Saturday's beach loop

My trip to the beach is complete!  I'm so glad I went, although the weather could have been just a TAD more cooperative :(

I got up early and was on the road shortly after 9:00 a.m.  I had been debating about what wear; I really wanted to wear capris for the first time this year, plus sandals so that I could go barefoot on the beach.  It was overcast in Portland that morning, but I had lots and lots of faith that the weather would be spectacular at the beach.   I didn't even pack a rain jacket, just a fleece for the car (which I bought on a previous trip to the beach when I hadn't dressed for the weather) and my Pearl Izumi jacket for the windproof factor.

Here I am right after the turnoff to Tillamook.  (By the way, I don't recommend pictures and driving.)  I don't know if you can tell, but like any good CilleyGirl my sunglassess are heart shaped. 

I fully intended to ditch the fleece jacket once I got there.  So of course it started to rain when I got to the Tillamook Forest/mountain range.  However, it always rains through that part, so my faith held strong.

And this is what greeted me at Tillamook.  Rain, rain, and more rain.  (Again, don't take pictures and drive.  No cows were harmed in the taking of this photograph.)

I got Tillamook a little before 11 and headed straight for the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  I've never been there so early before on a day trip, and was pleasantly surprised to find out they have some really fantastic breakfasts for fairly cheap.  I had a great scramble with minced ham and Tillamook cheese plus hashbrowns and a homemade cinnamon roll that was about as big as my head.  Okay, I have a really big head so maybe half that size.  But still huge.  Having a full tummy helped me to resist the food part of the gift shop; I didn't even buy any of their fudge (and it's very tasty).  I did buy a hat, though, because the rain was coming down harder.  Plus it's really cute:

This hat fits very well.  I had originally thought that I'd end up giving it to my mom, but it fit so well I ended up wearing it on my run today and I think it will be my hat now for Eugene.   With the weather that started at Rockaway Beach, I'm so glad I got it even if I never wore it again.  Here's what it was like:

It's tough to see on the last picture, but the sand in the upper part of the picture is blowing down the beach.  It made for some cool patterns in the wetter part of the sand:

With the wind and the horizontal rain, I wasn't able to take my digital SLR with me like I had wanted to.  It would have made a big difference in the picture quality -- in fact, if you look up above, the first picture of the ocean is taken with my little Cannon while the second one (with the big rocks in the distance) is taken with my digital SLR.  The second one is so much clearer, but it was easier to pop the Cannon in my pocket to keep it dry.

This seagull was pacing me along the beach for the longest time.  He was a great subject, but after a while they're all just seagull pictures ;)  I liked this one in particular because between the wind and the waves even he was struggling to stay up right.

After Rockaway, I headed up to Cannon Beach and had slumgullion at Mo's in Tolovanna Beach.  Very tasty!  Then I did some browsing in Cannon Beach but I didn't buy anything.  The only thing I really wanted were these sculptures of frogs and lizards in these beautiful bright colors -- and they turned out to be bronze, so not only did they weigh a ton but they were about $400 a piece (when I thought they'd be more like $40 - before I realized they were bronze).  So if I win the lottery I'll go back and buy one. 

All in all it was a good trip but I really wish the weather had been at least dry.  Walking on the beach, on the way out I was walking into a headwind, which on the way back soaked my entire backside.  Not just my bum -- the back of my head, my jacket through to my t-shirt (water resistant, not waterproof), my jeans.  I thought my pants were going to fall down, they were so heavy with water.  But I had a great time, falling down jeans notwithstanding.  (I was smiling more, but the wind blew the expression right off my face!)

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl