An Off Road Foray and a Stop at Coastal Mist

Being born and raised in Arizona on the hot burning sands of the desert (not really but that’s the image most have of AZ), my kids love the ocean…. even when it’s not the nicest weather.

Out hotel at Gold Beach, Oregon was located next to the ocean and the kids were so excited to run in the water and try to escape the larger incoming waves.

 

 

We left Gold Beach and continued on but we didn’t get very far before one of my dear children (Serenity) mentioned how fun it would be to climb this large rock that was sticking up out of the edge of the Pacific Ocean. That’s all it took for my adventure loving, always ready for a non-typical experience husband decided that, yes, indeed that was a very good idea.

 

A quick park on the shoulder of the road was done and across the road, over the guard rail and through the brambles, briars and bushes the crew trooped – all of which I viewed until they were out of sight from the comfort of my seat in the Suburban. 🙂

 

Interesting mushrooms were spotted

 

Unfortunately for them, they were foiled in their attempt to reach the summit. My very brave hikers became a little intimidated by the steepness at the top and potential long fall off to the side of them. Some kind soul had left a rope that could have been used to help pull themselves to the top but it would have been kind of a shock to the body if the rope had not held. So with only about 5′ to go, they turned back.

 

Along the coast you will find many places that say it is good for wildlife viewing. I can’t even remember the many different types of wildlife there are but some are whales and sea lions (depending on the time of year).

 

So beautiful…

 

My niece traveled with us for the week-and-a-half that we were gone.

 

 

It was windy and cold!

 

We stopped in Bandon, a quaint little town that we remember with much fondness from the very first trip we ever took through Oregon many years ago. This time the town was pretty quiet since it’s their off-season but we did find this delightful chocolate cafe called Coastal Mist that was open. The owners were trained in Belgium in the art of chocolate and they know their stuff! A very delightful stop. I had my first experience with drinking chocolate (not to be confused with hot chocolate). It comes in a teeny tiny cup, as you can see below, but it’s rich so you wouldn’t want much more than that.

(I wonder what liberal Oregon thought of my daughters hat?!)

 

Delicious desserts that we enjoyed.

 

That evening we stopped at the historical Waterfront Depot restaurant. It was built in 1912 and was used as a railroad depot in a location 15 miles from where it presently resides. Excellent food was served (it has a 4.5 star rating on Trip Advisor) but it is on the pricey side and there are no children’s menu available.

To be continued….