Jesse Honeyman State Park, OR
We pulled out of camp fairly early this morning and continued our journey down the Oregon Coast. I'm still not acclimated to the cool coastal breeze, especially after all the triple digit heat waves and humid days of the South. Ned bundled up, but I held fast to my shorts, tshirt and flip-flops. Driving down the coast we were treated to several pretty dramatic views so indicative of the Northern Oregon area.
Our first excursion this morning was a trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We had visited here several years ago. We didn't notice a lot of big changes except for the cheese vats are now enclosed. We sampled the cheeses, but didn't get any ice cream. Hard to believe, I know, but eating ice cream before 9 is a little too early even for us!
Just down the road from Tillamook is the Blue Heron Cheese Company. We took a quick spin thru there as well. Personally, I don't think anything is as good as Cowgirl Creamery! We have high hopes for the new creamery opening up in Nevada City. We're definitely looking forward to sampling that as well.
After all that cheese what a better way to work it off than taking a hike. Ned spotted a waterfall sign for a State Park so we decided a hike to the falls was just the thing to do. As far as waterfalls go, this one was pretty good! I'm still trying to get my head around all the lush green in Oregon and all the rivers and waterfalls. I have an idea that we are going to be shocked when re-entering California with the "golden" hills.
Here's Ned with the falls behind him.
By early afternoon we reached Yachats and visited our friends Dean and Shelly. They treated us to a wonderful lunch made from lettuce grown from their own garden. Here's a pic of their community garden. So beautiful and tasty too!
Here we are in front of their garden.
After lunch Dean and Shelly took us on a walking tour of their community. They were the best tour guides ever! We took a walk along an ocean path...
visited a log house church/museum,
meandered through several of the shops and met the local merchants. I'm so impressed with the gardens in Yachats. It reminds me a lot of Mendocino and all the beautiful flowers and gardens through-out town.
Thanks Dean and Shelly for a wonderful afternoon and for your warm hospitality.
We were going to stay at William Tugman State Park this evening and even had reservations. However, we decided to go home via Eugene tomorrow so we settled on Jesse Honeyman State Park instead. It's a huge park, but so beautifully layed out. Every campsite is in the trees. This is our last night camping out, and I'm trying really hard not to be a little sad. Here's me raising a glass of wine to all my friends and family back home. Looking forward to getting together, swimming in the river and enjoying the heat once again!
On the way home tomorrow, Ned and I will compile our "best of" for the trip. We are also going to pick up some cocoa beans from one of our brokers. Stay tuned! One last blog to go...
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