Thomas said
it, “You will be surprised by the
vastness; the distances are not what you are accustomed to.” OK, so my brother
was right for once! My trusty Rand-McNally and Road Trip Book of the Ages
indicates destinations are but a whistle-stop apart. Each is at least 20 miles
from the other. In fact, we ran out of daylight and time (even with 2 hours on
Pacific Time) making our way to the Pacific Ocean.
Another
piece of truth: to see what is
advertised about the Pacific and its glorious essence, head for Lincoln City,
not Tillamook. We finally found Cape Lookout and Meyers Scenic Viewpoint, but
they are not close to each other. In fact, the roads split and there’s a
choice, Robert Frost. We chose Cape Lookout.
It was there
that I felt Lewis and Clark’s exhaustion and disappointment. Not only were we
beat to our socks, but we were off the 101 highway by many miles to get to the
lookout point. There, the Pacific just meekly washes onto shoreline, a brown
beach with driftwood and rocks askew. 
However, on
down the road, we saw mist rising and we pulled over on a turnout. VOILA’!
There! This was what we’d expected! Roaring,
rumbling, raucous Pacific pounding the shoreline! We were burning daylight by the second and Highway 101 did not, at this point, hug the coastline. When it did, beginning more at Lincoln City, it was late and dark and we were behaving like two exhausted travelers. We should have turned back at Pacific City and driven the 50 miles over to Salem rather than driving the road to Florence and then over to Eugene.
As it turned
out, we decided to take the day and go back in the gorgeous sunshine to
Florence and Cape Perpetua, enjoy
the scenery, take pictures, and ride along on a Dune Buggy Adventure. More on that FUN next time.
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