We woke up slowly, and after we had packed up camp, we went back down the the pier to enjoy our coffee and greet the day on the water.
From there, we made our way to the coast proper seeking the Oregon Dunes. The Dunes stretch along the southern third of the coastline, between the 101 and the Pacific, and when we pulled into a rec/day use site, we had a high vantage where we were able to easily see the stripes of forest, dune, and then ocean.
We took the trail down, and Stu took the opportunity to sprint down the dunes with great bounding strides while I enjoyed the feel of my feet in the cool, very fine sand. There was only a narrow strip of sand at this site, and on the other side we were rewarded with our first view of the Pacific, stretching infinitely towards the horizon.
To Stu, I think it felt like coming home and the joy seeped out as he sucked in the salty air which he assures me is unique to the Pacific, and took in the long and empty stretch of beach which are so hard to find on the California beaches of his childhood. We played in the water for a while, allowing our toes to defrost sporadically, and enjoying the snowy pipers, gulls, and occasional hawk that came near to greet us.
As lunch time encroached, we reluctantly hiked back to Wendel and then drove on to Florence, for lunch at a hidden gem of a Hawaiian restaurant called Hukulai. We got pineapple cider, edamame guacamole with mango pico and taro chips, and some excellent sushi rolls. Then back to the dunes.
When I read about the dunes, I'd imagined vast egyptian-esque landscapes that you could sandboard down, and ripples of wind dragging through the surface of ever shfting mounds of sand (unreasonably or not). Since our first escapade into the dunes was not that, we tried again after lunch, going to an area that Stu's google-fu assured us was the duney-est spot around. It was more sand than we had found on our first expedition but not the Saharan monsters I'd been imagining. Good for more of Stu's sand sprints, though, and directly abutting the ocean. We spent a little more time enjoying the water, and then I built a sandcastle, which Stu accused of having certain similarities to female anatomy. I made some turrets, and thus arose the soaring edifices and stalwart walls of Fort Teton. It shall guard that section of beach until it is eventually overcome by the eternal tides.
Satisfied, we returned to Wendel and continued up the 101 to Cape Perpetua, home of several "notable" water features. Basically, there's a lot of rocks in Cape Perpetua that have been eroded into shapes that make the water do kind of cool things, and they're all named like the mom from Waterboy is on staff-- devil's churn, spouting horn, Cooks chasm, and our favorite, Thor's well. The well is a big, deep, hole out near the edge of the rock that seems to drain endlessly at high tide, and spout water at low tide when you can approach it. Ultimately, it's just a hole, but it is a very exciting hole with lots of angry sea rushing through it. We walked along the whole, under-signed area trying to identify the critical features and navigate the hiking paths that didn't really exist except on the map. Twas an adventure, and we think we found a few features they should note for future like qetzlcoatl's demise and smugglers buck tooth.
Stu was especially looking forward to our next stop, Newport, as all the food guides had highlighted restaurants there. We were obviously going to be doing seafood, so the choice was between Mo's Chowder (turned out to be a chain where you had to enter through the gift shop so we ruled it out), a place that looked like it's name was "Crabs!" from what we could discern outside (promising...and we still regret not going a little bit), and Local Ocean, a gourmonds take overlooking the fisherman's wharf. The food was everything we'd hoped: seared scallops on a bed of asparagus and Oregonzola (yes, you read that right), grill-kissed albacore tuna on a salad of mixed berries and balsamic, and half a Dungeness crab to top it all off.
Afterward, we strolled along the bay district as we digested. Alongside one pier was a set of floating platforms covered in sleeping sea lions, who were taking turns being agitated by late-comers trying to claim spots among them. We also found a number of candy shoppes, at which we availed ourselves of pixie sticks, rock candy, jaw breakers, chocolate truffles, and a caramel apple. Not all at once, despite my best efforts.
Since we had stayed for dinner, we left Newport a little late, and campsites along the coast had been surprisingly sparse near us. With Labor Day looming, the three campsites we checked were already filled. However, one helpful ranger handed us a magical list which listed the "Highway 101 Safety Rest Stops" on which you could park overnight without fearing a knock on your window at 2am. The next closest was only 8 miles up the road.
"Safety Rest Stop" doesn't do justice to the large scenic overlook we found just as the sun was setting below the Pacific. We parked and sat through the majestic yellows, reds, and finally purples before popping Wendel's top and making our bed. In that moment, sitting parked at a scenic overlook, admiring a beautiful Oregon sunset through the windshield, and knowing we could close the curtains and wake up to a sunrise in the same place, I felt like Id earned the right to trade peace signs with other van campers, and we are ready to fall asleep to the sounds of the waves crashing below.
Good night from Boiler Bay Scenic Viewpoint.
Stu and Chelsea
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