Hello again everyone – our Oregon adventure continues!  Today we left Depoe Bay and drove five and a half hours South and East through gorgeous Oregon countryside to Ashland.  We took an hour stopover for lunch in Eugene at an extremely unassuming, yet completely authentic and delicious little Mexican joint called Taqueria Mi Tierra … thank you Yelp, and arrived at at our adorable B&B here in Ashland (Morical House) at around six o’clock.  I took a walk/jog into town while Adam did some work and now, we are sitting side by side on the couch, in the living room, in front of the fire, working away on our laptops.  Nerds.  We have the entire house to ourselves tonight as none of the other filmmakers are arriving until tomorrow.  FUN!

Anyway, the coast itself was breathtaking – though we missed out on the northern coast (didn’t have time and it was hailing so we skipped it).  I hear Cannon Beach and Astoria (where Goonies took place!!) are awesome so we’ll have to hit them up next time.  The seaside towns we did drive through and explore were a tad disappointing.  They weren’t quite as charming as I thought they’d be – but maybe we didn’t go to the right places.  Our little town of Depoe Bay was TINY with not much going on and nearby Newport was nice – though a little disappointing as well.  My favorite activity was just driving around and exploring the coast by car – stopping to get out and walk around when the scenery called for it, which was quite often.

The Channel House, where we stayed, offered an amazing location overlooking the ocean, with the waves crashing just below us.  Man… those waves were INTENSE!  The ocean is so violent out here… stormy and rough.  I spent much time staring out the window in awe.  Though the decor at Channel House needed a little sprucing (in my opinion), the room was cozy and comfortable, and our private hot tub on our private deck was just as amazing as I hoped it would be.  Cut to… Adam and Nell drinking a bottle of Glenlivet in the steaming hot tub, in the cold rain, at night, overlooking the sea.  AWESOME.

We arrived in Depoe Bay on Monday late afternoon.  It was raining (typical) so we spent some down time in our little room before heading out to dinner nearby.  I broke out the 70-200mm lens and was having fun taking pictures of the seagulls from our deck.

Seagull flying by our deck

Until…

Photo 360 out of 365 – “Seagull Attack”

"Seagull Attack" - Settings: ISO 640, f/4.5, 1/2500 sec, 70-200mm lens (200mm)

I swear this gull started flying right at me!  I managed to snap this photo before I freaked out and ran back inside – convinced this crazy bird was going to bite my face off.  Of course, when I looked at the picture on my camera, I loved it!  So I spent the next hour trying to get the birds to fly at me again but no such luck.  The bird attack was a one-time thing.  Bummer.

Yesterday, after a lovely breakfast at Channel House, featuring homemade granola, pastries, coffee cake and other delights, we hit the road and did some exploring along the coast.  The scenery is incredible.  On our way to Newport, we stopped at several lookouts and parks to stretch our legs and get the flavor of the area.

Photo 361 out of 365 – “Thumbs Up Oregon”

"Thumbs Up Oregon" - Settings: ISO 100, f/18, 1/50 sec, 70-200mm lens (70mm)

By the time we hit Newport, we were hungry (for a change), so we went to a recommended spot called Local Ocean on the historic Newport bayfront.  My favorite part of the meal were the super fresh and delicious local raw oysters:

Oregon Oysters @ Local Ocean Restaurant in Newport, Oregon

After lunch we did a little shopping in the Nye Beach area of Newport.  We went into a gallery shop and fell in love with these little piggies – so we bought them as a souvenir from our trip.  We always like to buy something for our home when we travel and these little guys are perfect, as we’ve been total pigs on this trip full of delectable eating!!

Ceramic Piggy Souvenirs

Aren’t they cute?  They make me smile every time I look at them. We are naming them after our favorite restaurants on the trip. So far we have Pok Pok and Beast – the third pig’s name is still TBD.  I’m sure an Ashland restaurant will get that honor. 🙂

Anyway, that was mostly it from our two days on the coast.  We are super excited to be in Ashland now – the town looks adorable and we can settle in a bit since we are here for four nights.  Tomorrow is the festival welcome party and tomorrow night is the first screening of Hello Lonesome!  Due to popular demand, they’ve added a fourth screening this week, so I’m hoping it’ll be a crowded house tomorrow night.  I’ll keep you posted!  Until then – if you haven’t done so yet, become a friend of Hello Lonesome on Facebook to get the latest scoop from the festival.  Bye for now!