Tuesday, May 23, our take-Milton-and-Kay-to-the-beach day!

Beach? Awright! Let's go! Kay and Milton for sure wanted to see the Pacific. She walked out of the apartment without a jacket, surprising me when I saw her out on the sidewalk because it was cool in Portland and supposed to be cool and cloudy on the coast. When she felt the air outside, Kay headed for their truck and her newly acquired Eddie Bauer jacket--she found it at the Goodwill the afternoon before. Mama walked out holding Kay's turquoise jacket as well as another one for herself because she knew what we were in for. Folks in Portland layer, layer, layer, keeping lots of their layers in their backpacks or tote bags as the conditions change throughout the day. You can tell by the skeptical look on Kay's face that she's having a time reconciling her knowledge of the beach, taken from the Gulf Coast, and wearing jackets! And Milton wouldn't let me get away without a picture of me, too. I'm glad he did.




Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, our first stop! I found out online that it's a protected marine garden that stands 235 feet tall. We stayed there for quite a while, walking, looking, taking pictures, going all the way to the backside of the rock. Just before we made our way to the sand, the long-suffering group posed for yet another photo!



This is my favorite shot of the gulls and the waves.



Lindsay took this shot of Kay and me, walking and talking.








That's Tillamook Rock Lighthouse in the distance, north of Cannon Beach, Oregon.




These gulls are on that point of rock that you can see in the next picture, to the left of Haystack. The sun came out, thankfully, so that you can see the details.




As you're looking west, this is the view just to the south side of Haystack.



Here at the base of Haystack Rock, the group posed for me once again, pointing at starfish and anemones. I just couldn't get my camera up and focused quickly enough, so the cuties humored me.



Duncan's ready to go to the car and on to the next stop on our personal tour.



Hug Point rocks! Here's what I found out about it at the Oregon state parks site: Just south of Cannon Beach, this little wayside gives you easy access to the beach and a peek at some interesting history. Imagine travelling by stagecoach along the beach (before the highway was built, the beach was the only way to go). North of the parking area you can still walk along the original trail carved into the point by the stagecoaches. The wayside was named after this trail because it hugs the point. Looking further north, Haystack Rock—one of the most identifiable landmarks along the coastline—is easily visible.

Caution to visitors; be aware of the tide! It is possible to become stranded at high tide when exploring the point. Take a look at the stagecoach trail, the view of Haystack Rock and the two caves around the point, but have a plan.

Our plan was to get there around low tide (Lindsay looked it up the night before, so we had a time to aim for) and enjoy!

Cristina posed for me at the point where the rocky road emerged from the sand.





Look closely and you can see numerous starfish clinging to the rock, along with loads of sea anemones.




Here's how Leland and Lamont creatively made their way off the wagon road!





Lovebirds!



The shiny spot to the right in the darkness is actually a pool of water, trapped in the rock and reflecting the rock roof above it.



There's Cristina and Leland, and Lamont, just outside the entrance to the cave. Amazing. Thank goodness it was low tide, right?



Lindsay inside the cave--you can see how large it is. I don't even want to think about being there when the sea is there.



Milton and Lindsay walked Mama slowly down the steep slope towards the Cape Meares Lighthouse, our last stop of the day minus supper at Kyllos in Lincoln City. At 38 feet tall, Cape Meares is the shortest lighthouse on the West Coast. Situated atop a 200 foot tall headland, it provided aid to ships until 1963 when it was decommissioned.

I love these two pictures!




Milton got Mama situated on this bench where she could see this group of rocks with the hole.





On the walk down to the lighthouse, these huge, windswept rocks caught my eye.



This is the beach taken from the opposite side of the headland.








Here's a bit of the fauna and flora at Cape Meares.








Believe it or not, this is a Sitka Spruce, known far and wide as the Octopus Tree! It's up the cliff from the lighthouse, in a steep wooded area. You can tell how tall it is from Lindsay's photo of Lamont standing in front of it. Its base circumference, according to a great big sign beside the fence that encloses the tree, is about 50 feet. Here's a bit more I found at Salem-News.com. Since it still lives, no one knows its age, but some guess the Octopus Tree has been around since Jesus walked the earth. Indians who used to live in the area called it The Council Tree. Some think its limbs were shaped that way by Indians on purpose to hold canoes for their dead, based on findings of archaeologists.



We're about ready to leave the lighthouse--aren't we lucky these two sweet and lovely young women are part of our party?



Truth be told, the same thing could be said about these handsome and industrious men.



And here's lucky me with my two grown sons!



To finish off this plethora of pictures of our great day, I've got alternating pix of the Hansons and their Frisbee! Lindsay took this first photo of Leland and the last one of Lamont. Thanks for sharing, Lindsay!




















For you, a visual definition of one tired puppy!