Category Archives: Oregon

Cannon Beach A.M. and P.M.

Our first morning in Cannon Beach it was our goal to make it to Haystack Rock and back before breakfast.

Our lodgings were where the Ecola River empties into the Pacific.

Haystack is not the only rock along the coast, just one of the most known.

It was fun to learn that there are Puffins that like these rocks.

Time to head back for breakfast.

This is the mouth of the river.

Another morning walk and we still haven’t seen the horizon because of the marine layer.

Birds, especially the pelicans and seagulls enjoyed flapping their wings in the river.

Our next walks on the beach were later in the morning or in the early afternoon.

We can see a horizon on this day.

Here come the pelicans!

For our last walk on the beach we started at Haystack and worked our way to another public access spot to head up to Hemlock for lunch before we made it back to our car.

We used a public stair access to the beach.

It was a treat to be able to see further out into the sea.

This was the first day we could see the lighthouse. I zoomed in to get some shots.

The history of Tillamook Lighthouse or Terrible Tilly can be found here.

The last shot from our lodgings. Till next time Cannon Beach. It was a delight to discover you more fully.

 

Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center

Our trip to the Oregon Coast was a spontaneous last minute decision. I knew about CBCC and it’s location. At the beginning of June I decided to check out their summer conference schedule (better late than never). There were two 5 night conferences with speakers that stood out to us but they were both full when we enquired and we got put on waiting lists. One of those conferences was from June 22nd until June 27th. A week before the conference was to start we got a call that there was an opening. We decided to go for it. Yikes. This part of the Oregon Coast is about a 9 hour drive from our home. We made another last minute call and asked our kids on the ‘Coast’ if we could spend a couple nights with them to cut our trip in half. They said yes!

It was nice to spend a couple days with our ‘Coast’ kids.

On Monday morning the 22nd of June we left Bothell for our 4 hour drive to Cannon Beach. We stopped on the way in Astoria for lunch and that post is here.

CBCC was founded in 1945. Some of the history can be found here.

John Goodman photo of original grounds i

More Than
75 Years in Ministry

Founded in 1945, Cannon Beach Conference Center has grown from humble beginnings to its place as one of the premier Christian retreat and conference centers on the West Coast.

The building above is the large dining room.

Across from the dining room was another lodge with the main conference check in lobby, a book nook, a store and a nice fireside area.

The above view is on campus lodging along with other buildings. I didn’t get photos of the gym and the chapel where all of our worship sessions were held.

This was our approach to the main campus from our lodgings each day for breakfast, our morning session, dinner, and our evening session. Our lodgings were about a half a block to the main campus.

The Pacific view lodge on the right is one of several lodges that house conference attendees.

We chose the older, more humble Beach Front Lodge that is located right on the beach.

Humble room and shower room with million dollar views and sounds.

The rooms do not have TV’s (on purpose), no coffee maker (coffee is provided at the conference center from 6:30am) no toiletries like shampoo and conditioner. They do have bar soap, towels, linens, tp, tissue, hair dryer, paper towels, microwave, refrigerator and internet. We brought our travel coffee pot, beans, grinder, and coffee cups which was a great decision for us since we like to have our cuppa when we wake up.

Looking back at the lodge from the sand.

Pelicans gathered during the day entertaining us.

What we learned as first timers is that these conferences are popular with large and small family groups who come year after year and have a kind of family reunion enjoying food and activities provided for all age groups.

We met some dear folk who we had many good conversations with. One couple who were missionaries in Japan for 27 years were especially good to get to know.

The worship/teaching time in the morning and evening was encouraging.  Here are some notes I wrote down during the talks, The Invisible Hand of God was the overall theme from the book of Esther.

“Our unseen God is providentially working in our lives even when it feels like He is conspicuously absent or silent.”

“The unmistakable hand of God orders events to accomplish His will.”

“Don’t discount the possibilities of your ordinary days.”

A quote shared from the speaker’s father-in-law;

“Sin will…

take you further than you ever intended to stray
keep you longer than you ever intended to stay
cost you more than you ever intended to pay.”

We had free time everyday from about 11am until dinner at 5:30. We had lunch at different restaurants in town. We stopped and shopped along S. Hemlock street, the main drag which was always hopping with tourists. I didn’t get any photos of the street filled with tourists. We walked the shore and I’ll share those photos in another post.

We kept in touch with World Cup Soccer in the different eateries we chose in town.

It was delightful to fall asleep serenaded by the wind and the waves.

For those of you who might visit Cannon Beach someday these are places we ate and enjoyed the food and service, Driftwood, Bill’s Tavern and Brewhouse, Pelican Brewing, Screw and Brew (a hardware store and brewery), Public Coast Brewery.

We ate a lot of fish!

A shout out to Public Coast manager who kept the TV/bar area open after closing for us soccer fans to watch the USA v Turkey game on Thursday night! Thank you!

We also purchased candy and Salt Water Taffy from Bruce’s Candy Kitchen, making sweet memories since 1963.

Photos from our beach walks are coming soon.

Astoria to Cannon Beach

We’ve been away from our Country Bungalow since June 20th. Our first stop was at our Son and DIL’s home for two nights. Then early on Monday morning we drove from Bothell to Cannon Beach, Oregon but our first stop on that journey was in Astoria, Oregon.

We were only stopping here for a meal before we continued on to Cannon Beach.

Perched at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River, Astoria is Oregon’s oldest city and the first permanent U.S. settlement west of the Rockies.

With Victorian-era homes etched into hills overlooking the Columbia River, this picturesque settlement is a port city with Scandinavian flavor. Surrounded by forests, boasting three rivers and situated a stone’s throw away from the Pacific, Astoria is a fishing village-meets-Victoriana, chockablock with forts, museums and great local brews.

If you squint, you can see the bridge in the distance that connects this part of Oregon to Washington State.

We had decided ahead of time to eat at Fort George Brew Pub and we were not disappointed.

The seafood chowder was so good and the Albacore Fish and Chips were excellent. The Albacore was a first for us and we really enjoyed it.

The house made tartar sauce was excellent, too.

Driving out of town we stopped to get a closer shot of this bridge.

Astoria Bridge, truss bridge spanning the mouth of the Columbia River between the states of Oregon and Washington, western United States. It was designed by William A. Bugee and at its completion in 1966, it was the longest continuous-truss bridge in the world.

It is 4.1 miles long.

Before we made it into the little seaside town of Cannon Beach we made a stop at Ecola State Park to get these views of Cannon Beach.

We managed to arrive at a good weather window. We paid $12 to park which was the ‘out of state’ parking fee.

Sea air does a number on my hair so I’ll be in search of a good hat to wear for any future beach trips.

The famous Haystack rock is one of many along the Oregon Coast.

 

Zooming in for our final shot of Haystack. In the next several days we would see the rock up close.

On the way back to our car we took another path to see a different view of the Pacific Ocean.

We drove the narrow winding State Park road down again to get to downtown Cannon Beach where we would be staying for the next 5 nights. More about our time in future posts.

It was a very nice time away but it is very good to be back home.

Multnomah Falls ~ Oregon

This was one of our first views of the falls as we walked from the parking lot that is an exit off I-84 in Oregon.

While standing on the bridge I decided to take a shot of the wider portion of the falls looking straight down.

A great description of the falls and some history of the falls can be read here.

I would really enjoy seeing Multnomah Falls when the leaves change color.

Hope you are having a good week. Today was the first day of the Fall Women’s Bible Study at our church. I’m so looking forward to this study and getting to know the ladies in my group.

Gleneden Beach, Oregon

How about these rocks with trees growing on them? I found them quite impressive on our drive along the Oregon Coast to our 1st night destination just south of Lincoln City, Oregon. Once we found Salashan Spa we decided to take a walk to Gleneden Beach along a nature trail beside the golf course.

Standing at the beginning of the trail we could hear crashing waves in the distance.

The walk was about a mile to the shore.

It would be great to have some audio so you could hear just how loud these crashing waves were. It was very nice to be along the Pacific again. It’s been since February 2010 that Dear and I have walked along the Pacific ocean. At the beginning of March 2010 we moved from Camarillo, California back to our home in Washington. Our home in Camarillo was about 8 miles from the Pacific. As nice as it was to have our weekly beach walks we are very happy and content to be back in our home in Washington State that is a lot farther from the Pacific Ocean…

Hope your September is starting well. I’m really looking forward to be back to Women’s Bible Study starting up next Tuesday.

 

Cannon Beach

Before I show you all my shots from Cannon Beach in Oregon I have a burning question for you…

Did you put all your white shoes away? It seems the rules have changed over time and white shoes are now acceptable after Labor Day.

Cannon Beach was a stop along our way down the coast of Oregon but just to take some photos. In the future after seeing all the beaches from Astoria to Lincoln City we would choose Cannon Beach to return to.

“The City of Cannon Beach is located on the Pacific Northwest Coast of Oregon, 80 miles west of Portland and 25 miles south of Astoria, Cannon Beach is surrounded by the rugged natural beauty of forests, ocean beaches, and rivers. Only four miles in length, and with a population of 1,695, Cannon Beach is a popular and picturesque resort area, playing host to an estimated over 750,000 visitors annually. Although Cannon Beach was incorporated as a city in 1957, it has been occupied much longer: first by native cultures, and then, since the late 1800s, by American settlers. In 1806, Captain William Clark, of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, traveled south to our area in order to secure needed blubber from a whale beached near the mouth of Ecola Creek.”

This is the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. It has some interesting history behind it and you can read about it here.

“Located near Cannon Beach on the North coast of Oregon, Haystack Rock is a unique monolith that attracts wildlife and tourists alike. Towering 235 feet  over the beach, the Rock is home to nesting seabirds in the summer and marine  invertebrates all year long. It is one of the largest “sea stacks” on  America’s Pacific coast.”

I was excited to see these pelicans. It has been a long time since our weekly walks on the beach in California where we’d see pelicans all the time.

I’m looking forward to returning to Cannon Beach in the future for a whole weekend.

Astoria

We started out from our house while it was still dark. I saw the sun rise in the rear view mirror when we were approaching Olympia, Washington. We had never traveled from Washington to the Oregon coast before so when we got off of the interstate all roads and sights were new to us. We drove through Kelso and into Longview where we crossed from Washington into Oregon on the Lewis and Clark Bridge.

Stopping at a viewpoint and looking back I got a shot of the bridge with the sun rising in the East.

The view West towards the mouth of the Columbia river where it meets the Pacific ocean was a lot different.

We passed through many small sleepy towns on our way to Astoria. Our first stop in Astoria was to have some breakfast. We stopped at Stephanie’s Cabin. The restaurant didn’t look anything like a cabin but the food was good old fashioned grub. We split the Cabin Omelet ~ Ham, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, cheese, hashbrowns, covered with their own sausage gravy and served with a homemade biscuit.

Yes folks this is what a heart attack on a plate looks like but only if this is the way you ate every day or for every meal. It was a real tasty vacation treat for one of our 2 meals of the day…

After breakfast we checked out a few of the Astoria sights. “The City of Astoria– the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies, is situated on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River. The city is nestled on steep hillsides overlooking the Columbia River, and is a short distance from the Pacific Ocean.”

This is the Astoria-Megler Bridge and judging from all the comments that you have made about the bridge it’s a scary one to cross.  That’s Washington across the Columbia. The bridge is 4 miles long.

From a distance it looks quite tame.

This was our view leaving Astoria crossing Young’s Bay on Highway 101.

Our next seaside stop was in Cannon Beach.

Here in the Northwest the big news is that we are finally getting a week long stretch of warm sunshiny days. I’ll be watering more and keeping my sunglasses handy. Hope the weather is treating you nice where you are.