Oregon Coast - Day Three

The third cape in the Three Cape Scenic Drive is Cape Kiwanda.  On the way there, you drive by Clay Myers State Natural Area at Whalen Island.  This is a natural area with a circular hike that I am sure you can see lots of wildlife when it isn't a driving rain.

Most of the hiking is through shore scrub.

There are little trails that pop through where you can see a small inlet with the ocean behind it.

After I was done here, I drove down to Pacific City and Bob Straub State Park.  More ocean, more views.

Then back up the road to the Pelican Brew Pub and Cape Kiwanda.

While on my trip, I finally read The Boys in the Boat.  And, I finished the trip with a stop in Portland to attend Neal Otto's neighborhood wreath party.  A great holiday tradition.

Oregon Coast - Day Two

When I went on my little walkabout, a year and a half ago, I spent a couple of nights at Cape Lookout State Park.  The park has a long sand spit that you can walk along and look at the ocean.  When you leave, you drive up to the top of the cape and there is a trail that goes out to the point.  That was today's objective.

I drove down and parked at the trail head.  It is a 2.4 mile hike out to the point.  The first part of the trail is great.

There is the usual spectacular view south.

You can almost see a cove that is straight down.

About a mile in, you come to a view point where you can see the state park to the north.

This is where it became interesting. I am walking by myself.  There are only a couple of other cars at the trail head and the trail became a little slick and more challenging.

And then it became difficult.

If I want to continue to be allowed to go off on my own, I am not allowed to fall and I am most definitely not allowed to be carted off to the hospital.  So, I turned around and went back to the truck.

I stopped at the Schooner in Netarts on the way back to the hotel and had some really good oysters and chips.  Super fresh oysters and the oil was really hot for the fries so they came out crisp with good sea salt on them.

Oregon Coast - Day One

The way this year worked out, I had seven days of vacation that I had to use or lose.  I'm taking the last week of the year off, so I needed to spend three more days.  Last year, I took three days at Rockaway Beach, Oregon and I really enjoyed it.  It was just walking, reading and watching the ocean.

This year, I found a hotel in Oceanside, Oregon.  I didn't realize when I booked it that there isn't any cell coverage in town, but, that works for me. This the view from my room.

In the area, they have the Three Capes Scenic Drive.  The northernmost cape is Cape Meares.  It's main point of interest is the Octupus tree.  A Sitka spruce, that the sign says they don't know how it grew this way.  However, if you look closely at other trees in the area they all grow like this.  This one is just exceptionally old.

There is also a lighthouse out on the point.

And the north

and south views.

This was the best weather for the trip.

Final Thoughts

Usually, when I get to the end of a trip like this, I run to the airport and can't wait to get home.  This time, not so much.  It's nice to come home.  I should go back to work.  But, there is starting to be a bit more wander in me than there used to be.

I find air travel to be a irritating and rushed.  I get tired of people that are in a hurry to get somewhere.  I don't like to be in motion for more than four hours. What I want is a place to sit and be.

I understand, that with the current structure of my life, I will have to fly to get to Europe.  But, I need to figure out a way to make the travel piece more relaxing.  I'm working on it and when I know, I'll share it with you.

The best parts of the trip were when I was sitting with family, and, friends old and new. I got to have two dinners with Belinda and one with her father-in-law John. The fours hours in the pub with locals in Winchcombe were completely unexpected and great. It was like a night with my friends at home. As difficult as the day was when I got lost, I enjoyed the beer with the nice Dutch couple afterwards. The day I decided not to walk, I watched soccer with some locals in the afternoon and ended up talking to another local couple for a few hours while I ate my dinner.

The best part of Edinburgh with my family, Belinda, Kate and the Huffmans was eating dinner and sitting in pubs. The sites were great, but the people were better.  I got to meet some of Madeleine's friends and their parents at St. Andrews in, you guessed it, pubs and restaurants.  As amazing looking as the Isle of Skye was, we also  appreciated a very nice waitress at a pub, where we ate a lunch and dinner, who paid attention, made sure we got a table, suggested a local gin for Cathie to try and was just generally lovely.

I'm going to stop now.  I'm starting to sound like Rick Steves.

One final thought.  In a world of turmoil and disagreement, I think I found one point we can all agree on.  In this country, we understand water pressure and an appropriate sized shower and we do an excellent job of making that experience happen.  I have a small shower in my basement bathroom, but, I can turn around in it without bumping the sides. My $3 shower head is legally compliant with all water saving regulations, yet, it delivers a steady, relaxing flow to my often tired back. My shower is the best place in the world to stand when you are covered in travel grime.

Okay, maybe it is good to be home.

More Photos From The First Day

The final post has been written and I was waiting to post it. I logged into my work email on Tuesday and these photos were waiting for me.

On the first full day of my trip, Belinda's father-in-law, John, and I spent the morning and early afternoon in the rain seeing Oxford.  Belinda picked us up and took us out to Asthall Manor (the Mitford estate) to see a sculpture exhibit.

John and I posed by a gate.

Belinda, me and John

Walking out in the field to some of the sculptures.  This photo is really here because of the clouds.

Back by the house.

You can see the skies getting darker in the background.  We made it back to the car about 5 minutes ahead of them.

Moving Day Five - The Last Post

We had to head back to Edinburgh.  It was going to be a long day in the car and we were going to end up at the Hilton at the airport.  I expected nothing from the day.

This is the Eilean Donean castle, on Scotland, just outside of the Isle of Skye. It was built in the 1200s or so, blown up by the Jacobites around 1750 and restored around 1900.

This was the weather the rest of the day, a driving rain for the next 3 hours.

Here's what you didn't get to see.  After three weeks of spectacular scenery, from Oxford, the Cotswolds, Edinburgh, St. Andrew and the Isle of Skye, I thought I wouldn't see anything better.  I was wrong.

About half an hour south of Fort William, we drove through Glencoe.  It is a small town that sits in the bottom of a huge valley, surrounded by gigantic mountains.  It is one of the most incredible places I have ever seen.  It is sparsely populated and it is a place where people go for hiking and other outdoor activities.

We were two hours into our trip and we had another two hours to go.  It was the worst of the wind and rain we had seen so far.  The roads were narrow and we were amongst semi-trucks.  We were not stopping.  Next time.

Isle of Skye - Day Three

It has been busy and Cathie does all of our overseas driving. She wanted a do nothing day to sit at the hotel and read.  I assumed it would be another blank post.

While looking for ice cream, we stopped at the Clan Donald house in Armadale.

This is outside a small pub, five minutes from our hotel.  This was the view at lunch.  We had actual sun for a little over an hour.

And this is the nothing view from the parking lot at the hotel.  It is still lovely.

Isle of Skye - Day Two

The plan for Wednesday was to drive to the north end of the island. 

The day starts the way we ended yesterday, with a view from a wide spot in the road.

The Isle of Skye has various rock formations with names.  I couldn't keep track of them, so I just took photos.

Sheep.

We were on our way to Kilt Rock, which is a series of basalt cliffs with a waterfall coming out of the top of one of them. We pulled over at a sign, but, it wasn't the place we were looking for.  It was still lovely.

And this is the view in the other direction.

We stopped at the Flora McDonald memorial, and Cathie found Alexander McQueen's grave marker.  I stood in the wind next to the car.  This is the Atlantic at the north tip of the island.

And this is the view the other way.

From here it was back to the hotel for tea.

Isle of Skye - Day One

Four years ago, we were going to St. Andrews for the first time and Cathie asked what I wanted to see. We had just seen Skyfall and I said I wanted to see one of e places in Scotland with large mountains and no people. I thought we managed that when we left Balmoral.  I was mistaken, the Isle of Skye is that terrain. Almost all the terrain is above the tree line; large mountains that go straight into sea; not as many people as you expect; and, finally, space.

This was the view from our hotel.

We drove out to the fairy pools. It is a one lane road with turnouts. It is also one of the busiest places on the island.

This is the view down the valley.

About halfway to the top.

We made it about 3/4 of the way to the top, then the weather conspired against us and we turned around. This was the last photo before turning back.

The crew.

After the hike, we stopped at Talisker so I could have a taste.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Portree.

And, this sums up the scenery on the Isle of Skye. This is a wide spot on the road that we passed on our way out for the day, so we stopped an took a photo on the way back.