Newport, Oregon

We have been spending most of our time in the local area. It has rained almost every day since we got here, but it hasn’t kept us from enjoying the sights, food, and the beaches. We have also been spending some time just hanging out in our campground. Whalers Rest is a very nice campground. It is heavily wooded with trails and just a walk across the highway from the beach.

It’s a good thing we are only staying in this area for three weeks. Every time we order food it is a very generous amount. Whether it was breakfast burritos from Super Oscar’s Mexican Food in Newport or a scoop of ice cream on Lincoln City’s waterfront, they were big enough for two people and very tasty.

It is advised to travel southbound if you want to make frequent stops along the coast as all the scenery and all the pull offs are on the ocean side.   So, we drove to Lincoln City and turned around to head back south to view the scenery. In one section, we drove the Otter Crest Loop instead of staying on Hwy 101. The Loop is a one-way starting from the north end. The drive is very scenic with tree covered winding roads giving us glimpses of the cliffs and the ocean. There were quite a few pullover areas and we took advantage of stopping to take in the views. We stopped at Cape Foulweather’s Look-Out Observatory and Gift Shop. We could not believe this building was built in 1937 on the edge of a 500 foot cliff! Talk about a view! Wow! It is absolutely breathtaking! As usual the pictures in our Webshots album do not give the view the justice it deserves, but we try.

We visited both lighthouses in the area: Yaquina Bay Lighthouse and Yaquina Head Lighthouse. The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is the only wooden lighthouse and was decommissioned after 3 years because the Yaquina Head Lighthouse was so close that it was confusing the ships. The local Historic Societies renovated and refurnished the old lighthouse after saving it from demolition. They did a wonderful job of bringing the old place back to life. After our self-tour, it was hard to believe this place had been neglected for almost a 100 years.

At the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, we were able to go all the way to the Lantern room in the 93ft tower. We spent a couple of hours exploring the tidepools during low tide and watching the Harbor Seals. Yep, more pictures of the tidepools are in our Oregon album on webshots.

Sandy found the Yaquina Bay Bridge very interesting the first time we crossed it. The unusual Art Deco design on the bridge looked very old yet the bridge looked strong and in good condition. She decided to look it up online and found out it was built in 1936. It was the last of six bridges to be designed by Conde B. McCullough to link Oregon’s coastal highway. We came across two more bridges built by McCullough. One is on the Otter Crest Loop and the other is in Walport. Of course, Sandy had to take pictures of the bridges’ Art Deco. You can see the Bridges in Webshots. Sandy also started mumbling something about not having the right color scheme for an Art Deco quilt while digging through her stash    ..….uh-oh…

Good-bye Rockport

We finally kayaked by the Aransas Pass (Lydia Ann) Lighthouse (1855). The only access to the lighthouse is by boat. We had decided not to go deep into the Lighthouse Trails since it is easy to get turned around in the mangroves or get stuck in the mud or on the oyster beds. While we were looking at a laminated map on the water, another retiree was kayaking by and stopped to see if we needed help. He knew the area well and had been kayaking here for years. He offered to guide us through the maze of mangroves with shallow water over large oyster beds to the lighthouse and back through the channel. We had a great deal of fun and saw many birds in the mangroves and dolphins out in the channel. We never dreamed we would get so close to the lighthouse. We want to thank our volunteer guide.

Our Kayaking and Surrounding Area album includes pictures of the lighthouse and the Fulton area. We also have some great action pictures of different birds eating at the docks in Feeding Time on the Docks.

A few of our friends and family have asked about our future travel plans. The following plans are tentative - all subject to change.

We are leaving Rockport on 1 May for Padre Island National Seashore, just across the sand dunes from the open water. No hookups for the motor-home (no incoming water, power, or sewage drop). There is a sewage drop and fresh water a couple hundred yards away from the camping - just drive over to dump and refill. We have 7 large 12 volt batteries, 3 solar panels, 100 gallons of fresh water, 50 gallons each for black and grey water sewage storage, and a 10K Kilowatt generator on board. Fridge, hot water, ice maker, yep we will be roughing it with no hookups. Quiet hours (no generator) are 10 pm to 8 am. The rate is only $4 per night with our national park pass.

After Padre Island, we need to be in McKinney TX just north of Dallas May 10 thru the 15. We are having all the day night blinds and the front windshield pull curtain removed, and a nice blind system installed instead on all but the 2 bedroom windows (we already went to traditional curtains in the bedroom). We are putting in the American Duo blinds http://www.mcdinnovations.com/ . Manual on all but front windshield, power there so we can use it a sunshade while driving.

Next we will head back to Lawton OK to see the kids. Not sure how long we will stay, probably 1 week, maybe less, maybe more. After Lawton, we will take our time and head towards South Dakota for some business in our new domicile state.

EDIT:
1 May update on travels. Winds have been heavy along the seacoast. We have decided to stay 1 more week at Drifters RV resort in Rockport Texas, versus parking right next to open water with heavy winds and potential blowing sand.