Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Oregon, Tillamook - Saturday, August 18, 2018 - Seaside and Ecola State Park



Pirates Cove restaurant in Garibaldi was our destination for breakfast.  We met a professor from Rose Hulman University in Terre Haute he said this was his favorite spot for breakfast.  We found out our waitress also spent several years in Terre Haute.



The view of the Pacific from our table.



The view inside was pretty good also.  Greg had a seafood omelet and half order of biscuits and gravy.  I had a waffle with wild blueberries.  Neither of us could finish our meal, way too much food.



It’s a cute place but parking in front is hard to maneuver.  We found out later that there is a lower parking area that looks better.



We decided to drive to the northernmost site we wanted to see while we were out here and work our way back, that way our pull offs would not be across traffic.



Our first stop was a short one in Gearhart.



Seaside was our first main stop.  Actually, it ended up being our only major stop for the day.  We got lucky and snagged one of the three remaining parking spaces in the public parking area.  This place is well worth the trip, but my advice is to get here early to find a parking spot and spend the day because anywhere else you plan to go is going to be full by the time you get there.



The Resort at Seaside (a Wyndham Vacation Ownership Resort) would be a good choice if you can afford it.



Seaside was Oregon’s first seashore resort.  It boasts a great assortment of shops and restaurants.  Lots of things for kids to do – museum, aquarium, paddleboats, arcades and bumper cars.



The waves were coming in and lots of people were enjoying wading.



But, most were just sitting soaking up the sunshine or flying kites.



I found out from signs on the beach why we haven’t heard of tsunamis in Oregon.  Although there is still the potential of tsunamis and the need for awareness, the last tsunami happened around 1700 AD – I’m feeling safer.

Seaside is also the end of the Lewis and Clark trail.



We had lunch at the restaurant in the Shilo Inn.



We had a great view of the ocean, beach and the promenade.  The promenade follows 1.5 miles of the beach.  Those aren’t fireworks in the picture, they are reflections of the lights in the restaurant.



We did make one more stop at Ecola State Park because I wanted to get some pictures of Haystack Rock.  It was a two mile drive on a winding, narrow road.



There was quite a wait to get into the park caused by the need for each car to pay the $5 entrance fee.  Most of them were paying by credit card through a machine on the outside of the ranger’s building.



Haystack Rock is the large one in the background.



Other views from the area.



Tables were set up for an upcoming wedding reception.  It was really windy, we are up pretty high on a bluff overlooking the ocean.



Here comes the wedding party.  We had to wait for the bus to get straight in the road before we could pass.



Views from a pull off along the way.  A weather system is moving in but you can still see the town of Manzanita in the background.



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