Next stop Pacific City! A beautiful drive down the coast and it seems to be even more remote.
Not sure what this tree is but it is amazing to look at with its perfect symmetry and wavy branches.Here’s our rental house … with enough beds for over a dozen guests.A scenic view from our new digs. Pacific City has a haystack rock like Cannon Beach but it’s out farther and not reachable in low tide. Lots of surfers.Early sunset after a long day. Weather is looking better for beach wedding tomorrow.The house features a gourmet kitchen and my nephew James is right at home with it. He and my sister-in-law Ellen whip up breakfast for 14.Friday brings a beautiful blue sky sunny day in the low 80s. Perfect. The wedding is the focus of today and everyone is relieved that the weather is cooperating.The Minnesota contingency is on time and ready to celebrate. (Richard & Lisa missing from photo. )Guests begin to arrive for the wedding.An unforgettable ceremony …… followed by a beautiful indoor reception. A stunning sunset sneaks by as the reception rolls on. The colors of the sunset changed every few minutes. The evening ended with sparklers on the beach. Chandler & Kelly pulled off the perfect wedding.Saturday … we have a whole day open and four rental cars. Some went dune climbing, some went to Lincoln City looking for fresh seafood for dinner and some took off for wine country. Richard, Lisa, Ellen and I set out for Cape Meares for some stunning ocean views.Today’s dinner plan is for a seafood extravaganza.The dunes may look easy but provide a challenging climb and workout.So much fun to cruise the west coast with good friends Richard & Lisa. It was a beautiful drive to Cape Meares with lots of farm land and interesting terrain. A stunning wayside view in Tillamook county heading for Cape Meares.We took a break at a stone covered beach. Unfortunately, the road to the lighthouse was closed.No lighthouse … reroute. Now we’re heading for Willamette Valley which means a drive through the coast range heading toward Portland. More interesting forests with moss covered trees which at night could easily be mistaken for Sasquatch … that must be how those stories start.We arrive at Apolloni Vineyards which produces Oregon and Italian wines. The Valley is Oregon’s oldest wine region and has two-thirds of the state’s wineries and vineyards. Apolloni is a family run vineyard. Alfredo, (second-generation) shares his passion for the vineyard and the wines we were sampling.
After a little wine, we realize it’s a long drive back to Pacific City and we don’t want to miss the sunset. Back in the car and a beeline route back.
Bubba and Ellen kick back after a long day of exploring.Tonight’s chefs, cousins James, Kyle and Owen doing seafood & oyster prep for dinner. Happy hour charcuterie.Everybody on the deck … getting ready for the sunset.A beautiful view from the cavernous living room.A final sunset worthy of an awesome trip. Someone had a great idea — let’s go swimming!There they go … water was extremely cold so the swim didn’t last long. A lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ took place. And they survived with another great memory.Back to dinner prep. A seafood bisque in the works.James workin’ the grill by cell phone light.A beautiful feast. Food, family, friends … the best dinner ever!
The week ended with a bonfire on the beach and a visit from a curious creature with a big shadow. We joked about how it would be fun to come back to the rental house for a 1st anniversary celebration.
On Sunday, we packed it up and headed to Portland. Most of us were on the same flight. I rate this as a 5-star week in Portland. Oregon rocks!
Jane in Spain 