Cape Lookout

Our mini-excursion into Astoria before breaking camp at Fort Stevens turned even mini-ier. It was pouring rain when we got to town about 10 a.m. The waterfront trolley didn't start running until noon, and The Bowpicker same thing. So we drove around the historic district for a bit, looking at the Victorian houses, then headed back to camp to pack up. We than headed south through Seaside, Cannon Beach, etc. Pretty drive, even in the rain. Much of along the coast, where we could see sea stacks and rugged shoreline. Lots of state recreation areas and trailheads that looked interesting. We've earned that Oregon passed a law in 1967 that made ALL beaches public. No one can build on the beach. Even if you own a house with a beachfront, you are not allowed to fence it off--the beach doesn't belong to you.

We are camped at Cape Lookout State Park, about 12 miles south of Tillamook (pronounced "muck" as in "duck" not "mook" as in "book."). It seems to be a smallish campground, at lest quite a bit smaller that Fort Stevens. There are only 38 sites with hookups--the rest are bare bones, not even with water at every site. Hot showers and flush toilets, though, and a little yurt village and some camping cabins. Our original campsite was advertised as "beachfront," which it was except there's a big dune between the sites and beach so you can't see the ocean. We ended up moving to another site more in the trees that has hookups. Very nice and private, and you can still hear the ocean. Ellie and I go down for a walk on the beach every morning. You can walk for 7 miles north along the beach, but only about a half mile south, and then only in low tide, because of the rocks and cliff. Yesterday morning, a bald eagle cruised right over our heads, checking us out.

Lots to do here. Yesterday, we took a 4 mile hike toward Cape Lookout. It was a nice combination of deep, lush forest and stunning ocean views. Saw a cool-looking snake right on the path--wish Arin was here to identify it for us. In the afternoon, we cleaned up and drove into Tillamook to visit the cheese factory. Besides making something like 1 1/2 million pounds of cheese a year, they also make (and sell!) great ice cream. Too many flavors to choose from--I finally decided on Tillamook Mudslide, rich chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate ribbons through it. Good pick! Next time, I'm going to have Udderly Chocolate, which is white chocolate and dark chocolate icr creams swirled together. Or maybe Oregon Huckleberry, or . . .or. . . . .After eating our dessert first, we went in search of dinner. Got a recommendation at a little seafood market right across from the cheese factory (will go back there another day for their clam chowder and crabcakes to go) for a place called The Schooner on Netarts Bay, about halfway back to our camp. Nondescript-looking place from the outdside, but with a nice view of the bay and great food. Steve had fish and chips with beer-battered fries, and I had grilled halibut crusted with hazelnuts. Delicious!Oh, and clam chowder, of course. We've made a point of trying it wherever we are. Each place seems to have their own recipe. It's all fabulous, but each is unique. Steve's favorite so far is still The Ship Inn in Astoria. I have to agree.

Today we woke up to blue skies and sunshine--a first since we got to the coast. Decided to go kayaking on Netarts Bay. Drove down there, got launched, but Steve's rudder was not working, so he could n't steer. The steering mechanism on his hand-built Western red cedar kayak is made of wood, and it appeared to have swelled up in the damp weather and high humidity here. So we came back to camp and he took it apart, sanded it down and reinstalled it, ready to go maybe tomorrow or the next day. He's also going to be on the lookout for an aluminum replacement part.

Upcoming excursions in the next few days: more hiking and kayaking, a visit to Cape Meares Lighthouse, the Farmers Market on Saturday in Tillamook, the airplane museum(Steve), the Latimer Quilt and Textile Musuem (Sandy), and more ice cream cones (both of us!).