SMALL BUT FULL OF HIDDEN TREASURES!

Friday, June 8 –  We drove over to see Drift Creek Covered Bridge this morning.

The bridge was dedicated to the pioneer of Lincoln County. The span once served traffic on a main north-south route along the Oregon coast. The bridge was considered the oldest remaining covered bridge in Oregon.

This is a duplicate of the original bridge that was demolished in 1977.

The original bridge had become unsafe and was condemned by county engineers. The new bridge was built by private funds and the work of Laura & Kerry Sweitz and completed on July 14, 2001.

We then drove up Oregon Costal Highway 101 to Neskowin. We were actually looking for Cascade Head National Seashore (which we were unable to locate) and found this quaint little town totally by accident. What a nice find!

Very interesting downspouts on some of the homes.

Many of the houses have a damper on the chimney to lessen the effects of high winds in this area.

We drove slowly through the neighborhood enjoying the lovely homes. SLOWLY, because there must have been 50 homemade signs asking drivers to move at a snail's pace. Cute!

This is a unique outdoor decoration.

Our next find was the Abe Lincoln memorial in Lincoln City. This is one of those finds that Paul would fly right by, but Marsha insists on stopping. Pau jokes that he wouldn't see a thing if it wasn't for Marsha! Anna Hyatt Huntington in 1965 created "On the Circuit" but is locally known as "Abraham Lincoln on Horseback". The statue depicts a younger Lincoln in about 1850 studying from his "saddlebag college".

Why would there be a statue dedicated to Abe Lincoln in this area. Read below. (Remember, you can click on any photo and bring up a larger version.)

Our last find, on this RAINY Oregon day, was the Glass Art Studio.

This place was really jumping! You can blow your own glass float here. The place was packed with people doing just that! Prices start at $65 and quickly climb well over a hundred dollars for the session.

Somebody came up with a good idea here. It was one customer after another.

The gentleman was the professional. He was very patient with the customer.

While we were watching, the gal in yellow was doing a great job.

This is her finished project.

Many more were lining up to blow a float. Marsha would have loved doing this, but it will have to wait until another time.

NOTE: So sorry to our friends, Sheryl and Jeff. In yesterday's blog we neglected to put a link to their blog, but here it is now…Bright's Wheel Life. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

 

A WONDERFUL DAY WITH FRIENDS.

Thursday, June 7 – We first met Sheryl and Jeff about two years ago at a small roadside campground just outside the Painted Desert National Park in Arizona.

We were parked next to each other and were both relatively new to the full-time lifestyle. We became instant friends then and renewed that friendship today. We arranged to meet at a microbrewery in Lincoln City, Oregon – The Roadhouse 101.

 

We spent several hours catching-up on our lives and discussing our full-timing future.

During our discussion, they showed an interest in joining the Elks sometime in the future, so we decided to move our reunion over to the local Elks Lodge so they could see one first hand. What better place to enjoy a few adult beverages and to play a little shuffleboard.

This is the same Lodge that owns the campground we are staying at outside of town. It is a very nice lodge with a friendly group of people. We had a great time renewing our friendship with Sheryl and Jeff and will surely meet again sometime down the road.

Marsha and Sheryl need input from you men out there. They do not understand what the big deal is for men to have urinals this size.  Jeff and Paul tried to explain how nice it is to have antique equipment still in use at the Elks Lodge.

Please help the men explain the value of this type of equipment.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

NEWPORT'S HISTORICAL DISTRICT

Wednesday, June 6 – After touring the lighthouses, we continued our day with a walk along the harbor to look at many of the fishing boats and the fish packing houses along the docks.

 

We saw one boathand carrying a nice size salmon along the dock for a paying customer. Not sure if it was a restaurant buyer or just a private citizen wanting fresh fish for dinner.

Of course, the sea lions were out sunning themselves on a couple of the docks. They sure know how to make noise....cool!

Look how pretty I am.

We then strolled along the small shops in Newport Historic Bay Front.

There are quite a few restaurants serving fresh fish, touristy type shops, candy stores, and several pubs. Again, we only made a small contribution to the local Newport economy.

Many of the buildings have murals painted on the side or front.

We then drove over to Historic Nye Beach, Newport's quaint seaside village offering restaurants, boutiques, ocean-view lodging, and art galleries. This area is not as economically successful as the Bay Front shopping district. It appears more of an area for locals looking for unique area to shop.

This particular Gallery had some wonderful hand-carved exhibits.

Some homes along the beach area.

With the clock finally rolling over to P.M., it was time to visit one of the Northwest's most lauded microbreweries, Rogue Ales.

It is headquartered here in Newport where the beer is brewed.  They have a restaurant that serves their beer along with several sea food dishes and a bar offering beer tasting with 40 Rogue brews on tap and a great view of the harbor.

We choose the bar for sampling 5 of their brews and sharing a Halibut and chips dinner  that was wonderful. Dad's Little Helper Black was there “beer sampler of the day,” which we received free. Our other tasters were St.Rogue Dry Red, Honey Orange, Dead Guy (their most popular seller) and our favorite Irish Lager.

They do offer daily brewery tours at 4 pm, but we choose to walk on a self-guided tour instead.

It's pretty neat the way they have the self-guided tour set-up. We followed along a marked walkway   through the brewery on our way to and from the restaurant and bar. We weren't even sure we entered the building through the correct door at first. There we found ourselves in the middle of a working brewery. The restaurant and bar are on the second floor above the brewery.

A couple of sailors chewing the fat at the bar.

Our favorite sign for the day.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!