Coast Trip

Adrian and I returned from our coast trip on Tuesday evening. We had a great time and I was relieved that it went as smoothly as it did. Nacho was a little bit of a pill in the car, a lot of whining, but there were actually periods where he would sleep quietly. By the time we were nearly home he was a champ at it, which I appreciated. This was Nacho's first trip to the coast and he really loved it.
On Friday we set out early and drove through Bend to our campground (Beachside) just south of Newport. We made it there in about 10 and a half hours, which I thought was pretty decent with stops. The campsite we had this year was a lot bigger and much more secluded than last year. It had plenty of sun, plenty of shade and plenty of wind cover, all good things. The weather was beautiful and stayed that way all weekend (aside from the wind, of course).

Nacho had his first taste of the ocean Friday night and surprised us both by running right out in it. This dog will do anything to avoid a sprinkler and he's tromping right out into the frigid north Pacific! While he's not to be trusted off of his leash, I firmly believe he'd have kept going and probably have gotten himself into trouble. The beach was really windy that night, blowing drifts of sand all the way down the coast. We visited the tree on which we carved our names on last year only to find it almost entirely buried by sand. Disappointing as we weren't able to see the spot where our initials were. (Below is how we saw it last year)

It was pretty cold so we kept it short with a shivering little dog who decided he'd had enough.

On Saturday we woke up plenty early (thanks Nacho) and walked on the beach. We found a seal pup basking in the sun. There are signs all over saying to leave these guys alone as they come to the beach to rest so I didn't want to get too close. But it was pretty cool to see him. Nacho did not get the opportunity. :)

We spent some time in the sun, reading and napping before heading in to Lincoln City to hit the outlet mall. Didn't get much, just a long sleeve shirt for Mr. I-forgot-my-coat-for-the-second-year-in-a-row. We could practically hear Nacho yowling in the car from the parking garage so we did not stay long.

Then a little more time playing in the water.And after all that, a dog with practically no hair gets chilly, so Nacho spent most of the rest of the afternoon/evening curled up in his blanket.

Every time we camp we like to do the old stand-by foil pack meal over the fire. It's always the same. Potatoes, carrots, onions and chicken plus a little magic and voila! Gourmet.
Someone managed to put up these logs on the beach near our campsite. Not sure how it was done but it was interesting all the same.
We saved the Newport Bayfront trip for Monday hoping the crowds would be minimal, and they were, but apparently the harbor sea lions were on vacation as well. Their normal hangout was completely deserted and a huge disappointment. But again, beautiful weather.
When we got back we did some kite flying. The wind was perfect and the kites were fast. Nacho goes nuts for kites and spent his time barking and running back and forth after them.
We finished off our trip with a very cold but beautiful sunset on the beach.
With weather as nice as we had, we stopped at Multnomah Falls on the way home. I've never been there when the sun was shining and it was downright warm out. It was very cool and I was wishing we could have taken the rare opportunity to hike the mile up to the very top but decided that was best saved for a trip without the dog. I can't imagine we'll ever see weather like that there again though.
Nacho did much better on the way home and was happy enough to stay put in the back with his head between the seats, in case anything interesting happened.

Another great trip. No mishaps or accidents, so that was a huge relief. It is good to be home though now the pressure is really on for the pottery production. Only a couple of weeks left! I'll post my progress, such as it is, soon.