamook Creamery.

Tillamook is famous for its ice cream, dairy products and cheese. This verdant valley fed by the Tillamook river, is perfect for grazing dairy cattle, providing wonderful milk for all things dairy. The Tillamook Creamery is a co-operative venture, with all the dairy farmers providing the raw milk for its products. In the mid 1850’s the farmers of Tillamook, having more milk than they could ever use, began to make cheese and butter but found it almost impossible to get the products across the mountains to the Portland for disbursal. So they built a boat, running three or four vessels before finally creating one that could complete the journey - christening it The Morningstar of Tillamook. A replica drawing of the sailing ship now adorns every package of Tillamook product. 

The creamery facility is also a wonderful visitor center where one can overlook the creation of the cheese, following the process from overhead galleries with explanatory signage. There is even a mocked up area where children can nurse mechanical calves with a bottle, and attach milking equipment to a large demo cow’s udders. Don and Deb procured large ice cream cones to sample, Mark took more than his allotted share from Deb’s cone as he was instructed to hold it for a moment, and Ann went wandering off to see if they had a product to indulge her lactose intolerance (they did not!)

We returned to Salishan with our purchased samples, and changed (sort of) for our 7:45 dinner reservation. Our dinner destination was Tidal Raves restaurant in Depoe Bay, a wonderful seafood restaurant with views of the bay. A blackboard listed all the seafood and the nearby towns from which it was sourced. Don & Ann both chose a halibut served over house made gnocchi, the halibut sourced from the town of Newport. Deb and Mark chose a grilled chinook salmon served over a blue cheese potato gratin, the salmon sourced from Coos Bay. Don & Ann each picked a N/A IPA beer while Mark enjoyed a glass of St. Innocent Pinot Noir and Deb had her first trusted me prepared dirty martini of the trip. A delicious meal.

By the time we left, closing the restaurant, the rain had returned.  We arrived home safely and worked the million piece puzzle for a bit before retiring after another wonderful day on the coastal plain.

Oregon 2026 - Friday, June 26, 2026

This morning was a quiet one.  Raining early then just cloudy and cool. Mark assumed cook’s duties this morning and whipped up scrambled eggs with baby shrimp tucked into the curds.  Surprisingly tasty, accompanied by orange juice, coffee and toast. Shortly after noon, the crew popped into the chariot for some sightseeing. We hoovered south on highway 101 towards the destination of Newport. 

We stopped at Yaquina Lighthouse for some history. This 93 foot tall lighthouse is Oregon’s tallest. It is one of  a string of lighthouses built along the Pacific Ocean coast to allow shipping and to open up the region to commerce.  The construction of Yaquina Lighthouse was begun in 1871 and the light was first lit on August 20, 1873. The light was visible for 20 miles out to sea, courtesy of a Fresnel lens manufactured in Paris, France in 1868. The lens was shipped across the Atlantic to Panama, carried overland across the isthmus and then continued its voyage up the Pacific coast to Oregon. In the 1930’s the 4-wick lamp fueled by oil was replaced wth a 1,000 watt electric theatrical lamp of 130,000 candlepower. In 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was incorporated into the U.S. Coastguard which took over control of the lighthouse, its structures and supervision of its keepers. 

In 1966, the era of Lighthouse Keeper ended as a computerised light was installed. A GPS system has since replaced most navigation, but the lighthouse remains lit for those vessels not equipped with GPS equipment. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management now administers the sight and conducts tours of the lighthouse and staffs the facility with Rangers to provide lectures about the lighthouse and it’s animal and sea life in the tide pools.

The  other attraction at Yaquina Point are the small islands just off shore which are part of a designated bird sanctuary.  We were able to spot Brown Pelicans, Pelagic and Brandt’s Cormorants, Xantus’ Murrelets, Pigeon Guillemot, Seagulls trying to steal eggs, and Turkey Vultures swooping down to scare the small birds and steal some eggs. We talked  at length to a volunteer Ranger, Wil(helmina) who provided us with some background and information on all the wildlife. She was just getting off of her shift and so walked with us towards the parking lot.  A younger tourist woman was walking  up the path towards the lighthouse, with a young pit bull type dog pulling on the leash. As she walked past the “No Pets Allowed” sign, Wil said “I’m sorry, Ma’am, no pets are allowed as this is a bird sanctuary.” The woman looked over her shoulder, kept going and said “This is a service dog.” Wil said,”Service dogs don’t pull at their leads.” The woman ignored her and kept on going. Wil muttered that she was off duty and didn’t want to lose her temper, so turned towards the  parking lot and left. We are not sure not sure if the dog was a bitch, but we are certain about the woman!

We then continued south into the town of Newport. The fishing industry and warehouses here are gradually giving away to tourism, but the town still bustles. We stopped at a local jewelry shop that Ann frequents to find earrings to match a ring she had purchased last year.  It was a Herkimer diamond, which I had never heard of but are only mined near Herkimer, N.Y.  Considerably less expensive than regular diamonds but very attractive, nonetheless.  Afterwards we went looking for the “hundreds of seals” that generally hang out at the local pier only to find one poor, lonely bull seal with the whole pier to himself.  We have no idea where the others are hanging out these days but when we find out, we will send someone to tell him.  We stopped for a late lunch/early supper at the famous Mo’s Diner for our afternoon repast. Deb & Mark enjoyed wonderful clam chowder accompanied by a bowl of fried onion rings for the table. Ann ordered fish tacos and a small shrimp salad (which proved to be too much food, so the salad became take-out) while Don enjoyed a large seafood salad.  We finished the meal with a shared piece of peanut butter cream pie, which was delicious.  Deb is still talking about it!

 On the drive home, we stopped at the roadside Chester’s Market for additional provisions and then, some of us returned for a rest. Don & Ann, however, went for a walk along the beach which was cut somewhat short by rain. Meanwhile, Mark made Deb a Dirty Martini (it is Friday after all!) which she couldn’t finish because she was too full of chowder and onion rings!  We then worked on Ann’s million piece jigsaw puzzle, watched PBS Newshour for updates on the Orange Felon, then Washington Week with The Atlantic. The weather cleared and we watched the sun sink into the wide Pacific Ocean.