Now that my full time "job" is oil painting for our show, the best I could come up with to stall this morning was finishing off my honeymoon postings. *lol* Fortunately, I'm almost finished with my first painting, after putting in about 24 hours. A few more should finish it off and allow me to move on. I'm going batty looking at it all day long, with only Buck to critique my work. He doesn't say many helpful things...in fact, I'm sure he mutters under his breath when I ignore his toy on my lap yet again, along with the soulful brown-eyed looks he tries to hypnotize me with.

Ok...where did I leave off?

We stopped at Florence along the way...as you drive along, suddenly you look over and do a double take. There are huge sand dunes, dwarfing and swallowing up tall trees, and bigger than any FL dune I've ever seen.

There were several days of typical Oregon weather, with fog and drizzle, of course. It was still beautiful.

The drive along the coast is so exhilarating. The road winds around, up and down along the cliffs with hair-pin curves and a picture around every corner. It was hard to restrain my shutter finger.

After I took that pic, I think we were driving along and suddenly Aaron realized that his wedding band was missing. We both about had a heart attack...with his thin fingers and the chilly weather it had a tendency to be loose, despite the fact I had gotten it sized once already. We tried to remember where we had stopped...back tracking and frantically trying to think. Then we realized that Aaron had to dig in the trunk in one of our suitcases. Sure enough, after pulling over to check, there it was safe and sound inside. Apparently it pulled off when he withdrew his hand from the search. I believe in Providence. *grin*

Haystack Rock is a good place to enjoy a walk on the beach. I wish we had a better view when this lighting came along.

We also had to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory. They have the best ice cream and cheese ever, and since our visit I've heard that they are only using hormone-free dairy for all their products.

Of course we saw lots of lighthouses along the way...

We stayed in Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia river, and had a nice view of the water and sunset that evening.

Up above the town, they have this column on Coxcomb Hill. We were able to climb up and enjoy the view.

They also have some nice historic buildings, of which we loved this old house.

We decided to cross the bridge and visit Washington for a brief time. I wish I could have taken Aaron to several places, but there wasn't time. The Yakima valley is georgeous and they grow some of the best apples you'll ever eat. And I also visited Top*****h, the city of murals. It's amazing to drive around this tiny town and look at all the art on the buildings.

Here are the murals that "wowed" me the most. The "stone carving" is all painted on.

But I digress. *grin* I get a little carried away when I start talking about the west coast.

Everybody has seen pics of Multnomah Falls. There are lots of falls to see along the Gorge.

I wish I had better pics of the Gorge, but these will give you an idea of how the sun looks on the hills.

The Columbia Gorge Hotel is another nice stop, located in Hood River. They have beautiful gardens around this ritzy little place, and you can stop for tea, dessert and a walk, or stay the night in their luxurious accomodations. This was our "splurge," as we decided to stay. Aaron laughs at me and said that I got all "prim and proper" and stuck my little pinky out as I drank tea and reveled in the ambiance. *lol* I guess maybe I did...but who could help it, drinking tea with a view of the river and surrounded by a historic hotel's furnishings?

The room comes with a complimentary breakfast...and it was the best we had ever eaten! *lol* I laugh thinking about it. Wow. And I hate wasting food, so that was really painful, besides the fact that we ate until we were stuffed. It was the best oatmeal, fish and eggs, etc... We would taste each dish and look at each other with this funny expression. The oatmeal was what cracked me up the most, because we're not big fans. But something about it just made you want to devour the entire bowl!

We tried to drive and see Mt. Hood, but the weather didn't cooperate. Oh well...maybe next time.

That about wraps it up! I hope you enjoyed the rest of the tour, and hope that someday you too can experience the wonders of Oregon and beyond.