A Sunny Day in Depoe Bay

     It was a beautiful Day here. No rain, few clouds and a brisk temperature in the 40s.  We drove about 22 miles south to Depoe Bay-whale watching capital of the Oregon Coast. Lunch at the Sea Hag (who can resist such a great name?) was a Dungeness crab and bay shrimp Louie. Delicious!

The town is all about the grey whales and their migration along the coast.  While we did not go out on a boat we did stop by the whale watching station run by the Oregon Park Service. Two Rangers were there plus a volunteer to help us and very few others spot the whales about a mile off shore.


We drove furthur south to Newport around the old bay area.  We had explored this area when we were here previously so today just a beautiful drive in the sun before returning to our condo just as the sun was setting.

Condo on the Coast

     Having spent Mid September through early December in Dana Point California our love of coastal life was increased. We knew the beaches of SoCal were not the same as the coast of Oregon but who can resist an Oceanfront condo anywhere especially at a great price? So here we are for a week. We have been to Lincoln City before, we stayed in a cottage here about 4 years ago. It has easy beach access and great little shops. Glass blowing artists are all around the area. Nearby are the towns of Newport and Tillamook. It is quiet and relaxing although off and on rain has kept us indoors most of the time. John tried to take a walk on the beach and was hit with a fact moving icy rain storm.

Our condo looks out into a bay where the Siletz river empties into the sea. It has been fascinating watching the tide go out in the day and come back in at night, much like Mt St. Michel in France. Hopefully we will get a respite from the rain to go clamming and beach combing for Agates later this week.

Sunset view from the balcony

It's Snowing in Ashland!

My friends in the Midwest laugh at my excitement but for this California Girl, snow is exotic. I have seen it before of course, Family trips to Big Bear or Idyllwild to build snowmen; I even attempted to ski once (a broken ankle disaster). But to me Ashland Oregon is a summer place; home of the Shakespeare Festival I had attended as a child and adult. It is NOT a winter wonderland.

As we drove from San Francisco through the mountains the sparkling beauty of the sun on the snow entranced me. This was not deep snow, not dirty "its been here for months" snow or even "I have to get to work" drive through snow. It was holiday snow, vacation snow, lovely, frosty, snowy snow.

Across the border the beauty continued as we stopped for the night in Ashland. The streets were quiet on a Thursday evening, still bright with holiday lights that had not yet been removed. We ate dinner at Larks- a farm to table restaurant in the Ashland Springs Hotel at a quiet table by a window.
The food was amazing,(they had me at roasted brussel sprouts). The staff were very friendly and helpful, and anxious to assure us that this was unusual for southern Oregon. Rain-of course. Snow -not so much.
We wished -as usual- that we had more time to spend there but our true destination, Lincoln City and the Oregon Coast awaited.

Checking In

With the holidays and family time over we are back on the road. January  3 2017 sends us to the Pacific Northwest. We really love this part of the country in the spring, summer and autumn but have not traveled here in the winter. . It brings with it the much anticipated bonus of being able to see our children Marcus and Erika.

First stop: San Francisco.

We loaded up the Mazda and headed North on Interstate 5. It was about a 6 hour drive from Anaheim to our hotel in the city. We did hit some rain as we crossed the Bay Bridge but that was expected.

Our hotel was on Columbus, walking distance to Fisherman's Wharf and Little Italy, where our son Marcus lives. It was a quick stop, only 2 days but we were able to spend time with him, enjoy Dinner at Michelangelo, take out Chinese in our room and  coffee and pastry the morning before we left. A bout with the flu left me in bed our full day there so Marcus and John spent it together including lunch of chowder and bread at Tarantino's on the Wharf.

It was a quick stop but with Marcus here I know we will be back to the City by the Bay soon.

The view from our room. Even on a rainy day Coit Tower is beautiful.

New Year-New Adventures

Here we go again. 2017 finds your favorite retired teachers continuing their vagabond life. If you know our story you should skip this part.

Upon retirement from 30+ years of public school teaching in Southern California my husband John and I made the bold choice to sell our home and hit the road..our first excursion was a 6 week college football safari to the Pacific Northwest . This trip,  (documented at boysofautumn.com) was also my first attempt at blogging. Spring of 2016 found us travelling to Florida for spring training and the opening of baseball season, cruising across the Atlantic ocean and driving through Continental Europe,returning to the U.S. in July for some time spent in New York City and Vermont. We were on the road from March 1 - Mid July.

Now I know that sounds terrifying or fabulous depending on your level of adventure and adaptability. For us it has been exciting and in many ways liberating. I hope to be able to use this site to document and share our adventures in 2017. Please follow us as we continue our experience as Citizens of Roam.

Jan