Of Haystacks and Road Trips

Driving down the Oregon coast has been one of the pleasant surprises of our trip. US-101 runs down the coast in Washington and Oregon (and on down into California). We've been on the 101 in California. Ho hum. It's yet another 4 lane expressway. Here in Oregon its a (mostly) 2 lane road that runs right down the coast.

This is NOT the Jersey shore. Much of the road is 50-80 feet above the water. There are beautiful homes on top of the cliffs with VERY long staircases going down to the water. And -- unlike the Jersey shore (or Hilton Head for that matter) -- there is stuff in the water. Not seaweed or syringes or that kind of stuff, but rocks -- BIG rocks. Judy will fill you in on the details, but these are called haystacks, and that's what they look like.

Some of the beaches are beautiful, but swimming is not done -- in some cases not allowed. The water is COLD. The air isn't warm either with a typical July high of 70. (We haven't seen it much above 62.) But that doesn't stop people -- lots of people -- from enjoying the beach. The tide here tends to leave a wide, hard-packed surface at low tide. This allows lots of hard-packed sand for people to play on. Sand castles, names in the sand, and crazy 3-wheel beach bikes are some of the favored activities. And don't forget kite flying. The constant breeze is a kite flier's delight.

But this is one of the great things about road trips. You never know what is around the next corner. It can be a mechanical problem (Oh, yes. We've had our share!), or a view that will take your breath away. You have to REALLY like to spend time driving, but there's nothing else like it.