We’ve gotten to know the Pacific Ocean in our past trips to San Diego, San Francisco, and Costa Rica. Since moving to the west coast, we’ve been itching to see more of this magical coast, from the California redwoods to the rock outcroppings and seal habitats, to the powerful Columbia River and Olympic peninsula and islands up north.
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| Redwood National Forest coast, northern CA |
The water is cold, but the ocean is beautiful to behold. It’s not easy to capture a sunny day on the northwest coast, but we got a few!
Last summer we spent time on the Olympic Peninsula, Orcas Island and a ferry tour of other San Juan islands and orca whales, and Point Reyes in Marin County (see 9-10/10). This summer we got to see more of the west coast in three different trips:
Arcata, CA and the Redwood National Forest area near the border of Oregon:
I can’t get enough of those mystical giants!
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| Lady Anne Victorian B&B in Arcata, CA with palm tree and roses |
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| Magical Fern Gully in Redwood National Forest |
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| Elk on the Beach! |
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| Redwood National Forest, border of CA and Oregon |
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| Of course Kule had to climb this natural bridge - beautiful |
Heceta Head near Florence, Oregon:
This is the closest beach to Eugene, Oregon, about 1 ¼ hrs away. The lighthouse and sea lion caves are worth a trip!
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| Looks like Cranes Beach, Ipswich, MA in the winter! |
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| Sea lion caves |
Astoria, Oregon:
This Victorian city on the Columbia River, bordering Washington state, has a rich history of fur trade, salmon canning, and international trade. The maritime museum is a must-see, with stories of shipwrecks and movies of passages through “the Bar”, the treacherous area of cross-currents created with the power of the Columbia River meeting the mighty Pacific. I would love to see it during a winter storm, but I’m choosing not to make the passage!
Our Victorian B&B was a treat, with an awesome view of the river and passing freighters.
We stepped back in time to this small town on the way to visit Kule’s brother Joel in Seattle, with hopes to get a sunny day at Mt Rainier!
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| View of the Columbia River from our GrandView VictoriaN B&B in Astoria, OR |
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| Freigher crossing the bar on the Columbia River with pelican display |
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