Friday, May 30, 2014

The Pacific Ocean!

Betsy and Ann took me to the seashore on Monday, April 27th. We traveled west from Bend and descended from the snowy mountains to lower, greener ground. The view from the car window was spectacular. I saw tall mountains covered with snow and valleys. I saw large bodies of water and towns and farms.

After several hours, we arrived at the seashore. I felt so happy to see the Pacific Ocean and so grateful to Betsy and Ann for taking me there. Betsy and I explored rocky beaches and sandy beaches. The tide was coming in and the water swirled. We saw a sign warning us that the ocean is beautiful, but dangerous. The undercurrents are rapid and people who fall in have been known to drown in just a few minutes. It was also windy and a bit chilly so going swimming in calm water would not have been a plan. Certainly, swimming in churning water was not a plan. I collected a few seashells and stones because I love seashells and stones.
Betsy and Ann, with help from their GPS device, located a motel for us to stay overnight. The motel is in Lincoln City and is called the Historic Anchor Inn. It is not directly on the beach but it is a short walk from the motel to the beach. The Historic Anchor Inn is one of the most unusual, creative motels that I'd ever stayed at. For one thing, the rooms are more like suites than rooms. You get a bedroom, a bathroom, and a sitting room. Every room is decorated in a different theme. My room was called the Africa room. It had pictures of all sorts of places in Africa. There was a large model of an elephant on the floor. I was gleeful about the room. I took pictures everywhere. It was definitely not your typical hotel room. This space had lots of character.
Betsy enjoys the water.

Ginger Bear and Alice, enjoying the power of the swirly sea.



We soon left to go out to dinner. We went to a restaurant where we had a good view of the ocean. The water churned dramatically. The sun was starting to sink to the west where the big ocean lay. A west coast sunset. That would be something to see. We had a delicious fish dinner and dessert, which included marionberry and ice cream.
Exploring the vast ocean.

Interesting and unusual terrain.

Ginger Bear is ready for an outing.




 




After dinner, we returned to the motel and Betsy and I walked to the beach. It was a somewhat rough looking beach, with driftwood and a variety of other objects. There were some people at the beach. No one was in the water because the water churned too quickly to be safe. We walked and took pictures. It soon got dark and, once again, we returned to the motel.













In the morning, we went to the dining room at the motel. The motel is a cross between a motel and a bed and breakfast. Breakfast is included in the cost of the meal. We had our choice between steak and eggs or a "signature strawberry crepe." Ann is not a fan of breakfast so she had a small bowl of fruit. Betsy and I enjoyed the signature strawberry crepe. It looked beautiful on the plate and it tasted even better than it looked.
The next morning, I looked out the window and saw two cats playing a chase game.
We left soon after breakfast, saying goodbye to the motel, the swirling sea, and the quirky charm of Lincoln City. It was a delight to be there...
... and to be in Oregon... It was a glorious week. I am most grateful to Betsy Lamb, Ann Havill, and Philip Randall for showing the sights and for making me feel at home. It was a wonderful week and I had a great time in Oregon.

1 comment:

Chuck said...

9Ah, thank you Alice for the great photos and prose...I was jealous of Ginger Bear! :)

Love ya,
Chuck