Oregon Trip Report July 2012

This is my Trip Advisor report on Oregon...long read

July 20 thru July 30

My photos are here: http://eileeninmd.smugmug.com/Vacation/Oregon-Vacation/24492803_f5nPCj
   
http://eileeninmd.smugmug.com/Vacation/Oregon-Coast/24495668_2kD9Fr

My bird blog:
http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com/

Day 1: We arrived at Sea-Tac around 12pm. Easy transfer to the Advantage Car Rental. We were happy with the Advantage Versa 4dr sedan. On the 1-5 toward Portland before 1pm.
I-5 was backed up off and on the whole drive. I missed the exit for the Tippy’s that was recommended for dinner, so we stopped at a quickie place called Burgerville. They had great Chocolate shakes and burgers.

Checked into the Troutdale Best Western. I like the Best Westerns, they are reasonably priced, clean and have a great breakfast. We were happy with the location for our visit to the Columbia Gorge.

After checking in and freshening up, we headed out for a quick visit to Multnomah Falls, Vista House and beautiful sunset views on the Columbia River.

Day 2: We were up early for our Best Western breakfast and out the door. First we stopped at the waterfalls along scenic 84. We saw Bridal Veil, Horsetail and Wahkeena Falls. And hubby checked out the trail for the Oneonta Falls trail. Then we were back on the road to see Mt Hood. We made a quick stop at the Mt Hood Lavender Farm, at the time they were having their Lavender Festival. So we had a bite to eat and bought some lavender items and were back on the road to Mt Hood.

We ate a late lunch or an early dinner at the Cascade Dinning room at the Timberline Lodge. We were very happy with our choice of the buffet and a nice table near the window, great views.
After lunch we did the hike to Mirror Lake, a very pretty lake and reflection of Mt Hood.
On the way back we continued on to the Larch Mountain overlook. We had clear skies we great views of all five mountains and a pretty sunset.  Then it was back to our room for the night.

Day 3: Another great breakfast at the Troutdale Best Western. We were headed back for an early look at Multnomah Falls, early in the morning there were not as many people around the falls and on the bridge. Perfect timing for some photos of the falls. Left there and took hubby to the Oneonta Falls for his hike. I hung around the parking lot looking for birds till he got back. Luckily he took a change of clothes, it is a wet trail upstream to the falls.

From Oneonta we headed back along the river, stopping at the Fish hatchery, the Cascade Locks and continued around the loop for our main destination of the day which was Timothy Lake to look for birds and we stopped at Little Crater Lake. What a lovely place. After a nice day of hiking and birding we heading back towards our hotel stopping at Tippy’s Canoe for dinner. Very good food at Tippy’s we were happy with our choice for dinner.

Day 4: We left Troutdale and headed to the coast. I booked two nights at the Fireside Hotel in Yachats. We were very happy with the Fireside and Room # 18. We had the best view of the ocean and watched a Gray Whale feeding for hours right from our room. It was AWESOME.

We arrived a little early so we let the Fireside know we were there and headed down the coast. We stopped at Strawberry Hill my favorite beach for the Tidal pools. We saw lots of Sea Stars and colorful anemones and sea lions. We drove to the Heceta Head beach and Lighthouse. Very pretty beach, just a shame the lighthouse was being renovated. We also stopped at the Sea Lion Caves, their elevator was broke( they offered a discounted price)  and we could only see the sea lions from the top viewing area. They said we could come back the next day or two to see if their elevator was fixed they would let us in with our ticket from the first visit. We headed back to the Fireside for our key to our fantastic Rm 18 and then went out to dinner at the Driftwood Inn. Again we were pleased with our dinner choice at the Driftwood.  It was nice later to watch the sunset over the ocean from our room.

Day 5: Breakfast was at the Blue Whale in Yachats. Very good food and reasonably priced. After breakfast we headed to the Cape Perpetua lookout, the visitor center and hike to the 500 yr old Spruce tree? From there we headed north stopping at various overlooks like, Seal Rock, Devils Punchbowl and  Boiler Bay ( more whales seen there) and then to the Three Capes Drive, stopping at the Yaquina Lighthouse. Cape Meares was great if you are into birds like I am. The Common Murres on the rock were just amazing. A long day we headed south again stopping in Lincoln City for dinner at Pier 101. Again we were both happy with the food and our choice. After dinner we drove back to Yachats and our room at the Fireside.

Day 6: Breakfast was at the Blue Whale again, it was good and worth going back the second morning. After breakfast we called the Sea Lion caves and they said the elevator was working so we went back to see the cave and the sea lions and for me it was cool to see my first Rhinoceros Auklet. A birder would really appreciate this sighting, there were two chicks being fed by an adult right next to the lookout in the cave. On this day we had to leave our wonderful Ocean front room for our next stay at Cannon Beach. On the way to Cannon Beach we stopped again at the Devils Punchbowl and saw more whales, we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and had a delicious ice cream, our lunch. We finally arrived in our last hotel in Oregon the Wayside Inn. It was a nice room but I was a little disappointed I did not choose an oceanfront hotel. We had the street and a parking lot for our view. After watching whales from our Fireside room 18 we were a little let down. I chose Wayside because I wanted to be close to the Haystack Rock , hoping I would see some Puffins on the rock. Dinner was at Mo’s near the hotel. I enjoyed their clam chowder and fish tacos. After dinner we drove to Ecola State Park, saw a herd of elk there an eagle, lots of pelicans on the rocks, Cormorants and Guillemots.

Day 7: Foggy morning and we had breakfast at the PignPancake in Cannon beach. Great breakfast and reasonable priced. After breakfast we hiked at the Oswald State Park to the beach. Found a pretty waterfall at the right end of the beach and another great tidal pool. Mid day we headed back to the Haystack rock for the low tide and I was hoping to see a Puffin. My only view of the puffins was a few flying in and out the backside of the Haystack rock. I actually like the tidal pools better at Strawberry Hill and Oswald then the crowded one at Haystack. Once again we headed back to Ecola State Park, hoping to see the elk again. No luck, maybe we were there too early. Headed back into town and had dinner at the Wayfarer, Cannon Beach. Again the clam chowder was great and I had a burger and hubby had a crab sandwich. It was too cloudy for a sunset. Headed back to the Wayside Inn for our last night.

Day 8: We took a long scenic route back to hubby sister’s place in Bainbridge Island. SIL wedding was on Saturday in Bainbridge Island, WA.

Day 9: We took a nice hike in the Grand Forest near SIL house before heading to the ferry and Seattle.It was Sunday we had to head home to Maryland. It was a great vacation and Oregon is a beautiful state. I believe we put close to 1500 miles on the rental car, which was very easy to return to the Sea-tac car rental.

Cape May, New Jersey

These are from our New Jersey trip 2012 to  Cape May and the Jersey shore trip. It was a beautiful day with a gorgeous sky and weather. One of our favorite spots in Cape May is the Cape May Lighthouse beach.

 

There is a boardwalk that meanders thru the Cape May park.  Cape May is a great place for birding. There are always great birds to see in Cape May. The sky was a beautiful blue and not a cloud in the sky.

 Not sure what this plant is, it looks very similar to the Queen Anne's Lace. I liked this shot with the pretty white flower against the very blue sky.

Looking into the sun, I found a juvie Oriole along the boardwalk trail.

Right next to the juvie Oriole, we saw this Common Yellowthroat Warbler.

At one of the viewing sections of the boardwalk we were able to watch this Green Heron hunting for food.

The Lighthouse Beach Park looked mostly empty but there were some other people there.

 

 One of my favorite views of the Cape May Lighthouse.

Thanks for visiting, have a great day!

More Scenes from Curacao

Linking up with Scenic Sundays

This is just a quick post...I have some more scenes from the lovely island of Curacao. On this day we were on our way to a snorkeling and catamaran boat trip.

I loved the seeing the colorful buildings during our sightseeing of the island. This was a pretty church in Williamstad, Curacao.

I always loved the houses with balconies and french doors.

The sails go up on the catamaran.

One of the spots for snorkeling was a sunken tugboat. The large ferry is no longer being used is tied up and abandoned. Hopefully, someday they will find a good use for this ferry.

A few jet skiers came by as our catamaran was heading out. The resort beach on the left side was the Hyatt resort located kind of far from the city of Williamstad.

 

A different watersport we saw were the windsurfing boards. 

Hubby and some others from our tour snorkeling near the sunken tugboat. Except for feeling a little seasick, it was a great tour with lovely views of the island and water.

To see more beautiful scenes from around the world click on Scenic Sunday.  Thanks to the Holleys's for hosting and thanks for stopping by to see my post. Have a great weekend and a Happy Sunday!

More scenes from Curacao

I am linking up with Scenic Sunday

I have some more scenic shots from my vacation trip to Cucacao.
These are various shots from around the island during our jeep tour. You can click on the photos for a larger image.

Local Curacao artist Yubi Kirindongo uses junk parts to create contemporary art. A very cool way to recycle. The crates look like they create a nice shaded spot in the yard.

Above the artist used broken clay pieces to create animal shapes on this cliff wall.

Here is another creation a cute smiley face. The artist has pieces all around the island.

We also visited just one of the many island caves, using flashlights we went inside the cave called Kueba di Brua.

Besides the usual stalagmites and the stalactites there was a green color on various formations.

Curacao has a semiarid climate and the flora differs from the usual tropical island vegetation. Xeric shrublands are common along with various forms of cacti.

Above the a blowhole Suplado is considered a natural jacuzzi. Above you can see one of the other jeep drivers cooling off in the wave driven spray.

I hope you enjoyed my Curacao scenery and photos.

To see more beautiful scenes from around the world please visit Scenic Sunday
Thanks to the Holleys for hosting Scenic Sunday and thank you for stopping by to see my post. Have a great weekend!

Shete Boka National Park, Curacao

Happy Mother's Day!!

For my Scenic Sunday I thought I would share some of the island of Curacao and the scenes we saw while sightseeing.
During our Curacao vacation we visited the Shete Boka National Park. The park is located on the rocky north coast of the island. Some of the highlights were seeing the blowhole, a natural bridge and a cave.

Huge waves crash onto the coast and thunder into an underground cavern. Hubby the spleunker went down  into the cave and took some photos.

 

The cave area was called Boka Tabla.

 

This area is called Boka Kalki

 The waves would crash onto the rocky coast and some waves would find there way out of a hole or opening.

Above is a view of the rocky coastline, I love the gorgeous blue colored water.

Some waves were bigger than others and the water would really splash up high. I believe this one was named Boka Pistol.

Sea turtles are known to lay their egg on the various inlets and beaches at Shete Boka.

Looks like a lot of the visitors have left their names written with rocks on the beach.

The Boka Wandomi was where the natural bridge was located.

I hope you enjoyed my visit to the Shete Boka Nat'l Park in Curaco.  To see more beautiful and wonderful scenes from around the world please visit Scenic Sunday. Thanks to the Holley's for hosting Scenic Sunday and thank you for visiting my post.

Curacao vacation

I am linking up with Scenic Sunday

I have to write about my recent vacation to Curacao. Curacao is in the southern Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan coast.  It is known for diving and snorkeling, for me it will be known for its birds. Curacao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We stayed 7 nights at the Marriott Beach Resort. I did a lot of research to find hubby a hotel where he could walk out the room and go snorkeling.  He was happy :) Hubby and I alternate choosing vacation places. This year was his choice and it was between Bonaire or Curacao. Bonaire one of the other ABC islands is known more for diving than snorkeling. Aruba is the other ABC island and is much more commercialized.

Now for some photos from our trip. You can click on the photo for a larger image.

The Marriott Beach Resort was a great hotel and we really enjoyed our stay there. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. The food, drinks and the sunsets were amazing.

We had a great room overlooking the pool area but it also had a view of the ocean.

 

Here is hubby snorkeling in the background there is Princess line cruise ship that will dock in Williamstad

Another beautiful sunset seen from our hotel.

 Williamstad is the capital of Curacao. I will do another post on our visit to Williamstad and our various outing around the island.

I hope you enjoyed my post, there will more coming on our vacation in Curacao. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Please visit Scenic Sunday for more beautiful photos and post. Thanks to the Holley's for hosting and thanks for stopping by to see my post.

Ricketts Glen State Park

 On Saturday hubby and I hiked the Falls trail at Ricketts Glen State Park. Ricketts Glen State Park is located 30 miles north of Bloomsburg, Pa. The falls trail is a 3.2 mile loop passing by 21 waterfalls. The other waterfalls are located off other trails. It is a very steep and sometimes difficult trail. We took our time stopping to enjoy the waterfalls and I was listening for the birds and taking photos. We did spook a turkey off the trail. And I saw a few Chickadees and turkey vultures soaring above us. It is a little early for the warblers though I do think I heard one off the trail. Ricketts Glen is noted for 23 varieties of warblers and the Bald Eagle. The park is also included in the Susquehanna River Birding trail.

The sign shows the Falls Trail and list the names of each waterfall that we saw, they range from 11ft to 94ft being the tallest.

Ricketts Glen has a total 23 waterfalls, beautiful hemlock trees, lots of pretty ferns and moss and bridges that cross the rivers.

The steps were steep and uneven and now my legs are feeling like I used muscles that I did not even know I had. LOL!

We crossed several different bridges along the way criss-crossing back and forth over the river.

After spending about 4 hours hiking on the Falls trail and at the park we headed to Wilkes Barre, Pa to spend the night at a Best Western hotel. After checking into to our room we headed to the Mohegan Sun casino at Pocono Downs. We had dinner at their Timber buffet, lots of good seafood and dinner choices. They also had other restaurants like a Ruth Chris and a Johnny Rockets, a great variety. The casino was very crowded, also included a long line of people waiting to see and get autographs of an actress on  the show Jerseylicious? After dinner we were ready to head back to our room for the night.

Thanks for the visit, enjoy your day!