Oregon Coast - Friday 3-May-2019
We went a bit south to Tillamook County to a couple capes. And since we were in the area, we stopped by the Tillamook Creamery.
The place we're staying offers breakfast in the morning, so we went downstairs in the morning to eat. Our room has what they call a kitchenette (a couple burners, microwave, and small fridge, as well as pots, pans, dishes, and accessories. There's no dedicated kitchen sink, but the bathroom ones are out in the main room, so it works out OK. Even so, we don't plan on using more than the fridge, microwave, and a few utensils.
Fed for the morning, we gathered our stuff and started driving south to take a short hike at Cape Lookout.
Cape Lookout State Park
We knew that going into Cape Lookout State Park required a $5 entrance fee, so we made sure to have cash in case there was a kiosk for payment. It was a bit of a surprise to pull into the trailhead and find nothing about payment, nor any passes on any of the cars. So I guess the payment is only for the main part of the park where there are camping sites and a long spit.
We started on the trail and immediately noticed how well-maintained it was. We saw only a few people heading out, even though it was moving into the late morning. What we did see was lots of native plants. There was a lot of going downhill, and every now and then we got glimpses of the water and beaches to the south. After about two and a half miles, we turned a corner and were at the end of the hike. A good time to sit down for a few minutes, take in the view, and have a snack before turning back towards the car.
Tillamook Creamery
It was already past lunchtime, so we were more than ready to head back north towards the Tillamook Creamery. We went past it on the way south, but even if we hadn't, it's hard to miss. The parking lot was pretty full, but there weren't enough cars to require going to the overflow lot.
Last year, my parents drove by the Tillamook Creamery but said it looked like there was no activity. We had a hard time figuring out how that would have been, but inside, the timeline wall showed the building we were in having opened in 2018, so it's possible they could have been at the old one after the move, or gone by the new one before it opened. At least that mystery seems to be solved.
We went upstairs after lunch to take a look at the exhibits. Of course, we stopped by the cheese tasting booth and took a look at the factory floor, which didn't seem very busy. After taking a quick look at the other exhibits, we headed back downstairs to join the long line for ice cream. Refreshed, we doubled back a little bit to go to Cape Meares.
Cape Meares State Park
The highlight of Cape Meares State Park is the squat lighthouse, but we arrived just after the last group was given a tour. We did walk around a bit and saw great views towards Oceanside Beach, including Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge but it was too far away to see the tufted puffins. They are also at Haystack Rock, but we probably wouldn't have much time to take a look on this trip.
After we were done, we stopped by a store to pick up groceries for dinner and a hiking lunch the next day. Once we got back to the room (and after we got our room keys reprogrammed since they stopped working), we were fine with settling in, eating our dinner (and some fudge we picked up at Tillamook made for dessert), and relaxing for rest of the evening.
