We're heading out early tomorrow morning for Manzanita, OR. Just a weekend away before Spring term starts at school, and back to work-work-work. We're trying our second rental experience via air B-n-B...a house that sleeps up to eight, just blocks from the ocean and walking distance to the main street of this small coastal town. Looking forward to fresh air, leaving a window open to catch the sound of the ocean, the quiet and slower pace of a small town, morning coffee and pastries at the local bakery, watching some old movies together, beach combing, and clam chowder. Oh, and, yes, we'll be poking our noses into all the little antique, thrift and junk joints along the way...

See you when we return...happy weekend!

North Coast Sunday

Many people take a full week (or two) vacation once per year. We schedule our time off so we can have multiple 3-day weekends, and frequent day trips.



Escaping the city for an afternoon at the Oregon Coast is always a good choice.



There's a fantastic fresh, local, organic cafe in Canon Beach that serves up comfort food done right. We adore their pulled pork po'boy and homemade slaw. Cozy booths fashioned from upcycled shabby chic 1930s bed frames, and a playlist of Motown and classic Jazz standards doesn't hurt either.



Canon Beach is truly a town for tourists. Plenty of boutiques, galleries and cafes. Two old-time candy/ice cream parlors and a packed-out family-run grocery store (read: not a chain) are also good features.





We often drive a bit south and end up on the beaches of Arcadia and Hug Point. Less people, more intriguing rocks and tide pools full of sea critters.





There's a few neat inlets and sea caves to explore; carved by the ocean over thousands of years.



One day we won't return to the city. "Going home" will mean to our beach home, and we look forward and build our plans for that goal with every visit to the place that rests our souls.

Travel: Astoria, Oregon

Photos by Tina, Pfeiffer Photos © 2010 ~ all rights reserved.

Travel: Hug Point, Oregon Coast USA

Our mini-vaca was very relaxing and the weather was divine. We stopped for a few hours to walk the beach at Hug Point this morning. Hug Point is a state wayside just south of Cannon Beach, along the Oregon Coast. The mist and sunshine were magic in the shore pines, and we caught a few shots of a happy couple having their photos taken prior to their ceremony-by-the-sea.

Wishing you all a very happy weekend!

My Backyard: Garibaldi, Oregon

We visited our friends, Mike and June, in Garibaldi, Oregon last weekend. The gals went vintage hunting--yard sales, thrift shops, junk shops and antique stores. The guys spent Sunday on a fishing charter and brought us back some fresh Coho salmon--yum! We consumed great clam chowder, slept with a window open to the sound of the ocean, and were spellbound by a family of cranes flying over the bay in the evening.

Hope we get to go back soon...

Images 1 & 3-6 via Flickr, Image 2 via Pfeiffer Photos.

My Backyard: Munson Creek Falls

After a week of final exams we escaped. We drove out of Dodge (aka Portland, OR) yesterday around noon and didn't return until almost 9:00 P.M. You see, there was a waterfall to find. In this land of the green, the hiking, and the waterfalls in the wilderness, we had yet to experience Munson Creek Falls in Tillamook County. It's about 2 hours drive from Portland to Tillamook (til-a-muck) if you're not in a hurry, and we weren't. We travel Highway 6 through the Tillamook National Forest (see photo above) and it's all green and so glorious.

The road to Munson Creek is 7 miles south off Hwy 6, then a turn at a poorly marked farm road, up another 1 1/2 miles until the pavement turns to gravel. From there it's another 3/4 mile into the park and 1/4 mile hike to the site of the waterfall.

It is well worth every mile and I believe that the photographs speak volumes.

After recharging in the woods we drove on down the coastline to Rockaway, OR, and walked a very quiet beach for another 2 miles. The sound and smell of the ocean was much needed therapy after weeks of being cooped up in town working and studying and tending to daily life.

The drive home is always bittersweet. We want to stay longer. We know we have to go back to reality. But, honestly, I ask you...what could be more reality than the slowed down pace, and the serenity of open sky, salt air and only the wind and the birds in your ears?

Hope you all had as nice a weekend as we did...

Images by Tina, Pfeiffer Photos - copyright 2009.