We decided to take Thursday off.  Well actually I decided to take Thursday off, but Lee has a hard time just sitting when we arrive at a new place.  He ended up running some errands (which included going to 4 different stores looking for split top hot dog buns…obviously he is a big fan) while I mainly sat and read my book in the sun.  It was a nice day, and although we were expecting a very strong thunderstorm around 4pm, that storm missed us and we didn’t actually get rain until almost 11pm.  It’s pretty obvious at this point rain will be a factor this summer, so we need to be smart about when we do things and what we do.  To that end Lee and I started a Word document with a list of things to do in the area, and we will add to it as the summer progresses.  We have found it’s a good way to not forget about things you see or hear in passing, plus you can mark things off as you do them.

Thankfully there are tons of things to do in this area and on Friday Lee wanted to try the Oregon coast.  It was scheduled to rain all day in our area, but the coast looked somewhat clear, plus neither one of us had ever visited the Oregon coast before.  It’s roughly a two plus hour drive to get over there, but we are fine with long days and packed a lunch and headed out.  The first place we stopped was the town of Tillamook which has my very favorite ice cream and cheese dairy.  Unfortunately, the town itself was pretty torn up with a large construction project and the visitor center for the dairy has been closed for a major upgrade and they only have a small temporary store in it’s place.   It was pretty lame, and more importantly, their prices on the products were no better than you see out in the world, although I was a fan of their cheese tasting area.  I didn’t see anyplace to tour the factory, which was also a bummer because I would have liked that.  Worst of all I was hoping for some bargains on their ends and pieces, but the selection was minor and the prices weren’t really that much discounted.    Still, I am glad I got to visit, but I would prefer coming back once the new visitors center is completed in the Spring of 2018.

After our quick tour of the facility we headed to the Three Capes Scenic Drive.  Lee read quite a bit about it and although the article said it was clearly marked we still had some trouble finding it.  Part of the problem was that the road to Cape Meares (which was the northernmost part of the road) was closed.  We ended up finding an alternative route to get there and I was glad, because this State Park ended up being the coolest thing we saw all day.  By the time we reached the park it was close to 2pm and it was raining, so we parked the car facing an overlook and ate inside the truck.

Since it was still sprinkling a bit we layered up and walked up a .1 mile path to see the Octopus Tree.  We visit nice trees wherever we go, but this one was very unique and was very cool to see.  We even met a guy who said he has a picture of himself when he was a little boy sitting in the tree, but it’s all been blocked off now to protect the tree. They also have trimmed several of the branches, but despite all that it still ranks up there with some of the coolest trees we have seen on our travels.

After seeing the tree we walked down to the lighthouse and thankfully the rain had stopped and the sun even came out for some pictures.   I don’t mind light rain, but you just can’t take as good of pictures in it (well at least I can’t) and you get something extra in color when you have good sunshine.  So when you hear me lamenting the rain it’s not because I am worried about my hair or anything (it actually holds up well in the rain lol), but the pictures I could have gotten on a sunny day.  But that’s definitely part of the deal up here and the main reason everything is so beautifully green, so we will work with it the best we can.

 

After the lighthouse we had high hopes for the rest of the drive, but unfortunately it was a bit of a bust.  We have taken the drive along the coast in Northern California and there are many more places to stop and see the ocean.  Here, the bulk of the drive was views of trees, which were beautiful, but precious few glimpses of the ocean, at least along this route.  We did like the fact that 100% of the beaches are public owned in Oregon, but many places also have very tall houses on the ocean side of the road so all you can see is them.  Still it was a pretty day and it was nice to get out and there is so much more coast to explore.

---

Camper Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. We very much appreciate any purchase you make via our website links.  There is no additional cost to you and helps support our blog.  Search Amazon.com here

Or you can check out our recipe book filled with 80 real recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. The cookbook specializes in recipes that have a limited number of ingredients, without sacrificing flavor and is organized into categories that matter to full time RVers such as Happy Hours, Travel Days, and Pot Lucks   You can preview the kindle version on  Amazon or the Apple version on Itunes.    It is also available in paperback.