Tom and I arrived safely in Portland last night. We had an easy and trouble free flight which was nice after all the trials Carrie and I experienced traveling to Ireland. The two hour flight was a breeze after the long haul from Europe last week.
We spent the day today driving along the Columbia River Gorge following the historic highway from Portland to Hood River. We enjoyed the cool weather hikes to see a number of waterfalls, although the most spectacular waterfall was the Multonah Falls, the second highest year round waterfall in the United States. We are so in love with the amazing amount of green everywhere. There is either moss or lichen on every tree, bush and sidewalk in sight. The lush vegetation and abundant number and size of old trees is mind blowing. There are blackberry bushes tantalizing me at every turn. They are weeks away from being ripe and I am hoping that the warm weather the Pacific Northwest is currently enjoying will ripen them up before we return home. We also really enjoyed the Vista House, a building with the most amazing view of the Columbia River Gorge.
After the Columbia River drive we drove a section of the "Fruit Loop". It is a vineyard, fruit, and flower growing region that is directly off the historic drive. We went to a farm that allows you to pick your own fruits, which given more time, I would have jumped at the opportunity. We wandered the fields taking pictures of the gorgeous flowers and I ate blueberries fresh off the bush, after I took their picture of course! This particular farm grows flowers, blueberries, cherries, strawberries and pears. We ate lunch at the food truck parked on the property and I bought a pint of fresh cherries and a quart of blueberries for the road. Yum!
We drove west from there, with our destination being Canon Beach. This beach is famous for the haystack rock off shore. The rock is 235 feet tall and is sometimes accessible from the shore when the tide is out. What a beautiful sight to watch the waves crash around the rock and sea birds who live on the rock flying along the beach. Puffins and seagulls, among other birds call the rock home.
We had hoped for a beautiful sunset over this more northern section of the Pcific ocean but no such luck. The oceanfront and 15 miles inland was socked in with what we know in So Cal as "June gloom". We enjoyed a couple mile walk down the beach before heading back to the car and the drive to our hotel back in Portland. Tomorrow is a full day. We drive to Seattle to meet our friends Sue and Roger, see a bit of Seattle, and prepare for the trip to British Columbia.
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