SURF'S UP

Wow......I thought I knew waves! Last week we just had the Tommy Tant Surf Championship in nearby Flagler Beach, Florida. If those guys could see these waves....they would either put on their wet suits and sprint into the ocean....or conversely...if they had never seen waves like these in Oregon, they would freak!

I have never seen such big crashers! You know I have been everywhere.....and I have seen some waves in Hawaii...in Japan...in Costa Rica...in Peru. I've seen some really big waves....but nothing like I saw today! All down the coast of Oregon these huge waves of 10' to 20' rolling in from the Pacific in a regular rhythm. Crash....tha-ump.....crash....tha-ump...splasing their 40 and 50 foot sprays up the cliffs of this beautiful Oregon Coast.

We drove south this morning through all the small towns from Depoe Bay and south to Florence where the waves crashed on the amazing Oregano Dunes National Seashore. They say that with the movement of the wind and waves, these dunes can travel up to 20 miles inland each year.

The locals tell me that the best time of year to visit the Oregon coastal area is in October when the weather is warm and there are few storms. It is in January and February where the weather closes in and the 95 mile per hour wind gusts even stunt the trees along the shore (we wondered why the trees all seem to grow away from the sea). A nice shopkeeper told me that the coastal residents are much more hearty than those of us from Florida. No hurricane fears here....they just live with constant wind and rain that the Pacific Ocean produces. The rest of the year it is "pot luck" as to whether you will get rain and clouds or sun or a mixture of the same.


I was excited to see these wild seas, the rain and clouds. It is a beautiful and amazing sight. I stood for far too long gazing at the waves crashing in at Devils Cauldron...mesmerized by a 80 foot tree that was trapped in the huge waves....just bouncing around to be eventually smashed to pieces and thrown up on the surrounding rocks in splinters. The food has also been great.

Nothing like hiking on these cliffs and beaches and then return to a good seaside restaurant glowing with a fireplace and serving the local Salmon, Halibut or Dungeness Crab. Here they also give you a wine menu with your lunch as Oregon wines from the Willamette Valley and elsewhere are some of the best in the world. The wine thing is so common here that I almost expected them to offer me a nice Pinot Noir for breakfast.

Back now in our home away from home...the Salishan Spa and Resort. We have the a roaring fire in our fireplace and are sitting looking out at the rain and mists of this beautiful coastline. I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.... on to Portland to get to know Oregon's capitol.