To See What We Can See-- Cannon Beach 7/21/09

A day of sightseeing was in order. Enough thinking & planning & worrying about how long it would take us to get to the next destination. Scott's birthday was coming up on Sunday (the big 40!) and he has never been to the Pacific Ocean. We needed to rectify such an inequity! To Cannon Beach we went! It was in the low 90's again so this would be a welcome reprieve. As we drove out on Rte 26, we could begin to feel the temperature change--cooler. What a concept! It was a beautiful drive with very wind-y roads and so many trees! The breeze was wonderful coming in the car windows. When we reached Cannon Beach, we couldn't find a place to park, so actually we went to Escola Park right next door. Indian Beach was just a few miles into the forest. John would have been freaking out, there were no guard rails anywhere! The road was BARELY wide enough for 2 vehicles and there definitely places where you couldn't even see around the next corner.

When we arrived, the temperature in the parking lot, with a stiff breeze, felt like about 68 degrees. We grabbed some sandwiches out of our cooler, people-watched a bit, then decided to go down to the beach. Strangely, it was much warmer! So we camped out for about 3 hours. We HAD to try the water first thing. Keeping in mind we were in the Pacific Northwest, we knew it would be cold, but we weren't prepared for just HOW cold! As soon as I stuck my very white foot in the drink, the muscles screamed, "LET ME OUT". The water was MAYBE 50 degrees. Surfers were in the water in full neopreen suits with hoods, gloves, and feet. That should have been a clue!

All in all, it was a really nice time relaxing, listening to the waves, and taking pictures. This is place we'll definitely come back to.