Oregon Coast 2017

During Ahmma & Dumpa's visit we took a road trip down the Oregon Coast.  We stayed two nights in Waldport, which is eighteen miles south of Newport. A fishing vessel had recently washed ashore during our stay. We pillaged it like pirates, but I still wasn't able to score a much-desired ship's wheel.  We ate crab cakes and fresh rockfish at our favorite lunch spot on the Newport Historic Bayfront: Local Ocean Seafoods.  Then we walked down to the docks and bought enough fresh albacore and king salmon to feed us for the next 3-4 meals.  Infact, Dumpa made some delicious tuna melts that the girls devoured.  We did some hiking in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, and took the Whispering Spruce trail which ascended to the Cape Perpetua Stone Shelter.  We also walked around Devil's Churn waiting for the big waves to crash into the inlet. After leaving Waldport we headed towards Gold Beach.  We stopped along the way to explore some tide pools, and the girls were ecstatic to touch so many "glubbies," aka sea anemones.  Our night in Gold Beach was merely a pit stop and a chance to re-pack our bags before we boarded the jet boat ride, 32 miles, up the Rogue River.  Twenty-eight years ago, Benji and his family took Jerry's Jet Boats to Agness for their famous, fried-chicken dinner, so it was pretty special to re-create that memory with Ahmma & Dumpa.  We actually stayed in Agness for two nights at the 150 acre historic Lucas Pioneer Ranch & Fishing Lodge. The meals we chose to eat at the Lodge were out-of-this-world! Everything was homemade and family-style!  We spent our mornings tromping around Agness, (population: 55) visiting their library, playing at their park, and also taking a boat across the river to Cougar Lane.  As for our afternoons, we lounged on the gravel bar and cooled off in the Rogue River.  Such a relaxing place, especially since we were the only guests for those two days.  Our boat ride back to Gold Beach was anything but relaxing, though.  Infact, after making arrangements to be picked up on our last day, the captain, before stepping foot on "Wildcat" warned us that we might want to wait for a tamer boat. Even after noticing most of the passengers had wet hair and were wearing rain slickers, we didn't think anything of it and loaded our gear onto the boat.  The only seats available were in the last row, which we now know were the worst seats to have.  And as we sat down, the captain turned to Ahmma and said, "I love ya Gramma, but I'm sorry!"  Our ride back to Gold Beach was like Splash Mountain on steroids, and we got drenched! Poor Tessa hid underneath a blanket the entire ride, but McKinley & Piper had the biggest smiles on their faces.  The only silver lining was that we got to witness a black bear eating berries.  We eventually found lodging in Crescent City, and the next morning we headed towards Medford for one last hoo-rah before saying goodbye to Ahmma & Dumpa: lunch @ In-N-Out.  Before we arrived in Medford, though, we wanted to show the girls the redwoods at Jedidiah State Park.