Cape Lookout (‘cause it’s a long way down!)

After the dunes, we headed off to our real hike of the day at Cape Lookout.  This location is supposed to be just about the best place for whale watching along the Oregon Coast without getting in a boat.  With all the whales we had already seen during our vacation from the timeshare, I was hopeful.

The hike was awesome.  The marine clouds from earlier in the day had cleared out, and we had beautiful views and great weather.  But alas, no whales.  The views would have to do.

He’s my best friend.  How did I get so lucky?

This was a very very steep cliff down to the water.  You can’t tell very much from the picture, but perhaps you get the gist from the tension in Sean’s chest and arms, and that nervous smile?

Or maybe from my look as I scold Guyan to stop goofing off for the picture, or else we will plunge down to our certain deaths?

Or maybe you can judge the height from this picture—and this cliff wasn’t nearly as steep and high as the others.

On the drive back to the timeshare, the kids promptly fell asleep.  So cute.  Sean said it makes him feel like he’s doing a good job as a parent when they’re so tuckered out after a day of fun that they fall asleep in the car.  Yep, he’s doing a good job.

Dude, it’s a Dune

When Sean and I took our bike ride, we rode through Pacific City.  When Sean was a kid, he used to visit his Granny just north of here at Tierra del Mar, and play on a big sand dune at Pacific City.  We brought the boys to the sand dune to show them.

All those little specks?  People.  Dude, with a dune like that, you’ve got to climb it.  I was off…the kids, not so enthusiastic.

Good thing their father is a patient man and took it slowly with them.

Very…

…very…

slowly.

After we all made it to the top, we did our traditional family tree pose.  Later in the week, I used that picture to inspire a mosaic stepping stone.

A little more leaping and celebration…

…and it was time to head back down the dune.  Quickly.

But not as quickly as some people.  Crazy nut.

A Rogue Family

Another Depoe Bay highlight was our night getting to know all things Rogue.  We started at the Rogue Brewery gift shop, with pre-dinner drinks…

…then dinner at the Rogue Brewery Restaurant (whole Black family and some of the people we’ve collected along the way)…

…followed by our late night drinks (siblings and spouses only) at the Rogue Pub. Just to make sure we didn’t miss anything.

The cousins had all gone back to the timeshare after dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. The picture below is my favorite photos from the night, which my brother Deke posted on Facebook with the caption: “Dory and her cousins at the Rogue Brewery. They are so drunk.” I think my brother—not the kids, I promise—had already had a few by the time he posted it. I knew I had. It made me laugh and snort for quite a while.

Blowing Glass

When I’m on vacation, I like to collect experiences over souvenirs.  At the Oregon Coast, finding a glass float on the beach is a rare souvenir; buying a piece of blown glass from a local artisan is a more common souvenir.  We kind of blended all that together—we found a studio that allows tourists to blow their own glass with the help of a local artisan.  Perfect.  Our helpful artisan, Andrew, was awesome.  He let all four of us trade in and out of the process, so we all got a piece of the action.  Guyan and I started.

First, we donned the safety gear—leather gloves and eye protection.  Looking cool.

First we chose our colors and the object we were going to make—a giant float with green, blue and white.  Kind of like an earth globe.  After setting out the colors, it was time to heat the glass.

After it was nice and molten, Owen was the brave soul who was going to apply the colors.  Careful…he was so good he did it with his eyes closed (kidding!).

Concentrate….

…and smoosh, smoosh, smoosh.

Ta-daa!  Color applied.

Time to reheat, and get the color to join in with the molten glass….

Then roll it, and pinch and twist it to make the swirlies.  Lots of pinching and twisting—grab firmly, but don’t jab, we were told.  I think I may have jabbed.

Then heat it and roll it again…(And again and again and again, it seemed.  Lots of reheating and rolling.)

Smooth it out round…

And now blow while it’s hot!  Not too hard…constant, steady…Andrew was a good coach.

Break it off the pole with a large knife over the concrete floor.  No surprise that the professional took over at this point.

Add a dollop of molten glass for a loop handle….

…and voila!  You’re done.  And now all we need to do is make a hanger so we can get it out of the bubble wrap and on display in the house (knew I should have bought a hanger…).

Everyone Loves a Parade

My sister’s family and my mom and dad all brought their bikes down to Oregon as well.  One of the first mornings, we rode them from the timeshare into Depoe Bay…thirteen of us along the Oregon Coast Highway, up some big hills, spread out, taking turns into the neighborhoods, getting lost, Sean dumping me on the tandem.

I wouldn’t call that bike ride a success.

However, a few days later, we tried again.  This time there were a few less of us (Dave, Cindy, Nathan and Lindsey had left for home), and the timeshare presenter had told us about a flat, scenic ride along the Yaquina River.  Not too much traffic, and we could go as long as we wanted.  She wasn’t too helpful with the timeshare presentation, but her bike route recommendation was excellent.

And an added bonus on this bike ride?  An old tractor in a field just waiting for a photo shoot.  Glad to oblige.