Beach Day at The Oregon Coast
My sister and I drove to the Oregon coast to fill our souls with a full dose of ocean sounds and sandy toes. We got an early start at 6 A.M. to take advantage of the low tide, which exposes the rocky tide pools and makes the entire beach accessible.
Of course not booking a hotel keeps it fairly frugal.
We spent more time that I'm willing to admit playing with the "Panoramic" photo setting on our phones. We are silly geese!
Portland was forecast to be 88 degrees, but the Cascade mountain range between Portland and the Pacific Ocean keep the beach much cooler. Oregonians know to bring layers for unpredictable weather. You can see how misty it was.
As always, the tide pools teemed with life.
We spent almost four hours exploring the beach.
Our next stop was Tillamook's Tacos La Providencia food cart, which consistently delivers delicious Mexican food for hungry beach combers.
My sister and I started to drag from our early start, so we drove through Dutch Bros. coffee, (her choice) where we got a large mocha, split into two cups. Naturally we had to stop into the Tillamook Goodwill for a relaxing browse.
I walked out empty handed, but still looked up at least a dozen items. Like this $14.99 pool cue organizer shelf:
This fantastic $12.99 "coastal grandmother" aesthetic sweater:
This $6.99 Southwestern style vase:
Next up was a visit to the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, where my sister was able to get in for free as a "professional courtesy" due to her affiliation to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. My admission was $7.
I've wanted to visit this museum for years and can now check it off my bucket list.
This museum is exactly what you'd expect, but also surprising. There's a lot of taxidermy, but also full size diorama rooms, geologic samples and antique transportation.
However much taxidermy you imagine is in this museum -- triple that amount!
Some of which has absolutely nothing to do with the Oregon coast:
I'm pretty sure that Smokey The Bear was artificially taxidermied:
It was giving SNL "Alan" vibes.
Where was I? I yeah, Museum content.
My sister took this photo for our friend Lise, as she teaches basket making classes. Tiny Katy for scale.
Unfortunately I somehow tweaked my back, which brought our adventures to a screeching halt. We'd planned on driving up the coast to enjoy Highway 101 and then head home, hitting Camp 18 for dinner. Instead we drove straight back after purchasing gas station Ibuprofen and Diet Cokes.
We may have shortened our beach day by a few hours, but we still enjoyed the drive back, thanks to an impromptu Dolly Parton playlist. Even made it home in time to watch "9 to 5" through the free Philo app. Not only does that movie hold up, it was waaaaay ahead of its time! That woman set an example we can only hope to emulate. She will be sorely missed!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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Sorry to hear about your back pain, but it looks like you had a wonderful excursion prior to that.
I just finished "attending" a webinar on solar energy. Although the price has come down massively since the 1970s, it is still too expensive for me. I'd have to shell out about 10 grand. The payback time would not be for another 10 to 15 years. I am 71. Not to sound pessimistic, but chances are I won't be in this house when I'm 81 to 86 years old.
I then went on BASE Power's website as they've been advertising a backup battery that is supposedly better than a Generac generator. But they say it is not in my area yet.
I have a natural gas space heater in the den and some battery powered fans and a gasoline generator, still in the box, from Harbor Freight. Hopefully, the Texas electric grid won't go down again, because I have no idea how to use the generator if it does. At least the heater will keep me from freezing if it occurs in winter weather.
Goodbye Dolly. What a woman. What a fun way to spend the day. Sorry about your back. Feel better.
1. I sold a couple items on Ebay. I packaged them with reused boxes and bubble wrap.
2. I've spent the day listing as many items as possible on Ebay and one item on Marketplace.
3. I filled my tank with the cheap gas at the station by my mom's house Monday night. It's Walmart which tends to match the Sam's Club price.
4. I have cabin fever but I decided not to go to the estate sales until I've caught up on my death pile as well as all of my kids old toys I'm listing for them.
5. I've mowed my lawn, weeded, did my weekly pool maintenance and hung my clothing to dry on racks. I walked for free exercise. I'm eating all the leftovers. I've downloaded library books on my Kindle but I've been too busy to read.
I love going to museums, so much fun. I am sorry about your back but looks like like fun until then. No one in my family likes to browse thru thrift store, Goodwills except me. So much fun, thank you for all the pictures.
What a fun and frugal sister day! The tide pools look so interesting, too. Hope your back is feeling better.
Sooooooooo sorry about your back. Those mystery tweaks are the worst!!!
PS I always love your magical tide-pool photos. Teeming indeed!
That sounds like a fabulous day with your sister up until your back gave out. I spent part of today with my sister where we went to the local senior center for their $5 lunch, visited with friendly people, and picked up several books and a couple magazines from the free library there. Then I drove through my childhood neighborhood, where I stopped at a Little Free Library and found a couple books, brought boxes to a local charity that dispenses household goods to the needy, and then went to Aldi and spent just $23 for a bulging bag of food.
In other frugal happenings:
1. Attended a free waterski show with my husband. He spent $5 on concessions.
2. Renewed TSA Pre-check for both of us and chose the cheapest online option.
3. Gave a lazy Susan to someone who requested one on Buy Nothing.
4. Received a $50 gift card to a local restaurant from a company we worked with on our remodel.
5. Picked up a book from the free table at the library and put it in the book bin for our winter vacation. Just four months away!
P.S. Dolly! What a gem. My favorite line of hers: "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap."