The Finale

I'm writing from the comfort of my very own bed, in my very own condo, in my very own city.  :-)

Today started with a drive from Vancouver to Seattle, where I first met up with my sister to do some team shopping for Christmas - definitely more fun than solo.  We started with lunch - Thai, of course - seemed the fitting end for my last "on the road" restaurant (and of all the places I ate Thai, the only one that served our favorite Holy Basil).  Yuh-um-mmy!

We avoided the mall and had a decent go of it hitting some stores a little more out of the way - very successful and we were done by 3pm.  We headed back to Jolene's and Kaylene was just waking up from her nap - perfect timing.  :-)

Here's my only picture for the day, but I'm sure you can see why it is worth being the centerpiece:

After dinner, Dave & Jolene headed out for a social event, so I got more time with my favorite little niece.  :-)

It is so good to be home and be with family - it almost seemed like the last stretch between Seattle and Kirkland was just like any other day of hanging with my sister - until I had to unload my car, that is - then I remembered just how long I had been away.  ;-)

So thank you to all of you who have taken this virtual journey with me - it was so full of wondrous sites, fantastic friends and family, smooth travelling - I'm just a bit sorry that it is over . . . this time.  With the ease of this trip, even in what is typically not a good road trip season, I feel confident that I will try to find ways to do similar trips in the future.

With that I'll wrap up my final post and wish you all Happy Holidays!!!

Almost Home

I spent one more day in Vancouver, hanging with friends.  First off, it was an excellent morning of fellowship, Bible study, tech support and more fellowship with Deb, my hostess - what a great start to my day.

For lunch, I headed to meet Becci at one of her favorite restaurants:

I got there just a bit early, so I took a quick pic of the river, since it was sunny and clear (but quite cold):

After lunch we ran an errand, then hung out at Starbucks for a bit - enjoying our warm beverages and watching people come and go.

I went to Corey & Kelly's, where I was greeted at the door by their three adorable boys - Trent, Brody:

And Chase:

After visiting a bit, Meagan and Byron and their boys arrived, so us ladies headed out to meet Becci for dinner.  We opted for Mexican, which was okay, but had such a great time visiting, we didn't really think much about the food.  When the music became unbearably loud (it was Karaoke time), we said goodnight to Becci, but the rest of us were still up for some more fun, so we decided to catch the 9:55 showing of "The Tourist".  We all agreed it wasn't quite what we expected and Kelly had correctly predicted the ending, but it was still fun to be out with the gals.

When we arrived at the theater, it was getting windy, but when we came out after the movie, it was downright blustering.  As we drove back to Kelly's, we saw quite a bit of debris and the wind was still going strong - I was glad I didn't have far to get back to Bill & Deb's and am now happily ready for bed, blogging, and listening to it blow all it wants outside.

I can't believe this is my last night away from home - it has been such a fantastic trip and has seemed to go by so quickly.  But don't worry, I'll still make one more post tomorrow - since I still have a final leg to journey before I'm officially home again.

Farewell Coast

I left Newport today, but not before taking one last turn around town to visit the historic Bayfront, looking out toward the Yaquina Bay Bridge (which is very tall, and rather unnerving to cross at night, when it is pitch dark, as I can admit from experience, now):

And to the beach to catch site of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse:

I took route 20, then route 34, then I-5 to Vancouver - quite the diversity of geography as you move inland.  First there are lots of inlets and creeks, then fewer and fewer.  Moss covered trees give way to tundra and then Evergreens.  I wish I had stopped for a few pictures, but wanted to get to Vancouver in time to meet Becci for lunch at Planet Thai.  Yes, I've definitely made the rounds eating Thai on this trip.  We tried a new appetizer this time, though - it was tasty, and especially aesthetic:

Cream cheese crab bites, with a hint of garlic.  I thought the presentation was blog-worthy.

We had some time to "fill", so we ran an errand, picked up Becci's son, Joey, visited Starbucks, then headed back to Becci's place to meet her daughter, Jaime, and to walk the dog.  I have been hearing about Giz (short for Gizmo) for some time, but this was my first actual introduction - notice who the center of attention is here:

Oh yeah, it is ALL about Giz, but he is quite the adorable pup.  :-)

We did a little shopping, grabbed a bite of dinner, then headed to Bible Study - what a treat it is to have fellowship along the way on this trip.  Tonight was no exception - great to see everyone and enjoy some solid teaching, too.

And now, after a lovely chat with Deborah, I'm in my PJs and ready to snuggle in for the night.  Aaaaaaah - it is good to be back in Washington.

Coos Bay By Day

I decided to stick around Coos Bay a little longer today:

The sun was out, so I walked around the waterfront for a while first:

Made friends with this little guy - not sure what kind of bird it is, actually:

Saw some big boats:

Then I headed back out to Cape Arago to see it in daylight, first crossing the bridge at Charleston:

Stopping at this bay along the way:

And a view of the lighthouse, where I caught yet another full rainbow:

Near the tip of the cape, I pulled off to see this inlet filled with sea lions (this is just one section, out from the beach):

From the tip of the cape, looking back at the viewpoint, I discovered another group of sea lions:

After the cape, it was time to start heading north to Newport.  Just past North Bend, heading into "the dunes", I caught this great view of the McCullough Bridge:

Further north, I swung through Winchester Bay to see the Umpqua Lighthouse:

And further north, some sun kissed dunes:

Beyond this point, as I got back to driving along the coastline, the weather turned stormy.  I decided to just press forward and get to Newport so I could get settled in my hotel and hope for it to pass.  Unfortunately it held on, so I just relaxed and even took a little nap.  I braved it again to go for some dinner, but am back in my room safe and warm and ready to call it a night.

For those wondering about which animal I had not yet seen, it was goats when I wrote the post - I then saw some yesterday, so officially I have seen ALL of those animals - yes, even the zebras (they were grazing at Hearst Castle).  Thanks for playing along!

Natural Wonders Abound

Just outside of Eureka, I drove past Stone Lagoon - a natural lagoon with a stunning ocean view:

There was a really neat piece of driftwood on the beach, too:

Close up:

Soon I was at the southern entrance to Redwood National & State Parks, where I encountered these fellas having a little lunch:

At Prairie Creek, I entered the actual forest:

And despite some very rainy weather most of the day, my drive through the forest was well-timed, as I had just a few drops to contend with when shooting photos like these:

I even managed to use my timer to get a pic of myself with "Big Tree" (it was once thought to be the largest tree, but has since been bested by a couple of new finds in the southern forest):

The forest is also filled with ferns and moss-covered trees:

And the obligatory "drive thru tree":

I even stopped at Trees of Mystery and rode the SkyTrail:

From the top, I could see down the other side of the mountain:

And beyond the tram, even a glimpse of the ocean:

And here I am safely back at the bottom:

It was still drippy, but not raining:

Then it was back to the highway and a bit of a stormy day at sea:

Following a sudden downpour of both rain and hail which lasted just 5 minutes or so, I rolled into Gold Beach to a real treat - a double-rainbow!

Although only the inner bow was a complete arch:

It started getting dark, so I drove the rest of the way to Coos Bay, then on advice from several folks, asked the front desk about the light show at Shore Acres, so I grabbed a quick bite of dinner, then headed out to Cape Arago where they transform the Botanical Gardens into a lit wonderland for the holidays:

What a great ending to a fantastic day!