Oregon, Day 3 August 2020

This morning we got up and started driving, and stopped for lunch at a place called Neskowin, and walked down to the beach.  (Oregon's dahlia game is top-notch. I saw so many growing everywhere, and lots of roadside flower stands.)

We walked over to Proposal Rock (to the left).

Navy is such a great climber!

Haha, had to get her down this time.

Brett climbed up Proposal Rock to throw down some wood for a fire.  Then we roasted hot dogs.

Then I climbed up Proposal Rock,

When I came down, Navy wanted to go up, so I went back up with Brett and Navy.

I love how Navy is a pink and purple glowing inchworm.

Just a little dirty. haha

See ya, Proposal Rock!

Then we drove to God's Thumb and hiked it.  It was SO GORGEOUS!  You can't even really capture it because it's just so much ocean ALL around and far far out to the horizon.  Amazing. 

Then we drove to Depoe Bay, and stopped to see the Devil's Punchbowl.  It was low-tide right then, and I knew that people can go down and be INSIDE it, so of course, I desperately wanted to do that, but it was roped off and it said to not go down, from where we were looking at it.

Cool mural.

So then we went a few blocks away and found a way down to this beach.

And then I thought maybe we might be able to get to the Devil's Punchbowl from walking around the corner of this.  So we took our shoes off and started walking, but man, those rocks were rough!! with the barnacles on them that are super spiky, and it was freezing...

so the kids went back, and only Brett and I went on.

And it was low tide, but not lowest low tide, so it was actually pretty hard to get around the corner. So Brett helped push me up one big rock place, and then I pulled him up after me, but when we got over there we realized there was another cove to go around the corner of. But there the water was deeper, and we couldn't make it on the rocks, so Brett told me to just go for it, so he took my camera, and I stowed my phone in my shirt, and I waded up to waist to get around the corner.

Like I said, the rocks are SHARP!

 But then I realized this cove still wasn't the right one, so I found a way around the next cove, but when I saw that I STILL wasn't to the Punchbowl, and I would have had to swim the next one, and my feet were KILLING from the barnacle-encrusted rocks and freezing, I ended up going back. It was kind of sad that I didn't make it, but it was also thrilling and fun climbing and scrambling, and Brett was supporting me and it was actually one of the highlights of the trip for me.  So so so so fun!

Then we stopped to go walk out to Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  I recommend going during the golden hour, if you ever go, because it was soooo pretty!  And also, it was soooo windy when we were there--we were freezing, and the wind blew my hat off and I thought it was lost down into the ocean, but luckily, it had got caught in the grass, so we could step over the fence and retrieve it.

(Back to places we've already seen with the other camera-- I see now that this was a bad idea.  If I want to use my big camera, that's fine, but then I should use ONLY my big camera, and not both.))

Lovely lovely lovely.  Then we drove to Blake and Julia's house.