A slower pace....

The last three days have seen us moving at a much slower pace...well, at least as far as driving goes....76, 88 and 109 miles respectively. We left our site at Osprey Point RV Resort/Marina and headed north on US 101. The view was constantly changing and always beautiful. So much to see. We made it to Sea Lion Caves just before lunch. As we have been doing for the last couple of weeks, we had packed a lunch before we headed out so we ate it before heading into the caves.

Friendly staff, nice gift shop and more view points than you can imagine...many with benches to rest on....yes, there is walking involved...and you will really feel it when you come back up! LOL! We went to the elevator first, it took us down to the cave level. Check out the reading on the levels...we're assuming they are in feet.

As soon as we exited the elevator we could hear them...sea lions and California seals. We took photo after photo...I also took several videos. You can see them all in our SmugMug album listed below. We walked up several levels in the cave to to a viewpoint to the north. Lots of nesting birds, more sea lions and seals and a great view of the lighthouse.

Taking the elevator back up, we saw more sea lions from the viewpoints as we rested our way on the walk uphill. I headed for the gift shop while Stu went the other way on the trail. From there he saw more sea lions as well as a young elk or deer (hard to tell). We have been really surprised at the number of elk here along the coast. We're used to them in places like Rockies and Yellowstone.

After several enjoyable hours we headed north again...looking for a spot for the night. Overnight asphalt parking doesn't seem to be in favor here in OR, at least on the coast. We found a park with an Escapees discount and got settled in for the night. We were right across the street from the beach and took a long walk, enjoying the beauty.

We hated to leave Seal Rocks RV Cove with it's gorgeous view. But on a holiday weekend, we were only able to stay one night. We took our time loading up and heading out since we were in no hurry. We had no destination in mind for the night other than maybe making the WA/OR border.

While Stu maneuvered his way out of the park (definitely tight quarters...won't talk about trapping our DTV dish in the pine tree overhead), I started checking out the pamphlets we'd picked up, looking for anything worth visiting as we headed north.

I found out that the Oregon Coast Aquarium was in the next town north, Waldport. I quickly checked out the admission prices online...wow, another bargain! The Sea Lion Caves were $11 with the senior rate (60+) and the aquarium was $15.50 (senior rate was $13.35 for 65+).

We found the RV/Bus parking lot...it was almost empty. Surprised us on a holiday weekend but that was okay. LOL! We ate a quick lunch and headed over to the aquarium. The line wasn't bad and it moved quickly. DisneyRadio.com was setting up a tent and had music playing. Fun for the kids but for me it did distract from the gorgeous setting as we walked up to the entrance.

What a great find...they have something for everyone, for all ages. There are sea lions and seals, shore birds, sea otters, parrots, reptiles, a realistic wave pool, octopus, alligators, wildflowers, and just about every type of sea life you can imagine. We spent over three hours there and could have stayed longer.

When we left we decided to head inland and take the shorter route to our final destination in Washington. Since asphalt parking turned out to be scarce even along I-5, we opted to spend the night at a nice rest area (12 hour parking limit). Lots of room, nice creek to walk beside and a good stop.

We slept in, not even hearing the trucks coming and going and then headed on to Brookhollow RV Park in Kelso, WA. Nice park, quiet, long paved pull-throughs and a $27/night rate with the Good Sam discount.We had booked two nights there, hoping to take the motorcycle out Mt St Helens. Not to be....can you say rain? My Facebook status update was:

"We went to bed with rain, we woke up to rain, we ate breakfast & lunch with rain....guess I'll write a blog today."

So here it is...LOL! Tomorrow we move on to our final destination, another hundred or so miles. We'll spend a month at South Prairie Creek RV Park. The next week will be spent getting ready for our cruise to Alaska. Not sure when the next blog will be. While on the cruise I will write blogs but don't know if there will be a chance to publish them or not. If not, they will be published when we get back after June 21st.

Here are the photo albums from the last few days...even got videos of the Sea Lion Cave in there!

• Travel from Hiouchi OR to Seal Rock OR 
• Sea Lion Caves, OR
• Oregon Coast Aquarium, Waldport OR

Thought for the day: "Remember the reason for today....we honor those who have gone before us to give us the freedoms we take for granted every day."

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu