BRRR! Now that's COLD!

I never get tired of the views

We spent the majority of last week enjoying the warm sunshine and exploring the coastline.  We went out to lunch with a couple from the resort and we explored the little shops on the highway in Depoe Bay.  It's kinda fun to just poke around with no real goals in mind!  We didn't find anything we couldn't live without.  

Cape Foulweather

Cape Foulweather

Cape Foulweather Gift Shop.  I loved the little guy with the Bino's!

We made a stop at Cape Foulweather.  The views are amazing and the little gift shop is full of fun things, just the right size for the Beast.  I got a small carved rock in the shape of a whale tale, a little plaque that said Gone Whale Watching and Eric got me a piece of beautiful amber that I can have mounted for a pendant.  I have a beautiful Amber bracelet so I am hoping to have it crafted to match.  I splurged a little at this shop as they have sold the shop to the State of Oregon and everything was discounted.  I hope the state keeps it open as they have amazing views out of the elements.  

Our next area of exploration was the Flying Dutchman Winery, the only working winery on the coast.  We enjoyed their wine tasting and of course purchased a few bottles.  It was really quite good and it is quite close to us here.  

The winery is next to the Devils Punchbowl which is a cool bowl shaped rock with clear water within.  As you can see the seas were very calm so there was little wave action.  We'll go back during a storm to see if it is any wilder then.

After several days of wonderful sunny warm weather, we experienced a cold snap that lasted the longest we have experienced yet!  Lows in the mid teens every night caused the underground pipes to freeze and when they began to thaw out on Sunday, several pipes in the resort burst and we had several unexpected water features throughout the resort.  Water has been intermittent and when its on, we fill the tank back up so we can shower, do dishes and everything else we need water for.  We managed to stay warm despite the 14 degree temps by adding another quilt on the bed and having two little bed hogs certainly doesn't hurt.  The most unusual thing is we got a few inches of snow on Friday and it didn't melt until Monday/Tuesday.  The landscape crew was busy on Saturday shoveling snow off the roads.  The highway was slippery with lots of ice as this section of the coast rarely gets snow, so no snow plows.  

Yes that says 12 degrees in Portland!

The view out my window.  See the flags whipping around?

What a great guy!  He weathered the freezing wind and snow for the pups!

Gidget warms herself by the "fire"

When the snow let up, we had hundreds of birds in the area.  Not sure if they were getting worms that peeked out to see why it was so cold!

You can only stay hibernating for so long so Monday we took a little road trip down the coast to Florence.  We made a few stops along the way as we are looking for a unique small tree and a whale wood carving.  We had a little luck with the small tree at a nice nursery we may go back to get once the yard is finished with it's update/remodel.  The roads were icy in spots and we were happy to get back home by dark.  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Nana's Irish Pub (I think I should get a job there!  Just kidding!)  They have great food and the Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner is the best!

The little waterfalls along the road were all ice

The Sea Lions at Sea Lion Cave

Gotta love the different beaches here

We decorated the club house for Christmas on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed wine and snacks and watched the sunset.  This is the Good life!

Back to the Oregon Coast

After a wonderful week spent with our daughter we made the trek back to Oregon Coast.  We wanted to do the I-84 route up around the Cascades and along the Columbia River Gorge.  It took us a couple of days with a stop over in Pendleton.   I had always heard of the Oregon Wine Country but had never been.  We cut over to McMinnville and soon we were passing by lots of wineries.  I do think we will have to take a little while and go spend some there exploring.  The casinos nearby all have concerts occasionally and I think when the oldies come we should make a trip of it.  We are certainly looking for fun things to do since we'll be kind of settling in and not on the road as much for the next little while.  We both really enjoyed the traveling, but are looking forward to the chill factor of just hanging around. Newport is a fun town with lots to do and is within driving distance of other places to see.  We love the Oregon Coast and have enjoyed ourselves so far.

I love walks along the beach

This bird caught a little fish while I was watching

Bridge over Yaquina Bay

Sunset through the trees

For the past two weeks we have enjoyed wonderful sunshine and really nice temperatures.  Yesterday was foggy and we had a little ride up the coast.  We needed to get warm rainproof jackets so we went to the outlet shops in Lincoln City.  The shops were not crowded at all and all the stores had more than enough help.  We found nice warm rain gear at a great sale.  Afterwards we had a quick lunch at Mo's on the water and watched the rain.  

A rather informal Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a little different from our past life.  In years past, we spent the entire day cooking a large meal for the entire family, digging out the good china, crystal and silver.  Since it was just the two of us in restricted space, we did a turkey tenderloin in the slow cooker, stove top stuffing, canned cranberries and steamed broccoli.  Nothing fancy, and it passed for a Thanksgiving meal.  I remember my folks going to the beach for Thanksgiving many years ago and having turkey TV dinners.  That Thanksgiving is one of the ones they remember the most.  I think this one will be one of our most memorable.  Usually Eric had to work so the schedule changed each year.  This year it was just nice to have him home and no stress!

I signed us up for Whale Watching and Counting for the annual migration.  You count the whales going by and talk to visitors.  Sounded simple enough and definitely a way to get outside (hence the rain gear) and enjoy what there is.  We had to attend a day long training session starting at 8am.  The instructor was Dr. Mate from Oregon State University.  He has been studying whales and pinnipeds since the 1970's.  I would go hear him lecture again as I enjoyed it very much.  Our travels have taken us to lots of wonderful places and most center around animals.  It was funny to hear him mention places we have been, some 20 years ago, and remember our experiences there. 

The weather goes from sunshine to sideways rain.  Dark clouds are all around and the sky is blue over the water, at least for now.  Today is a lazy day, watching the waves crash and getting little things done.  We did some cyber Monday shopping, I reorganized a cupboard, and I think we will catch up on our DVR'd shows.  Boring, but beats going to work every day.  

Dreary Monday Morning

Gidget waiting for the rain to stop.  She hates going outside in the rain!

The sun pops out for a second or two

Back to the Ocean Air!

Here it is almost Thanksgiving!  I am amazed how quickly time has gone by!  Hooray to the Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series!  We love Boston and Fenway is one of our favorite places to go.  Our daughter turned us into Red Sox fans and we have enjoyed many games there with her.

We set off on our long awaited cruise adventure on the 26th of October.  We originally planned this cruise several years ago with our Troy New York friends, Steve and Jane.  My employer, a large southeastern bank, failed and we had to postpone as we didn't know what the future would bring.  So glad to be in control of our future instead of worrying what the employment situation would be.  We arrived at the airport at 6 am for our 7:30 flight, stopped in Las Vegas for a quick minute, and landed in San Francisco at 10:30.  The cruise line representative was waiting for us at baggage claim and we hopped on the big bus and enjoyed the hour long ride to the pier.  The check in was easy, fast and very efficient.  Steve and Jane were right behind us and it was so nice to see them again.  It had been a few years and of course we all looked the same!  After a little while visiting, we went to our cabins to unpack and wait for the sail off.  We both had booked the aft suites on the same deck so entertaining was easy.  At 4 pm off we went heading to the open sea for 4 and half days.  

Alcatraz from the ship

Going under the Golden Gate Bridge

The fog waited until we had passed under and headed out to sea

We enjoyed four days of watching the wake from the boat, eating way too much delicious food (and we never hit the buffet!) and reading books. Funny how when we retired, we thought we would be reading all day.  We always find something else to do and reading is left for just before sleep.  We quickly got into no worries, relaxation and vacation mode!  

Thursday morning we woke up to the beautiful waters of Maui.  We walked around old town and chatted on the phone with our daughter.  Eric bought me a pretty flip flop necklace and we relaxed a little under the Banyan tree.  Halloween is a big event in Lahaina with people coming from everywhere for the parade and party.  All the shop keepers were dressed in costume.  It was very fun.  One of the shop keepers told us over 15,000 people converge on the main street and it is a crazy time.  Wish we could stay over night to see!

Plumeria blossoms, one of my favorite flowers

The Banyan Tree in Old Town Lahaina

After a quick stop in Maui we hopped back onboard, enjoyed a wonderful dinner and had some drinks on Steve and Jane's deck.  We had champagne left over from the sail away and just sat and relaxed watching Maui disappear.  A beautiful long shooting star fell across the night sky.  Could life get any better?

Friday morning we woke up early to watch the sun rise as we entered into Honolulu Harbor.  We had booked an excursion to go the Arizona Memorial and the Mighty Mo on Ford Island.  We had an entertaining bus driver 'Cousin D'.  He invited us all to his house for Rice and Spam for Dinner.  I think I'll enjoy my dinner on the ship.  We wandered around the Mighty Missouri and I was amazed at how easily you could get lost on a such a big ship.  A young Marine was getting promoted and we watched his promotion ceremony on deck and lost our tour.  It was really cool and I could see how proud his family was.   I got goosebumps and was really moved to see this.   I have a soft spot in my heart for Marines as Eric served in the Marines.  

After wandering around and enjoying a shave ice, we headed over to the Arizona Memorial.  We had been there almost 20 years ago and not much had changed.  We enjoyed the sunshine and watched the oil rise to the surface after all these years.  It really is a moving experience and you get your patriotism back, if that's the right way to say it.  The Missouri seems to be watching over the Arizona.  Very cool.

The Mighty Missouri watches over the USS Arizona

After a long day, we decided to skip dinner out and just enjoy our balcony with dinner there.  We watched the sun set over Honolulu and all the rainbows that formed in the mountains and canyons.  It was fun to watch the traffic calm down as the night got darker.  A late night sail away and we were off to Kauai.  We stayed awake until 11 pm to watch the lights disappear.  Don't laugh, we haven't seen 11 pm in a very long time!

We watched rainbows come and go all afternoon

Kauai was of course beautiful with lush green all around.  We took a little bus to coconut grove and enjoyed the sights along the way.  We did just a little shopping and sightseeing.  The weather was warm of course and no rain.  

Entering Kauai Harbor

A tug pushes us into place

Sailboats

The view from our balcony

  

Another quick day and we were off to our last Hawaii port, Hilo.  The Captain advised us that the ship would be traveling fast in order to make it to Hilo.  The seas were calm, but there was lots of movement on the ship.  The showroom lights had just turned down when people started falling down the stairs.  In our little area 3 went tumbling.  No one was hurt, but it made for a crazy start to the evenings show.  We arrived in Hilo early in the morning and we waited a awhile to get off.  We hopped on the Hoppa On Hoppa Off trolley and visited a beautiful park and Rainbow Falls.  After seeing all we could, we caught the Hilo Hattie's shuttle, a staple for cruisers and visitors to Hawaii.  Lots of fellow cruisers picked up matching Hawaiian shirts and mumu's.  Not for us, but cute all the same.  

Rainbow Falls

A Banyan tree in the park

Our Hawaiian adventure completed, we sailed away to a beautiful sunset for a five day sea journey.  

For the next five days we slept in, ate a wonderful breakfast each morning, read on our balcony in comfy loungers, went to the movies in the afternoon, had happy hour at 5, wonderful dinners, the evening shows and entertainment and into bed we fell.  What a life!  On Friday we stopped in Ensenada, Mexico.  We enjoyed tea on Steve and Jane's balcony and watched the boats come and go in the harbor.    

After setting off from Ensenada, we enjoyed another day on the open sea heading up the California coast.  We saw a large pod of Humpback whales frolicking off of Santa Barbara and I looked up once from by book to a big pod of dolphins playing in our wake.  It was a nice break from the Beast and all the driving and trying to find a place to stay.  We enjoyed ourselves immensely!

Early morning 

Sunday morning arrived too soon and I woke up early so I could see the Golden Gate Bridge as we sailed under heading towards the pier.  I'll miss my fancy breakfast each morning as it is back to yogurt for me.  Must be the hollandaise sauce that adds on the pounds!  We'll miss our friends Steve and Jane but will see them when we venture to the East Coast.

It's nice to be back with my pups and spending some time with my daughter.  We had another successful animal adoption event where a happy little guy found a home with two young boys and a tender hearted chocolate lab found a loving new mom!  Life is Good!