Whew, what a week it’s been. We’ve been super busy visiting friends in Portland and keeping up with some major news on the the RV Mobile Internet Resource Center. If you haven’t heard yet, Verizon started making first contact with (soon to be former) Millenicom customers on Monday. We’ve been tracking it non-stop at the resource center, and keeping up with various forums and groups.
Which has put us a bit behind on blogging here and catching you up with our lighthouse tour on the Oregon Coast.
So let’s get right to that, because it’s the final two!
Cape Meares & Terrible Tilly
After touring the two Yaquina lighthouses in Newport, OR – there were only two left to complete our goal of seeing all nine of the Oregon coastal lighthouses.
We knew both Cape Meares and Tillamook Rock Lighthouses were not available for tours. Cape Meares is currently closed due to some recent vandalism, and Tillamook Rock Lighthouse sits 1.2 miles off shore, and is currently privately owned.
We were also not all that drawn to the camping options nearby each of the lighthouses, and quite honestly – getting a little road weary with the increased work load lately. Seeing as were already parked at South Beach State Park, and rather liking it – we opted to just take a day of motoring and see these two remaining beauties.
Besides, Highway 101 is just made for a Mini Cooper!! Each way, the trip would be 127 miles – so this also represented a bit of savings in fuel. Never a bad thing!
We picked the best weather day, and made a date of it – which also happened to be our 8-year anniversary of our very first date and meeting. A nice way to mark the occasion.
It was a beautiful drive, even if a bit more on the foggy side then we’d prefer. And we were absolutely thrilled to find an Indian buffet to indulge in while passing through Lincoln City (yummmmmm). As much as we’ve enjoyed the fresh seafood along the coast, this was a most welcomed diversion!
Cape Meares is a beautiful .. albeit… short lighthouse.
After making our way out to Cape Meares, we backtracked a bit out to the town of Tillamook then up the coast to Ecola State Park. This is where you can catch a trail up a hill for the best view of Terribly Tilly (so nicknamed because of the fierce waves that hit the rock it sits upon).
After a day in the car, the walk felt great.. and exhausting at the same time. But we so thrilled to complete our lighthouse list!
We returned down Highway 101 back to South Beach State Park and enjoyed a day still before hitting the road into Portland.
As soon as I have a moment to sit down and get some blog writing done, I want to compile a little RVing guide to exploring the Oregon Lighthouses including tips on places to stay, and for parking at each.
But for now, we have a jam packed social calendar in Eugene, OR this week and lots of work to attend to help our Mobile Internet Aficionados members make their decisions as the October Double Data deals expire later this week.
Thanks for joining us in this little side coastal adventure!
Other posts in this series:
South Beach was my very first OR coast campground and I still really love that park. Although to be honest we were there in May and the place was all but empty so it really rocked! Glad you got to all of the lighthouses (sorta)!
Chris and Cherie
glad to see you haven’t totally been immersed in bits and bytes. Oregon coast is so so beautiful and fun in fall. and really any time IMHO.
thank you so much for all the contributions to the RV mobile internet world!. And to RV traveling in general. The world and the RV world is a better place.
We do try our best to take some time off.. and thank you so much for the appreciation of the work we’re doing. *blush*
GREAT JOB! You did it! Goals are so awesome. So, now you should head towards Texas and stop at every Mexican Cafe who serves margaritas. That’s a good goal!
Now that sounds like a worthwhile tour!! 🙂
Great pictures and congrats on the 8 years!
Thank you 🙂
Have so totally enjoyed your lighthouse tour up the coast. And what a zoom on that camera to get the Terrible Tilly shot! Glad you could see her.
Nina
Thanks for infecting us with your lighthouse nut disease 😀 It really was a fun tour, and so glad we did it.
We are planning to go to the Oregon Coast next fall (2015) so I am very much looking forward to your blog/guide!
Oh.. you’ll so love it! (The trip.. and hopefully the guide too.)
All the lighthouses are so unique, both in structure and location, that it really makes for a nice tour of the Oregon coast! Love the victory shot in the forest. Getting south when you did was pretty good timing, it seems to be a bit nasty up there this past week 🙁 Safe travels.
The variety definitely does make for a great tour, and gets you pretty much exploring the entire coast. Such a beautiful and memorable experience, and so glad we got inland before the big storms hit. (Although, Nina makes it sounds like a magical experience.. doesn’t she? 🙂 ).
Isn’t Tilly the one that once had a 100 lb rock thrown thru the upper windows during a storm?
It might have been.. seems all of the lighthouses at some point endured wind storm damage at some point.
I loved your lighthouse tour. It felt like I was right there with you. Congratulations on 8 happy years!
Thank you.. glad you enjoyed virtually joining us!