Day 17 – So long…farewell!

Before we say goodbye, here are a few photos from the very interesting Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria:

 

John Boulton, Barbara McCray, Rita & John Ham resting

artifacts from the wreck of “Peter Iredale”

Followed by a fabulous farewell dinner by Chef Stan, shown here putting the finishing touches to the grilled salmon.  YUMMMMM….

We now bid everyone a fond farewell…and say a HUGE THANK YOU to our rally masters for putting together such a terrific caravan.  A lot of planning went into this venture long before our arrival, and these four worked hard to make everything run smoothly as we went along.  Kudos to Stan & Barbara Jones, and Wayne & Barbara McCray.

And thanks to Karen Bellman, ever ready with camera in hand, who provided most of our photographs (Dick and Sandy Bell threw in a few).  Remember, more photos will be added to Karen’s Picasa site for this caravan, so click and enjoy:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jkbellman/MIMBeautifulOregon?feat=content_notification#

May the good saints protect you,
And bless you today.
And may troubles ignore you,
Each step (mile!) of the way.

~~~~~~

It has been my pleasure posting about the “Beautiful Oregon” trip.  The blog will remain online so that you can come back and revisit and reminisce again. 

Safe travels, everyone…until we meet again.  See y’all down the road!

Sandy Bell

Day 16 – 8/30 – Columbia River Maritime Museum

Our final day already???

This will be our last carpool.  We head to Astoria to the Columbia River Maritime Museum, with a stop along the way at the Astoria Column.

After lunch on our own, we have the option to tour Astoria on the Riverfront Trolley, and let someone else do the driving for a change.

Yesterday on our day of rest, the Bells and Bellmans went over to Washington.  Here is Karen at North Head Lighthouse:

We also visited the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment.  Here is another Fresnel lens from the lighthouse:

And finally we got a few drops of rain last night, the first on the whole trip.  Amazing, since normally this area gets lots of rain.

Our farewell dinner will be at the campground tonight, where we will enjoy talking about all the many adventures we’ve experienced on the caravan, and share a final evening with all of our traveling companions. 

Don’t forget to check back often at Karen’s Picasa photo site for lots of additional photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jkbellman/MIMBeautifulOregon?feat=content_notification#

There will be more information and photos tomorrow, so don’t you think we are finished yet.  We’re not!  Stay tuned…

Day 15 – 8/29 – Free day at Fort Stevens

Today is a free day—time to kick back and relax.  And sort through all the photos!  And maybe go to Costo.  Or nap.

Enjoy a few of our recent activities:

Spruce Goose

Bill and Karen playing…

Barbara eating…

all of us still eating…

visiting Ft. Clatsop (the end of the trail for Lewis and Clark)

and learning about THE Stars and Stripes flag of 15 stars and 15 stripes…

and checking out the beach at Seaside where the ‘Hood to the Coast’ walk/bike race was going on…

Whew…we’ve been busy!  It’s a good thing it is a day of rest.  We need it.  Cheers!

Day 14 – 8/28 – Fort Stevens

Today is a truly historical day.  We will carpool to Fort Clatsop Visitor Center for the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park!

Lunch will be a Maggie’s in Seaside, followed by an afternoon where we are free to explore Seaside and walk the boardwalk.

Get your taste buds ready for the fabulous chili cook off at the campground tonight!  Gals, get those Dutch ovens ready…let the cooking begin!

Oh yes, thanks to the breakfast team yesterday.  Everything was delish.  Everyone cleaned their plates:

Karen and John

It was good having John and Louise join us at breakfast.  He has been ‘down in the back’ for the past few days and has missed a lot of good stuff.  Hey, John!  Be careful…no relapse allowed!!!

Visit to Russell Battery at Ft. Stevens upon arrival yesterday:

 

Everyone enjoyed delicious BBQ ribs/chicken and corn on the cob last night, followed by this delicacy:

Bread pudding for 22, cooked over coals on this tray, in a 14 qt. cast iron cooker that also had a heaping of coals on the top of the lid.  Um mm, good!  Stan rocks!!!

Day 13 – 8/27 – Final caravan day…

We begin today with a team cookout breakfast before we caravan along the beautiful Oregon coast to Fort Stevens State Park (107 miles), with a rest stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  Oh boy, oh boy…say cheese, everyone!  Or will it be ice cream?  I hear theirs is FABULOUS!

A tour of Fort Stevens is up next, followed by a BBQ dinner at the campground when we return.

We eat well!  Have you noticed?

Speaking of eating and since we are all on the road today, here are some more photos for y’all to enjoy from our fantastic dinner at the Culinary Center.  Everyone is still talking about how great the food was and what a fun evening we had:

Wild halibut with Quinoa citrus pilaf and garden vegetables and herbs…

John and Rita going back for more gazpacho…garnished with Dungeness crabs…

Be still my heart, the dessert was fabulous:  cream cheese pound cake with fresh lemon curd, Oregon berries, and balsamic glaze.  Yummm….

OK…enough about food.  Have any of you ever built a tall tower out of marshmallows and wooden skewers?  The teams had fun building (trying to build?) these dubious structures:

It’s not as easy as it looks, plus…they had to remain standing until time was called.  Can you believe some folks even tried to sabotage their opponents’ towers?  For shame! 

Here’s the group (well, most of them…some had wandered off; some had other plans for the day) earlier yesterday at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.  That is a MUST SEE if you are ever in the area:

Who says old folks can’t have fun?  Check back tomorrow for another report.

Day 12 – 8/26 – Spruce Goose!

Ready for another carpool?  We are heading to McMinnville for a tour of Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the legendary Spruce Goose, and the IMAX Theatre.

Lunch and wine tasting on our own at the Spruce Goose Cafe or at the Cosmo Cafe, located at the museum.  Hmm, decisions, decisions!

Speaking of food, we first visited the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse yesterday…

And the Oregon Coast Aquarium…

And finished off the day with a six-course dinner at the Lincoln Culinary Center:

We do eat well!

So tonight we will have Margaritas and a Mexican dinner from LaRoca, and ‘game night’ at Devil’s Lake RV Clubhouse.  This concludes a very busy day.  Olé!

Karen is daily posting additional caravan photos on her site.  Go check it out:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jkbellman/MIMBeautifulOregon?feat=email#

Day 11 – 8/25- Lincoln City

We had a relaxed caravan yesterday, straight up famous Hwy. 101, with its winding curves, many bridges, and beautiful scenery along the coast.

Everyone made it safely to the new campground, and just basically chilled for the afternoon.

Today’s carpool begins with a morning visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.  Lunch will be on our own.  Clam chowder, anyone?

Coastal sightseeing will include:  Yaquina Bay Bridge (an arch bridge spanning Yaquina Bay), Yaquina Head Lighthouse (Oregon’s tallest and second oldest continuously working lighthouse), Otter Crest Loop, Beverly Beach, and Depoe Bay.

Dinner tonight will be a truly different dining experience—at the Culinary Center here in Lincoln City, where local food is featured and we can sit back and relax, or jump in and have hands-on culinary experience.  Bon appetite, y’all!

Day 10 – 8/24 – Coos Bay to Lincoln City

Before you find out about today’s activities, let me report that we had a nice surprise yesterday on our outing.  Dick spotted a whale off Simpson Reef Overlook!:

A gray whale mama and calf were out fairly close in trying to catch their lunch.  We also saw many sea lions lounging…and barking…those guys are loud!

Next, we visited Shore Acres State Park and their lovely botanical garden, followed by a picnic lunch:

…before going on to the Oregon Connection Myrtlewood Factory (myrtlewood was explained yesterday) for a tour:

And a little shopping:

So today it is time to move on.  We caravan to Lincoln City (128 miles) along the beautiful Oregon coast before arriving at the Devil’s Lake RV Park.

Afternoon activities:  visits to the Connie Hansen Gardens, Alderhouse Glass Blowing, or The Beach at “D” River for some kite flying.  Choices, choices!

And tonight we’ll just relax at the campground and have heavy hors d'oeuvres for dinner, and good conversation.

BTW, thanks to Karen for those DELICIOUS pies (4) that she made for our dessert last night!  Yummm…

Day 9 – 8/23 – Coos Bay continued

Finally, the whole group gang is here.  The Hams arrived with their new coach at last, here at the Umpqua Discovery Center on Saturday:

But they did miss the tour of the Umpqua Lighthouse and seeing the beautiful first-order Fresnel lens, straight from Paris.  There aren’t many left in the world:

But the Hams did get to enjoy lunch at Schooners Cafe with us:

 

So now it is another day, and time to get our rested selves into the carpools and go to the Cape Arago for sightseeing today at Shore Acres State Park, and a picnic lunch.  Food?  Sure…we’ll all be there!

Sights today include:  Sunset Bay, Shore Acres State Park, lighthouse and marine mammal viewing.  We’ll return by way of the Oregon Connection Myrtlewood Factory, one of the oldest continuously working Myrtlewood factories on the Southern Oregon Coast.

So what is myrtlewood?, you ask.  Oregon Myrtlewood is a broadleaf evergreen native to Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California.  The leaves are frequently used in cooking as a substitute for True Bay, and are also noted as a flea repellant when freshly crushed.  Side note:  Our campers do not have fleas!

Oregon Myrtlewood possesses a wide variety of beautiful colors and grain patterns and is noted by many as being one of the world’s most beautiful woods.  I’m sure today’s shoppers will find many tempting items!

BBQ dinner is poolside at The Mill Casino tonight.  Life is good!