Northern California/Oregon Coast

Donna and I are sitting in our hotel room on the last night of our trip just remembering all of the great times we have had. It's been a great trip!

Wonderful People!

Beautiful scenery!

Awesome weather!

It couldn't have been a better experience. We began in San Francisco on a great day as our group arrived by air and were transferred to the Wharf. They had the evening free to enjoy a meal, stroll along the wharf, ride the cable cars or just relax. It was a memorable evening.

The second day we enjoyed a tour of San Francisco. It was foggy so we had to do things a bit different than on other tours but we saw a lot of the town. By the time we got to the Golden Gate Bridge the fog was lifting and we were able to see most of it. Next was our bay cruise and it was beautiful and informational. After lunch on the wharf we headed into the Sonoma wine country for a stop at the Viansa winery for a tasting. What a beautiful stop and some good wine(so I was told). We checked into our hotel and then off to dinner at the Sassafras Restaurant.

The next daywe headed through the Redwoods.....AWESOME! Those trees are huge and you have to experience them to really appreciate how big they are. Plenty of pictures and climbing on trees and in trees and through trees--it was great. Our day ended with a meal at the Samoa Cookhouse---last of the lumbercamp cook houses.

Day 4 we headed for Gold Beach and our Jet Boat ride up the Rogue River. 32 miles up the river through some of the most beautiful canyons you can imagine. Water that at times is only 1 foot deep and ospry's and eagles flying overhead. It was a great ride--a little wet at times, but great all the same! Our evening was memorable, but after we all got tucked in we slept well!

We got up early to enjoy the sound of waves crashing on the beach as we prepared ourselves for our Sand Dune Buggy experience. The Dunes are awesome and our drivers gave us a great ride. We stopped long enough to get our shoes filled with sand and plenty of pictures taken. Then it was on to the Sea Lion Caves and an elevator ride 12 stories down to the ocean to see where these noisy creatures raise their young and spend much of their time. While there we were treated to a whale and it's young one swimming just off the shore. As we entered Newport we stopped for a visit at the Aquarium and some great sea critters. Our evening was highlighted by being able to sit on the decks of our hotel room and watch the sunset over the ocean. It was a beautiful site. We left our door open at night to let the crashing of the waves put us to sleep and greet us in the morning.

Day 6 was a day of beauty and ice cream! We enjoyed the beauty of the Oregon Coast and the International Rose Test Garden in Portland and we enjoyed the ice cream at the Tillamok Cheese Factory. A stop was also made in Cannon Beach for lunch and some shopping.

Today it started a bit cloudy, but as we drove towards Mt Hood the clouds moved off and we were treated to some beautiful views of this magnificent mountain. As we arrived at the Timberline Lodge many of our group enjoyed a ride on the ski lift up another mile for an even more spectacular view. We enjoyed a great meal and also a tour of the lodge before we headed for the Columbia River Gorge and a stop at the Bonneville Dam and Fish Hatchery---where Herman the Sturgeon was waiting to show off for us! The final stop of our trip was at Multnoman Falls and the beauty of this scene was a fitting conclusion to a great trip.

What a great trip---lot's of great memories with lot's of great people!