Hey Everyone. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but summer 2023 is officially over. RB40Jr will start school on Wednesday so he has just a couple more days left. Summer wrapped up perfectly this year, though. We went camping at the beach last week and had a great time. It was really nice to get out of Portland. Life is pretty stressful in the big city. There are a lot of problems here. It’s good to get out and experience the calm and beautiful parts of Oregon. It was so much fun.
Let me share our getaway with you.
Newport Oregon
Our first stop was Newport, OR. We always try to stop for lunch at our favorite restaurant on the coast – Local Ocean. I had a crab salad roll. Mrs. RB40 had fried oysters, her usual. RB40Jr had a crab po’boy. They were all awesome. Although, I think the crab po’boy is better than the crab salad roll. The mayo and various vegetables diluted the crab essence too much.
Thor’s Well at Cape Perpetua
Our next stop was Thor’s Well at Cape Perpetua. This area was so neat! I don’t know why we never stopped by before. It’s a sinkhole that alternately gushes and drains water. Actually, it looked pretty scary if someone were to fall in there. There was also a geyser-like blow hole and a few surf channels. The rocks here were worn away in such interesting ways.
Sunset Bay State Park
Alright, on to our campsite – Sunset Bay State Park. This was on the Oregon central coast. We splurged and got a yurt on this trip. The yurt was spacious and clean. The park said it can sleep 8, but it was perfect for 3. The restrooms were really clean at this campsite too. The yurt cost just $50 per night. That’s a great deal on the coast.
The campsite was right next to Sunset Beach. The water was very calm there. I think there is a reef that protects the beach from strong surf. It was a great spot to kayak, SUP, or just relax.
RB40Jr found a friend to build a sand castle with. He asked to revisit it twice to see if it withstood the tides.
I made ribs the previous day and warmed it up on the fire. Mrs. RB40 made cornbread muffins. We also had coleslaw to top off the meal. Yum!
Cape Arago
Funnily, this was the 4th time we stayed at this campsite. However, we didn’t explore much on the previous visits. It was just a pit stop on the way home from California. This time, we decided to stay for 5 nights and explore the area more. This was a great decision because this coastal area has so many things to see and many activities to enjoy.
Sunset Bay State Park is on the Cape Arago Highway. There are more than just nice beaches there. A few miles down the road is the Shore Acres State Park. The botanical garden there is beautiful. After that, we went to the Simpson Reef Overlook.
There were a bunch of seals, sea lions, and birds at Simpson Lookout. Volunteers set up spotting scopes and we could see the sea lions and seals up close. It was awesome. That island in the background was full of sea lions. They are so noisy and fun to watch. We really enjoyed observing them in nature.
Lastly, the Cape Arago State Park has several trails where you can go down to the coast. There is also a good viewpoint to see wildlife.
We saw some very cute deer.
The Oregon Dunes
Another reason why I wanted to revisit this area was the dunes. On previous trips, we hiked up the dunes but never got very far. This time, we rented a dune buggy and drove around. It was fun, but a bit too scary for me. I almost drove off the back side of one dune. Yikes! That edge was a 10-foot drop straight down. Mrs. Rb40 said it looked more than 10 feet. Anyway, it was cool to see how expansive the dunes were.
Hiking around on the dunes was more our speed. We visited Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park. You could hike up the dunes and ride a sandboard down. Unfortunately, the rental shop was closed when we visited, even though the sign said they were supposed to be open. We’ll come back another day with a board. The lake was really nice, too. There were many families there enjoying the water. Next time, we’ll bring a SUP as well.
Wrap Up
5 nights of RISK…Mrs. RB40 says this was worse than Monopoly.
S’more
All in all, this was our best camping trip ever. We saw diverse wildlife, enjoyed campfires every night, hiked, slept in, read, explored the dunes, and had a great time. Unfortunately, summer is over and real life awaits. It is time for RB40Jr to get ready for school. Mrs. RB40 has a couple of business trips coming up. I got a bunch of stuff to fix around the house. Oh well, at least we had a nice summer.
Did you have a great summer too? What did you do this year?
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