The Oregon Coast was calling once again, and a 3 1/2-hour road trip south led us to the breathtaking Heceta Head Lighthouse, a place of stunning views, cozy fires, and even a seven-course breakfast everyday….
Our Travel South
Today’s post takes us about 3 1/2 hours south of Portland to the Heceta Head Lighthouse and its associated Bed and Breakfast. We drove down through highways 99W and 18, stopping in McMinnville after an hour at a great little restaurant called Alpine Crossing for some incredibly delicious sandwiches and burgers. It appealed to the whole family (our son, Billy III (B3) is visiting Kay and me from college with his girlfriend for Christmas break). If you are ever in McMinnville, Alpine Crossing is definitely worth your time.
After charging up our bodies, we proceeded on through gale force winds that were pushing in from the sea, causing me to engage in battle along Highway 101 with the steering wheel as my weapon for the additional 2 1/2 hours with one quick stop to also charge up the Mach-e.
Well into Sunday evening we eventually made it to the B&B where we had an opportunity to relax by the fire, play some games (we’re big fans of: Risk, Rail Baron, Acquire, Skip Bo, Baseball (another card game played with Skip Bo cards), Splendor, Mexican Dominos, Apples to Apples and 10,000) and share a cocktail together.
Visting the Lighthouse at Night
About 1030 that first night another couple (Sarah and Louis of Corvalis) that we had met that evening and that ended up playing games with us until 1am recommended we grab the flashlights from our rooms to take a nighttime walk over to the lighthouse, a 10-minute stroll from the B&B. The rain (and most of the wind) had subsided, so we headed out.
The view, not only of the lighthouse, from its base, but of the night sky and the now suddenly visible stars, was pretty incredible. The lighthouse beam sliced through the darkness, illuminating the swirling mist and low fog and crashing waves below. Its Fresnel lens, visible from 21 miles away, still guides ships today
Even though we played games well into the early morning hours, the bed was hard and my natural clock had me awake by 0430 anyway, so I got ready before anyone else in the 6-room converted lightkeepers’ home had arisen for the day, made some coffee in the old kitchen and sat by the livingroom fire. Then, with Kay we made our way out to the porch as the sky lightened to watch the waves crash against the shore just below the front yard.
Come 0830 the innkeeper walks around the house with a massive brass bell ringing it to bring everyone to the breakfast table where they proceed to serve up a 7-course meal straight out of their very own cookbook.
Our Walkabout
After such a meal we knew we needed to get out and get some exercise or we’d be taking a nap on the Victorian couch all morning, so Kay and I headed north down to the beach to see the Cape Creek Bridge built in 1932 and the shoreline up close at low tide.
Heading downhill was the easy part. Coming back, we climbed the inclined paved trail about ~1/2 mile until we got back to the B&B, then we decided to continue on to explore north of the house up to the Lighthouse, to include a little trail that goes above the Lighthouse and puts travelers at eye level with the active Fresnel lens.
A Disappointing Trip to the Sea Lion Caves
Having explored the area all around the lighthouse we jumped in the car and headed out. Three minutes south down Highway 101 is the Sea Lion Caves, a self-proclaimed “Largest Sea Cave in America”. We eagerly paid the entrance fee, excited to see hundreds of sea lions in their natural habitat...
I’ll often visit tourist traps just to say I’ve been there and in many cases I end up justifying the visit if there is something of interest. I’m guessing that at any other time of year this would have been totally worth it, but on the day we visited there were less than ten sea lions and the whole experience left a bit to be desired. The Sea Lion Caves might be a fun stop for families with young children or those with a particular interest in marine life, but it might not be for everyone.
Just to really (tongue-in-cheek) seal the deal on exciting things we were going to do that day, as we headed further south on Hwy 101 towards Florence, I decided to stop in briefly at the Darlington State Natural Site to see the field of Darlingtonia Californica (cobra-like carnivore pitcher plants). The visit actually did turn exciting for at least a few minutes when, in our eagerness to find the carnivorous plants, we (I) somehow got off the trail and found ourselves bushwhacking through the muddy woods. After a few minutes of increasingly dense foliage, I realized my mistake and sheepishly backtracked the family, saving search and rescue for someone else (and leaving the carnivorous plants unfed).
Old Town Florence, Oregon
We had previously planned to do horseback riding on the beach, but with the weather being still a bit off-and-on nasty as happens in Oregon, we cancelled our ride and had the rest of the afternoon to kill. Upon entering Florence, we made our way to Old Town and walked around for a bit checking out the many retail stores.
I saw a sign for a bakery, and not being one to leave that unexplored, I knew we needed to check it out. When I saw the old Evinrude sign I was even more intrigued as we stopped in for a coffee and pastry at the Sweet Magnolia Bakery.
Our dinner reservation wasn’t until 6pm and it was only 4, but upon exiting the bakery it started to pour again, and we knew that even though it was a very walkable small Old Town it would be difficult to walk around in the pouring rain, so we cancelled our dinner at Waterfront Depot and instead decided to eat early and ducked into Mari’s Kitchen, mostly drawn by the local walking by that observed us reading the signboard out front advertising the daily Lobster Mac & Cheese special and commenting on what a good cook Mari was.
We couldn’t pass up an on-the-spot recommendation and we headed in, got seated and ordered the Mac for sharing, B3 got the Tri Tip Parmesan sandwich, and I opted for the Musaka, a European potato lasagna that was unlike anything I’d ever had before. The girls had the scallops and a burger.
The food at Mari’s was top notch and I let the waiter (who was Mari’s son) know that “Mom done good”.
Feeling very full, we headed back the 15-20 minutes to the lighthouse and settled in for our second evening. There were a number of books in the library, and I learned a lot about the history of the lighthouse and surrounding area. One of the stories that caught my eye was regarding the lighting in the house. The B&B was actually formally a duplex with 3 bedrooms on one side for the lightkeeper’s First Mate, and another duplex for the Second Mate.
As they were promoted up the ranks, they were allotted additional lightbulbs, so when sitting in the livingroom on one side visitors can still see the four-light chandelier on one side and the five-light chandelier on the other (The head lightkeeper had six lights in his home, but that facility had been knocked down in times past).
The Final Day
The second morning rituals repeated the first day’s with a slightly different, but equally delicious, seven-course meal followed by a quick pack out and an uneventful 3 1/2-hour trip back north to Portland.
With a quick, but eventful part A of the first week of our Christmas break complete we headed back north where upon arriving we were greeted with the most beautiful rainbow out our window.
Back in Portland
The day wasn’t over though, and this was a beautiful sign to bridge the morning and evening activities. After a quick rest we made our way over to 82nd street in the Southwest portion of town and stopped in at So Kong Dong Tofu and BBQ, a Korean cook-your-own BBQ restaurant. It was tasty, the price was right, and we were hungry. While the food was picture-worthy we were too engaged in cooking it to snap any photos.
The Grotto
The restaurant’s primary benefit was that it was about 8 minutes from our actual destination, The Grotto, a Catholic sanctuary and garden, where they put on a light show at Christmas time, serve up free hot chocolate and donuts and sing carols in the chapel and throughout the grounds.
I wrote about this serene and beautiful place back in March. I was hoping the upper level was going to be lit up as well, but unfortunately it was only the lower level. Even that was interesting enough to warrant an annual visit and if you are in the area I encourage you to stop in for an hour while the festival is ongoing Nov 29th to Dec 30th.
By this point in the game we were all tired, so we called it a day and headed back home to get unpacked and prepared for the next leg of our adventure. Looking back on the short trip and associated activities it was very rewarding to share the experience with the family, learn some history and get to spend real quality time with everyone.
I can’t wait to tell you more about the upcoming leg of our trip. Next up, we trade the rugged Oregon coast for the inland Bavarian-styled snow-covered town of Leavenworth, Washington and a day in Seattle, and the adventures continue! Stay tuned.