Oregon Coast

I just got back from a very significant trip with my two daughters over the weekend. We all flew out to Portland, Oregon, then rented a car to travel to Cannon Beach. As many of you know, my wife, Cat, died on April 19th of this year. The main purpose of the trip was for my daughter, Courtney, to be able to spread the remaining bit of ashes of her Mom. Cat had loved the ocean all of her life, and we thought it would be something she'd be happy with...to become part of the Great Pacific!

This will probably be the longest post I've made so far. I decided to load it all at once, instead of breaking it up into "chapters". There were many more photos, but I chose some of my favorites.

We arrived at Cannon Beach late in the afternoon on Friday. We managed to avoid rain for the trip out there, but as soon as we made our way to the beach...raindrops started to fall. We knew the local weather was going to include rain...Oregon usually does.

There's a nice little path that was near where we stayed (The Lighthouse Inn). Walk through the covering of trees...and there is the beach!

Just happy to be here!! In the background is the famous Haystack Rock. One of the fun things about picking this area was that several movies have been filmed around there, and farther up the coast..."Twilight"..."Point Break"...and of course "The Goonies"!! (I'm ordering the Goonies 25th Anniversary Special DVD this week!)

The next morning, after breakfast, we headed up the coast. Down the road from Cannon Beach is Ecola State Park. Just as we entered the park, we saw about 10 ELK just laying around near the road!

You drive through the park down a curvy road, surrounded by lush green pines, with ferns and moss covering every surface...magical. Then we came to Ecola Viewpoint...crazy weather time!! The fog was dense...the wind was brutal...the rain was whipping into our faces...and WE WERE LOVING IT! Jenni has seen some comparable coastlines in New Zealand...but Courtney and I were in awe. We miscalculated on proper rain gear for Courtney...her poncho was ridiculous, and inflated like a giant blueberry (remember the girl in the Willy Wonka movie?)!
Wet and windy!!
Love those gorgeous waves!!
Later in the day, Courtney borrowed Jen's rain suit, and we returned...we thought it was windy before...it was insane when we came back!!! It was nearly blowing us off the trail...but the whole time Courtney and I were screaming to each other, "This is AWESOME!!!" (Screaming, because it was the only way we could hear, and because it was so much FUN!)

This next segment is from Indian Beach, in the park...about a mile and a half from Ecola Viewpoint.
Courtney is below on the rocky shore, with Jen's gear on...much better than the poncho!

We kept going up north...I'm leaving out some of our stops along the way...too many photos. But I had to show these from Astoria, Oregon...the "Goonies House"!

Finally, on Sunday, we had a break in the weather...at least no rain. But the fog was beautiful, and gave us some great photo opportunities back at Cannon Beach.

Jenni and Courtney heading towards Haystack Rock...
...but the waves kept chasing them back towards the beach. Run, Forest, Run!

Here are two panaramic scenes I pasted together from several shots...the beach view, then the ocean view.

We spent a bit more time wandering around Haystack Rock, the girls following in their Mom's footsteps with camera in hand. Then we headed back to Portland and got on our planes...Jen to Lake Tahoe, Courtney and I to KC.

I'll leave you with this image of what I will now call "Cat's Rock"...the little half oval rock in the center of the photo. This is the place where Cat's ashes joined with the great waters she so adored.
We love you, Cathy...thanks for being with us on this journey!