Explore OR: Newport

A lil bit ago, John and I took a short trip to Newport, which is along the Oregon Coast.  Did you know that all Oregon beaches are public?  The Oregon Beach Bill of 1967 granted free beach access to everyone!  Isn’t that awesome?

So anywho, we briefly visited the beach and had the most amazing breakfast at a French restaurant in a tiny, old house.  It was so cute and I still dream about that meal!  I had the Loire valley omelet, which came with a fresh baked croissant (and delicious jelly) and a fruit/hazelnut/brown sugar/cream cup.  Oh man, I’ll never forget it…

Okay, back to the point of this post…the photos!

I got a new zoom lens from Craigslist right before this, which allowed me to get these close shots of the seagulls, or shall I say, the Larus occidentalis. 😉

That would be a drop of water in between his beak.  I also got a shot of a seagull with something hanging out of his beak, which I later discovered was part of a starfish.  It’s not for the faint of heart. 😛

My favorite part is that cute little footsie!!  And that distant seagull is all like, “Psssh, yeah right, dude.”

“You talkin’ to me?  I said, ‘You?  Talkin’ to me?’  ‘Cuz I don’t see anybody else around here, so you must be talkin’ to me.”

This one is my favorite.  He’s got a lot on his mind. 😉

We only had a few hours in Newport, so we just got a taste of it.  The Oregon Coast Aquarium is in Newport, so we might find ourselves back there one day.  Hope to visit more towns along the coast this summer!

ahsa*

Explore OR: Angel’s Rest Trail

I edited these photos awhile back but have been waiting to upload them, since I’m in the middle of rebranding my site (big news coming soon!), but a recent email from my dad that said, “AHSAMON, what happened to your website?!” encouraged me to share this little update.  😉 These photos were taken on my only day off in February (thank you, President’s Day!).  With one day off per month, I found myself so appreciative of time off from work and determined to make the most of it!  We love to go hiking, so I Googled some easy, notable hikes around the Portland area and found Angel’s Rest Trail.  It was an easy, 45min drive from our apartment and boasts 270 degree views at the summit!  It was AMAZING and I cannot wait to go back!

4.6 total miles was a perfect warmup hike for the season since we hadn’t been hiking in quite awhile.  The air was crisp, the light was bright, and the earth was squishy!

Along many parts of the trail, one side will literally just drop off like this…

Do you see the puppy dog face in this mossy tree branch? 🙂There were two sweet waterfalls along the trail which allowed me to experiment with shutter speed.John balancing amongst what resembled an old, elven tree entrance.Mount St. Helens…maybe??Approaching the golden hour, almost to the summit.  We stopped to eat our packed lunch around here…on a couple of rocks on the edge of a cliff!  Huzzah!It was breathtaking!

I enjoy striking yoga poses whilst in nature…and crocheting cute ear flap hats with pom poms.

Enjoying the sunset.  We didn’t have flashlights on us, so we needed to get down the mountain before the sun set.  So, we didn’t make it to the actual tip-top summit.  Next time!  Also, I love this picture because John is wearing a vintage Cowboys jacket and his pants look like bell-bottoms — very 70’s!

Ahhhhhh

The sky turned a colorful cotton candy color while we walked down.

The weather is warming up here in Oregon, so I can’t wait till our next adventure!  Weatherman’s calling for some 80 degree days next week…uh oh!  Beach camping is on my “14 for 2014” list, so hopefully we can make that happen soon.

Stay tuned for big, exciting news happenin’ around these parts this summer…

ahsa*

Graham Oaks Golden Birthday

On October 27th, I celebrated my golden birthday!  John had to work that day, so I decided to treat myself to a solo walk in nature.  I planned on hiking Powell Butte, but when I woke up that Sunday morning, it was gray, cold, rainy, and windy.  😦  I was still happy regardless because it was my birthday, but I didn’t feel like driving that far in the rain.  So, I decided to find somewhere closer to explore (I was still determined to spend time out in nature!)  I remembered hearing about Graham Oaks Nature Park and decided to check it out.  I enjoyed the morning inside, skyped with Silv and then, around 2pm, I saw the sun had emerged so I rushed to get out of the door A.S.A.P. in order to enjoy it.  Here are some photos from my golden birthday at Graham Oaks.

This park is very green!  Check out the green roof above the picnic shelter!  It keeps the water clean, improves air quality, and provides a habitat for birds and butterflies.

And look at this giant acorn statue!  It weighs 6,000lbs and was designed by local artist, Mauricio Saldana.

This visit, I took the Tonquin Trail (from the Gateway Trailhead) -> Legacy Creek Trail -> Coyote Way -> Oak Woodland Walk -> Tonquin Trail.Leaves as big as my feet, I tell ya! My absolute favorite thing about the Pacific Northwest is the moss on the trees. I wasn’t kidding about the moss on the trees…it’s everywhere! So, funny story, I mistook this slug for cat poop!  Once I got closer, I saw it moving and realized it was alive… I love this tree.  And apparently, oak trees form this mushroom-like shape when their branches don’t have to compete for sunlight with neighboring trees.27 is my lucky number so I’m hoping this will be my lucky year!  Here’s to many, many more!

ahsa*