My Trip:
Day Two
I wasnt even a bit hung over from the wedding. I only had a few glasses of champagne, so I was a smart girl. Brian and I got a solid nights sleep and got up nice and early. You know I have to be excited about something to get up that early! LOL.
Oddly, enough, the bride and groom were staying at the same hotel we were for the night before they drove back home to Portland, so they asked us to join them for part of the day to hang out. Aww. (They were planning on taking their honeymoon a week after the wedding, so we werent crashing their romance party.)
We headed to Nye Beach to visit the tide pools and have a light lunch before they had to head out.
I never expected the beach and ocean to look so different from California. The waves were huge, and the amount of space between low tide and high tide blew my mind. I could see rock clusters along the beach, and I was told those were the tide pools, which came filled with sea life. Another thing I dont see at my home beaches anymore.
There was something really weird on the beach. Apparently, the jellyfish get up there and die and dry up. They change from a blue-purple to white as they dry. I need to research more on what exactly happens. I am having a hard time finding any info online. But, it looked so bizarre that I had to take pics of it.
Here they are all across the beach, looking like blue and white snow.
Here they are closer up.
And my favorite pic. Here is one close up. You can see the shape and texture of it. I find it very creepy and beautiful at the same time. This will be my desktop wallpaper for a while, I am sure.
We walked with our friends along the beach exploring and taking in the beauty for about an hour and a half. The happy couple was so frickin cute! See them? Aww. It almost makes me consider the idea of marriage someday.
We all started getting sunburned, which is bad news bears, so we went to a local caf for lunch. We split some black bean burritos, which were very yummy. I didnt want to fill up too much because after the happy couple left us, I wanted Brian and I to check out the working lighthouse.
Info:
Yaquina Head Lighthouse
With over 400,000 visitors a year, the Yaquina Head Lighthouse is one of the most visited lighthouses on the west coast. Located just north of Newport in the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, the Yaquina Head Light was built in 1873 and remains an excellent example of late 1800's lighthouses. The lighthouse tower, at 93 feet, is the tallest of any lighthouse in Oregon.
There was a small nature hike involved and I found out later that this is the lighthouse that was in the film, The Ring. It gets extra points for being in a horror film!!
The hike begins
Up inside the lighthouse!
It was so amazing, but all that hiking gave me tired legs. *hee hee* I even got to do some bird-watching (yes, I am a geek sometimes). Here is a little friend of mine who was kind enough to hold still for a photo op.
I was all tuckered out so I took a short nap at the hotel before dinner. I went down to the beach and got this cool pic of the lighthouse I had just visited as it was starting to do its nights work.
After a yummy dinner, it was bedtime again, because we had to get up early and drive back to Portland. We made more plans with the newly married couple and then had to catch our flight at 9pm.
It was a great day!
Day Two
I wasnt even a bit hung over from the wedding. I only had a few glasses of champagne, so I was a smart girl. Brian and I got a solid nights sleep and got up nice and early. You know I have to be excited about something to get up that early! LOL.
Oddly, enough, the bride and groom were staying at the same hotel we were for the night before they drove back home to Portland, so they asked us to join them for part of the day to hang out. Aww. (They were planning on taking their honeymoon a week after the wedding, so we werent crashing their romance party.)
We headed to Nye Beach to visit the tide pools and have a light lunch before they had to head out.
I never expected the beach and ocean to look so different from California. The waves were huge, and the amount of space between low tide and high tide blew my mind. I could see rock clusters along the beach, and I was told those were the tide pools, which came filled with sea life. Another thing I dont see at my home beaches anymore.
There was something really weird on the beach. Apparently, the jellyfish get up there and die and dry up. They change from a blue-purple to white as they dry. I need to research more on what exactly happens. I am having a hard time finding any info online. But, it looked so bizarre that I had to take pics of it.
Here they are all across the beach, looking like blue and white snow.
Here they are closer up.
And my favorite pic. Here is one close up. You can see the shape and texture of it. I find it very creepy and beautiful at the same time. This will be my desktop wallpaper for a while, I am sure.
We walked with our friends along the beach exploring and taking in the beauty for about an hour and a half. The happy couple was so frickin cute! See them? Aww. It almost makes me consider the idea of marriage someday.
We all started getting sunburned, which is bad news bears, so we went to a local caf for lunch. We split some black bean burritos, which were very yummy. I didnt want to fill up too much because after the happy couple left us, I wanted Brian and I to check out the working lighthouse.
Info:
Yaquina Head Lighthouse
With over 400,000 visitors a year, the Yaquina Head Lighthouse is one of the most visited lighthouses on the west coast. Located just north of Newport in the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, the Yaquina Head Light was built in 1873 and remains an excellent example of late 1800's lighthouses. The lighthouse tower, at 93 feet, is the tallest of any lighthouse in Oregon.
There was a small nature hike involved and I found out later that this is the lighthouse that was in the film, The Ring. It gets extra points for being in a horror film!!
The hike begins
Up inside the lighthouse!
It was so amazing, but all that hiking gave me tired legs. *hee hee* I even got to do some bird-watching (yes, I am a geek sometimes). Here is a little friend of mine who was kind enough to hold still for a photo op.
I was all tuckered out so I took a short nap at the hotel before dinner. I went down to the beach and got this cool pic of the lighthouse I had just visited as it was starting to do its nights work.
After a yummy dinner, it was bedtime again, because we had to get up early and drive back to Portland. We made more plans with the newly married couple and then had to catch our flight at 9pm.
It was a great day!
LOVE!