A Full-time Life

Category: Oregon Coast

Pacific Coast, 2025
It doesn’t really feel as if we are at home in Oregon until we spend a few days on the beautiful Pacific Coast. It is a yearly ritual.

It was a busy summer at home this year, so our trip to check on the Ocean was later than usual. It was Mid-October before we were able to get away for a few days.

So we missed the summery blue-sky cloudless summery beach days but there are no bad days at the Coast. And we were happy to be there for the onset of a huge storm — the ocean was wild! Spume from the wind-driven waves piled up against the rocky shores and looked almost like piles of snow!

We walked well above the sea where it was safe — no wading along the wet sand or exploring tide pools this time.

Our destination was the sweet little seaside village of Yachats, one of our favorite coastal areas. There are nice long perfectly safe walking paths with beautiful sea-views. It was only a bit windy on shore, but it didn’t rain until the morning we were leaving.

We stayed at a funny little historical inn in above a restaurant that has served Yachats since 1929, when it was a speakeasy bar with rooms available for the purposes of its patrons . Now it’s an eclectic family-friendly place. Each of the inn’s rooms is uniquely themed and decorated. I love lodging that isn’t chain-hotel-same and The Travel Planner* is great at finding these unique places. It was a fun place to stay and to eat — walking that crooked staircase to breakfast each morning was well worth it! We had a “stretching-it” sort of ocean view from our room but we didn’t need a better one since the weather let us spend the days outdoors!

On our way home, Autumn color and a few elk spotted at the Dean Creek preserve made a lovely end to our mid-week getaway.

Thank you for finding FullTime-Life at our new location. I am happy to be back in Blogland.. This new page Recovering the Blog explains what happened. We’re getting ready right now our Winter cross-country migration to Florida. I look forward to visiting other photo-bloggers after we settle in for the season.

(To comment, click the post title — the comment form will appear here.)
6 responses to “Pacific Coast, 2025”
1. itsallaboutpurple
  
  December 23, 2025
  
  so wonderful to see you again and read about your adventures. i thought i had lost you and am happy to reconnect. i have printed much of my blog over the years and i am so happy i have. wishing you a warm, wonderful holiday and a very healthy 2026!!
2. Anonymous
  
  December 23, 2025
  
  Dear Sally
  I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to comment but I have not been well and haven’t visited anyone, Your stay at the Oregan coast sounds so delightful and the area around the seaside village of Yachats looks lovey. Your photos show just how wild the sea can get and your accomodation feels like a wonderful experience,, unique and special.. cosy too. Lovely nature images that you took on your way home, and I so enjoyed getting back in touch Sally.
  All the best and a happy and healthy New Year.
  Sonjia.
3. Bill
  
  December 11, 2025
  
  Testing.
4. fulltimereading
  
  December 11, 2025
  
  Test comment. Checking to see if comments are published.
5. fulltimereading
  
  December 11, 2025
  
  testing comments
6. Lisa
  
  December 10, 2025
  
  Looks like a great time at the coast 🙂
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December 9, 2025
Happy Spring!

Ah Spring! That time of year when it's apparent we aren't in Oregon any more! There's really not a lot to mark the change from winter here in the subtropics. So I'm celebrating the season with golden memories. And adding a few photos I managed to recover from the end of our season in Oregon. Actually that was last December, so I guess every photo in this post is an oldie…. golden or otherwise.

Oregon daffodils, 2021

Farmers grow a lot of grass seed in our part of Oregon. We don't miss the Spring sneezes and wheezes that come with the start of grass season. But I do miss my favorite Spring flowers. We see some beautiful blooms here in Florida of course, but they tend to be more flamboyant and just not quite the same.

In the following photos we were still in Oregon, but not quite so long ago. These photos from last December were still on the camera when we downloaded it here last month. We went on a day-trip to Florence on the Oregon Coast. About 60 miles from our Oregon home, this charming coastal town is a favorite getaway.

Siuslaw River Bridge, Florence December 2024

It was a gorgeous day — actually fairly typical of December in our part of Oregon. We had a few chilly days before we left, but mostly blue skies and mild weather. The icy days came in January after we left (not by coincidence). That actually is typical weather for the region, although it definitely seems like the January ice and winds have gotten more severe in the last few years. We count our blessings when we miss out on those days.

Hooded Merganser, Siuslaw River, Florence Oregon

During this December day trip, we did check to make sure the Pacific Ocean was still there, knowing we wouldn't see it again for a few months. However, the pictures are from the coastal Siuslaw River where we always stop to walk when we go to Florence.

It was exciting to see several Hooded Mergansers enjoying the sunny day. I've never before seen that many of them in one place. They were swimming quite near the shore and were fun to watch.

Oregon family photo, December 2024

These two live with our daughter and son-in-law. It never fails to amaze me the way their pets always get along so well. And here's another golden oldie from the same household:

Literally a 'Golden Oldie' since we always called this tree a Golden Chain and the photo was taken quite a few years ago. Sadly, it's a memorial picture now because our daughter told us that one of those recent winter windstorms completely uprooted it — the golden chain is no more. When I posted this exact picture years ago, I learned from fellow bloggers that the tree's official name is Laburnum. Blogging is an educational experience — I appreciate all the help I can get.

Just a bit more color for my virtual memory scrapbook:

Yellow flowers always seem like little spots of sunshine.

Here's to more golden spring days ahead. Thank you to all who visit and to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:

NATURE NOTES; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY and SATURDAY CRITTERS;



March 23, 2025
Last of the summer, first of the fall

At home here in Eugene, trees are beginning to turn, skies are blue, leaves are beginning to fall…..

Eugene Oregon, October 5

… and someone has abandoned the rake because there is no foreseeable end to their job anyway. A walk in the neighborhood reminds me to give thanks that these days we can enjoy the beauty of Autumn without any of the yard work!

Finishing up our summer camping trip here in blogland today — we weren't away from home for as long as it has taken me to finish blogging about it. I take a lot of pictures because Oregon is blessed by so much natural beauty.

Brookings Oregon

From Arcata in Northern California we headed back toward home, taking our time along the Pacific Coast Highway. A round-trip is more fun, especially when you can marvel at the redwood forest one way and even more amazing views of the Pacific Ocean the other.

Southern Oregon Coast

The beautiful Harris State Park is not named for our (hoped for) next President, but after an Oregon pioneer who owned the property at one time. ….. We could see the Army Corps of Engineers dredge boat at a distance from our camp spot in Brookings and the next day we drove around to where we could watch it work up closer.

The boat was dredging this channel. If you click to enlarge you can see a very small motor boat between the work boat and the rocky shore. Too close for comfort in my opinion. The crew on the workboat really shouldn't have to keep an eye on little boats that could go elsewhere to play.

We stayed in Coos Bay on the last night of our trip, spending just a little time the next morning at the working harbor. It was time to go home – only a couple of hours away.

People were hard at work pulling up and loading oysters. It is always interesting to see where our food comes from and how much work it entails.

We couldn't resist this sign. Fresh tuna is the best. It is hard to believe it is the same food you get in a can. (Even the best variety.)

We admired this young man's knife skills as he fileted and wrapped the fish we bought. He said he has dock duty on his father's fishing boats right now, but hoped to take his own boat out next season. The last of the tuna packages we brought home are still in the freezer. A taste of summer awaits!

We had fun this summer here in Oregon, but every season has its joys. We look forward to enjoying the rest of Oregon's beautiful Autumn.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY

October 6, 2024
The Port of Newport

The Port of Newport owns and manages Newport Marina for fishing fleets and pleasure boats just as you would expect of a Port District.

Port of Newport Marina

They also have two RV parks and we were lucky to snag a last-minute reservation at the older of the two. It's a very popular destination during the summer months and no wonder. The RV facilities are well managed, clean and close to most of the good things Newport offers.

NOAA headquarters, Newport

One of the most interesting tenants of the Port District is The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Operations Center – Pacific (NOAA MOC-P) .

It was quite a big deal for this port when it was awarded this lease back in 2008. The other finalists in the competitive bidding process were much larger cities, including Seattle Washington. From all appearances it seems the Port of Newport is up to the task.

We often read about the important oceanic research and discoveries by NOAA marine scientists. But it was interesting to see job postings for some of the many support people necessary to run the research ships. Those workers also have to sign up for lengthy sea voyages as these research ships travel the entire Pacific Ocean.

We saw one ship pull into port and some of the crew disembark and head for the headquarters building with their suitcases. I think there might be lodging for them there. Thankful there are scientists and support staff to do this important work.

The Port also leases land to several commercial businesses. The Rogue Brewing Company was one we patronized and enjoyed. It was very easy walking distance from where we stayed.

It's a fun place to eat located within a working Brewery. You enter through a silo doorway into the actual brewery and honestly do have to follow a maze to get to the upstairs pub tables where you have a nice view of the water while enjoying dinner.

(In back of the brewery)

Here's a sunset picture from Newport Beach. It was taken by our daughter-in-law who visited Newport the week after we did.

Sunset at Newport Beach

We had taken the Florence-to-Coast Route from home to Newport but to make a circle we went inland further north when our visit was over.

I've always wanted to go to Boston, but we left Highway 20 quite a few miles before we reached it*. (US Highway 20 begins here in Newport and eventually goes all the way across the country to Boston.) *Newport is less than 100 miles from Eugene.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY

September 10, 2023
A few days in Newport

We spent another few days on the Oregon Coast last week. This time we drove North on the Coast Highway to the busy port city of Newport. The c0ast route between Florence and Newport is beautiful. There are good views of the Pacific the whole way and numerous places to pull off for a longer look.

Newport is one of the larger and busier coastal towns in Oregon. Besides beautiful ocean and bay views and a busy fishing port, it is the home of NOAA's Pacific Fleet and of the Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center (Oregon State University's oceanic research facility). We packed a lot into our three-night midweek getaway. Here's some of it.

This iconic arch Bridge spans Yaquina Bay on the south side of the city. It opened in 1936 and is one of eleven major bridges along the Coast Highway designed and built during the same era.

Our first morning we drove to Cobble Beach hoping to do some tide pool exploration, but we missed low tide. (I sleep really well whenever we're at the Coast and the morning low tide happened before I wanted to open my eyes. Sleep seemed more important.) But a day with a view of the ocean and a walk along the shore is never wasted.

Two not very good pictures but from the beach. By zooming way in, I could see a whole lot of pelicans on one of the rock ridges and a colony of common murres on a couple of others.

None of the birds were accommodating enough to fly in for a close-up shot. On the next day on the Bayfront, we got a nice close-up view of another sea creature:

You can get up close and almost personal here with a whole bunch of California Sea Lions. The picture above is a jetty across from a dock where even more of them hang out. There are hundreds of them between the two places.

It's hard to get a picture of one single animal no matter how you focus. They really like to hang out together.

Really really close together.

We spent some time the next day at the Hatfield Marine Science Center visitor center. I got to take some good pictures of tidepools there — probably much better than I could have gotten exploring the pools at the beach.

There was a whole lot to see and learn at the Center. Along with other Newport activities I have enough for a whole other post. Sometime soon because this one is already quite long enough.

Here's an evening view of the same bridge in the top photo. This one is from the RV Park where we stayed:

End of another perfect day.

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

September 3, 2023
Summer before it sizzled

Eugene Oregon is seriously HOT right now. We are also under a hazardous air quality alert because of a wildfire in the eastern sections of Lane County, so I'm posting some memories from the earlier and prettier part of the season.

Just like for almost everywhere these days, extreme heat and wildfire are both pretty much normal now for at least part of our summer months. The current fires are not a danger to us here in the City, except for the smoke and air inversion. We can only offer hope for the people affected by the flames. For our own health, we stay indoors as much as possible. Instead of any new day trips, one of us is planning for the future and the other is documenting the past. As usual, I'm the memory person and Bill is the planner, but we do work together on both.

All of the pictures in this post are very recent memories. I'm still working on some posts from our June trip. The ones directly below are from our son-in-law and daughter's yard back in July:

The butterfly was quite cooperative taking its time at each nectar stop. I'm usually not that lucky with these flighty beauties.

The pictures below are even more recent — from our trip to the Coast earlier this month. (We probably should have stayed there — it is always cooler at the Ocean!) To be perfectly honest, even without the heat and smoke we would probably be staying close to home right now anyway. We actually do a lot of that — I just don't often blog about it.

This is Simpson Beach at Shore Acres State Park. The eerie tree trunk in the center picture is along the path leading from the beach to the "tamer" part of the Park.

At the end of one of the forested paths from the beach viewpoint, you arrive at this small gate. On the other side, in just a few yards, you are in the middle of the precisely landscaped gardens of Shore Acres. The entire park, including the beach, forest, lawns and gardens, was once the estate of the Simpson lumber baron family. Heirs donated the property to the State for public use.

We were kind of between flowering seasons at the Gardens, but there is always beautiful color and the Japanese-style garden and pond are so calm and restful. We visit Shore Acres almost every summer — one of my favorite State Parks. I like the combination of wild and tame.

Store front mural, Bandon Oregon

I am grateful for the memories and enjoy planning for future ones. But this week I'm especially grateful for not-so-simple things that don't get blogged about — the shade trees around our home that keep the outside temperature a little lower than the official reading and the air conditioner and air purifier that continue to keep it comfortable indoors.

LINKING THIS WEEK (and next) to these sharing opportunities:

THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS ; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; and MY CORNER OF THE WORLD

August 17, 2023
Present at the Oregon Coast …

(… or a present of the Oregon Coast. )

I've been blogging about our June trip to far-away shores and still have more to remember about that vacation, but this week is all about the present — or at least a little closer to it.

Yes, it's the beautiful Oregon Coast — we just got home from a perfect week at the Pacific Ocean. It really was a gift (another meaning of the word 'present').

(not either of us on the kayak)

We camped in the tiny trailer, staying for three nights in Florence (Oregon) and then moving south to Coos Bay. By doing day-trips from these two locations, we easily explored the stretch of Ocean Beaches and charming coastal towns between Yachats (north of Florence) to Bandon (south of Coos Bay).

For context, Florence is only about 60 miles west of Eugene, where we live. At the Coast, the distance along US 101 (the Coast Highway) from Yachats to Bandon is less than 100 miles. A lot to see not too far from home. We are grateful for that.

The sea lions and rocky beaches above are at Simpson Reef, south of Coos Bay.

Bandon Lighthouse

The weather was pretty much perfect every day — blue sky and not too hot. Those kind of days are always a blessing — but especially nowadays. (The wind does blow — it is the Coast after all.)

Oysters!

Top left is the Umpqua Triangle Oyster Farm south of Winchester Bay. On the right two views of an oyster shell mound at Clausan's near North Bend, where we like to go to enjoy a fresh seafood dinner right from the source! The picnic tables are empty because it was too windy to eat outdoors on that day – thankfully they've recently added a few indoor tables. Then, on the way home yesterday, we stopped at the Fisherman's Seafood Market in Coos Bay to bring home a taste or two of the ocean (sign at lower left).

I really do like everything about the Oregon Coast. Even this seaweed-coated rock under a bridge boardwalk in Bandon made me smile.

   Rocky Coast line near Bandon

A calm day on the Pacific Ocean

Sharing these gifts from the Oregon Coast with the following:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; TUESDAY TREASURES; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

Thank you to the hosts.

August 7, 2023
More from the South (Oregon) Coast

Same ocean, same trip as last week…. but we didn't spend quite all the weekend gazing at the beautiful Pacific.

(A lot of it though — and who could blame us?)

Shore Acres State Park is where I took most of the ocean view pictures last week (and the one above). We also walked through the acres of gardens at this park. We were kind of between seasons for flowers, but there were still a few perfect ones (either early Fall blooms or late summer ones still hanging on.)

This is one of our favorite places to visit on the Coast and I've written about it before. (You can Click right here for a link to a post I wrote a few years ago that gives more information on the history of this park.

Just a couple more from the Gardens.

And next for a complete change of pace, the more industrial side of Coos Bay, the seaside town where we stayed:

The ship is in port to load wood chips that will probably go to Japan. Coos Bay used to be strictly a lumber and shipping town. It still has those things, but tourism is probably catching up as a major source of income for the area. When we first moved to Oregon, there were really no places in the city to enjoy nature. It was always interesting to see the action at a busy working port. But since people go to the Coast to walk along the beach or gaze at the Ocean, Coos Bay was just a drive-through place. They've been working on it lately and there are many more places now to do the things most tourists want to do.

Everybody also wants to eat, drink and shop of course and the area has added several of those places:

This is not the fancy birthday dinner.

We had a lovely dinner in a "fine restaurant" the first night — the above pictures are not from that night.

I don't usually take pictures of what we eat, but couldn't resist this interesting ambience. And the food was delicious too. The pictures are from Claussen's, a commercial Oyster Farm. It has a small deli serving the crop they grow, plus a small menu selection. We shared a plate of oysters on the half-shell, along with Caesar Salads and Oregon wine. All while sitting outside, practically on the piles of discarded oyster shells. Our meal couldn't have tasted better.

A view of one of the Coastal Lakes — along the Highway as we drove home. Beginning to end, it was a beautiful blue-sky weekend.

LINKS this week — thank you to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS

August 28, 2022
It’s Been Verified

Yes it is absolutely true — the Pacific Ocean is still there. We can personally verify it since we just returned from a lovely weekend getaway to Oregon's South Coast. There was sunshine!

We stayed in Coos Bay — at a Hotel! The first hotel stay in how ever many centuries it has been since Covid restrictions began. Really, we visited the ocean several times during those years, because we could use our camper trailer and not worry about other people.

I love camping, but of course it is a treat not to have to pack food or make up our bed. This was a birthday trip — we are both August Leos. But thanks to the Travel Planner the trip happened on my actual B-Day. I'm lucky. And grateful.

The Oregon Coast is special because of the way trees and greenery grow right down to the sand. The above pictures are from Shore Acres State Park.

Weird and wonderful rock formations on the beach at Shore Acres. They look like a giant's playground.

Driving from Shore Acres to Simpson Reef. The fawn crossed in front of us — his mother followed .

Simpson Reef is home to about a thousand sea lions — give or take a few hundred. That dark line at the edge of the sand is solid sea lions. Sadly, my good camera ran out of juice before I got pictures. They were too far away for my little one. (But I certainly was glad to have it.) The next picture is from an earlier trip (and the bigger camera). But it is from the same place.

Shore Acres and Simpson Reef are two of our favorite spots on the Oregon Coast. Although I really can't think of any place along "our" Coast that does not meet that qualification!

Linking this week to the following. Thanks to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

August 21, 2022
Day trip to Florence

Last week we drove to the Coast, just for a day trip. It's only about 60 miles from home to Florence and from there just a few miles either North or South until you (usually) get a good view of the Pacific. Here's the bridge over the Siuslaw River at Florence.

Our plan was to get a coffee in Old Town Florence and then drive North until we made sure the Ocean was still there.

The coffee shop has a lovely little patio and a great view of the Bridge. Then just a few steps away, there's a viewpoint where we watched some harbor seals but didn't get a good picture. We checked out the Purple Martin apartment complex and that population seemed to be thriving. Can you see two of them in the picture?

Next we drove North and almost as soon as we left the city limits of Florence we hit fairly heavy fog! We were almost disappointed in our quest to actually see the Pacific for the first time this year. (The umpteen-millionth in our lifetime but it never gets old). I've never seen the turnouts along this stretch as empty. No cars and no photographers. We did get a glimpse or two of the ocean, but always on a curve where it was impossible to pull over. The picture below is one from last year — same stretch of the highway, better viewing day.

But after all these years and in spite of our annual "checking out the Ocean" tradition, we actually know that it will still be there when we come back — sooner this time!

The fog was really a surprise because it was a beautiful day in Florence. Lovely walking weather (cooler than at home in Eugene, which was a good thing.) When we could turn around we headed back to the blue sky and spent some time walking around Old Town Florence. There are fun little shops and windows to browse and summer flowers always seem to bloom more brightly in the cooler coastal weather.

Great restaurants too, but I didn't get a picture of the delicious early dinner we enjoyed . We didn't have to look as hard for ours as this pretty Great Egret did.

It was a good day. There's never a bad one on a visit to the Oregon Coast.

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

xx

August 7, 2022