It's been close to two years since Andrew and I visited the beach, pretty sad considering we're only a couple of hours away. We finally made it out last weekend, arriving at Nye Beach on Thursday evening to enjoy the view above from our hotel, and the one below on Friday morning when we trekked down to the beach.
Andrew had fun with sea creatures...
This little crustacean was still alive, we got it back into the water.
But not before taking a close-up.
November 9th and I was walking on the beach with just jeans, a t-shirt and light jacket, the wind was almost non-existent and it was warm.
Back when we booked a November weekend away we figured we'd be holed up in the hotel, watching storms from our picture window.
That would have been nice too, but I preferred this version.
The textures in the sand were mesmerizing.
Walking on the beach in Oregon is so much more peaceful than in my home state of Washington, there they allow cars to drive on parts of the beach, something I've never understood. These tracks were from bicycles and other pedal-powered transport, some with really big tires.
This conifer outside our hotel was so fluffy it looked like you could hug it. I did not.
The hebes were blooming away like it was still summer.
Later that afternoon we made our way over to Yaquina Bay for lunch at Mo's (an Oregon tradition) and a walk along Bay Blvd, where I spotted this cute little greenhouse.
With no plants in it!
There were signs for a Deco District elsewhere in Newport but this stair-railing was a nice deco-touch.
We didn't buy crab from any fishermen (is it even crab season?) but there were two huge crab legs emerging from the cioppino I had for lunch.
The bay bridge...
Andrew tried to talk me into visiting the Undersea Gardens but it looked a little past it's prime.
Instead we saved our $30 and watched Sea Lion entertainment for a good 30 minutes.
They mostly napped...
But every few minutes one of them would need to spout off about something and someone else had to add their ten-cents...
Saturday we headed south about 25 miles to Yachats. I'd hoped to maybe catch Andreea, the owner of the Gerdemann Botanic Preserve, at home and get a tour, but our schedules didn't quite mesh. Instead Andrew and I walked the public trail next to the garden (pictures from that will be a separate post), and followed the trail (they've got quite a network in Yachats) along the coastline for a bit...
Such a different feel from the sandy beach in front of our hotel.
Oh those people who can't stop stacking rocks!
Interesting to see the layers of soil and sediment.
And rock-holes...
Heading back up to our home base at Nye Beach we spotted an Agave along Highway 101.
Very unexpected!
Andrew called it an Agave americana, but those teeth aren't right for an A. americana, at least in my experience. Any guesses?
We made it back to the hotel in time to head down to the beach for a sunset stroll. We were puzzled by what those four shapes were on the left, in the photo below, until we got closer and could see they were big buckets of flowers. There had been people, and dogs, gathered around them moments earlier, and now they'd all fanned out as you see them here.
When we got even closer we could see they were tossing the flowers out into the tide and it had the unmistakable feel of a memorial, made all the more poignant by the recent shooting in California and the fires and loss of homes, animals and life there. Life is so fragile and precious.
We strolled on to a grouping of rocks in the distance, and there were sea anemones! I love sea anemones.
The light was so low, I only managed to get a couple of halfway decent photos. We vowed to not let two years pass before we visit the beach again, there is so much to explore in this state we call home.
Weather Diary, Nov 12: Hi 51, Low 41/ Precip 0
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