At the Newport Cafe just off Highway 101 in Newport, Oregon, we opted to try the Super Ultimate Monster Burger. Guy Fieri would have loved it!

The Monster was a homemade burger made with 8 pounds of ground beef seasoned with spices, topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles, ham and 8 fried eggs in a huge homemade 10 inch burger bun topped with sesame seeds and spread with a special thousand island dressing. 

At $55 dollars it could feed us all!

We sat outside the cafe on a bright yellow picnic bench, traffic whizzing by on the highway, and tucked into our Monster Burger. Giggling at the absurdity, we sliced it like a giant cake and ate and ate and ate. Then we ate some more. Then we realized we weren't even half way through the burger. We gave it a good shot, but we knew we would have to leave some behind.

This whole adventure had us roaring with laughter. Henry thought it was Instagram worthy so we took loads of photos.

My poor tummy will take a long time to recover!!!

When we cook in the trailer we try to make extra meals by making double the amount and then freezing half. This was a lovely fresh shrimp dish with loads of garlic, tomato and basil tossed in linguine. After a day on the beach tasting the salty sea air, this hit the spot. Delish!

We spent many days hiking the trails around Sisters, Oregon. Ollie bouncing and skidding about in the snow made it extra special. We enjoyed seeing all the birds; the Piñon Jays, Mountain Chickadees, White-headed Woodpeckers and an array of warblers and nuthatches. The American Robin was always a welcome sight on the trails too. We saw plenty of deer watching us carefully, ready to run. 

The small town had olde worlde charm particularly with the Christmas lights and decorations during December. Filled with small mom and pop shops we spent many a happy day exploring. Henry and I particularly enjoyed the Antique Mall where he managed to snag a retro handheld Nintendo Black Jack game. His love for Antique Malls was born.

After buying a pair of Birkenstocks in Bend and thoroughly enjoying pottering around Antique Malls for hours, I think Henry is turning into me!

There was a lovely food truck called Brunchies where we stopped for a late breakfast one morning before our hike. It was very windy and we ended up chasing after food wrappers. Ollie loved the game!

Alpacas with full winter coats grazed lazily at the north end of town at the Best Western Ponderosa Lodge. It reminded me of my sister Caroline's 50th birthday when we walked alpacas through the woods on a sunny June morning last year. The alpacas were so friendly and calming to be around. Known for spitting if they feel threatened, I kept a beady eye on them as I took the circular walk around their huge enclosure, but they were quite happy to have us come quite close and whisper messages of love and gratitude to them.

Here are some more pics from our time in Sisters.

The giant 24" pepperoni pizza from Cibelli's in Sisters has to be the best pizza in Central Oregon. It is already the stuff of legends in our family. Just look at the picture and I dare you not to drool! Unforgettable!

Our first Christmas in the trailer!

​After a trip into Sisters to see what decorations I could acquire at the thrift store and the dollar store, I found these amazing Christmas Nutcrackers, some fairy lights, candles, a tiny but real Christmas tree and other Christmassy bits and bobs. All for under twenty bucks! Win! I dried out slices of orange for festive tree decorations.

Christmas lunch was very traditional. Prawn cocktail followed by roast turkey and all the trimmings followed by Christmas pud, mince pies and ice cream. Considering we only had a small convection oven and three burners on the stove, it was a triumph. We had our bottles of Mexican Coca Cola and some Asti for the table. With our Santa hats and fun Christmas jumpers, we pulled the crackers, shared the silly jokes and of course retold the joke from the Vicar of Dibley;

What do you do if you see a spaceman?
I don't know, know, know, know.
​Park in it, man.

We toasted absent family and friends, particularly our mums, and tucked in to our delicious Christmas dinner.

It was Ollie's first Christmas with us and she had some special treats and was very well behaved. What a gift she is! Best. Ever.

While in Oregon, I fell in love with the Marionberry.

The Marionberry is hybrid blackberry with its own distinctive shape and taste. It looks more like an elongated blackberry, but tastes more like an earthy, sweet raspberry. One night at the Sisters Saloon, I ordered the Marionberry crumble and I was immediately hooked.

Over 90% of the world's Marionberries are cultivated in Oregon. It is their home state. I feel like it is the 'female friend' version of the Huckleberry. 

I will be on the lookout for Marionberries as we continue our journey.

We spent some precious time with Dawn and her husband over the next few days. Including a brief walk at the Trail of the Molten Lands that showcased the volcanic geography of the area with fabulous views all the way to Mount Bachelor and the Three Sisters Mountains topped with snow, a lovely, leisurely stroll along the Deschutes River, just a few steps from their gorgeous home, we had a lunch of memorably delicious tacos, Henry's favorites, and then, the cherry on top of the parfait, I took a bath in her deep tub. Heavenly!

Thank you so much Dawn xxxx

The next stop on our Grand Adventure took us to the Heceta Beach RV park in Florence, Oregon.

The first few days after we arrived were wet and windy and so we had an enjoyable time hunkered down in the trailer with Kim working the stock market, Henry catching up with his gaming friends online and I settled down to read my beloved Kindle. I am reading Eleanor Elephant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I am also making my way through the futuristic "In Death" murder mysteries by JD Robb. Lovely to just snuggle down with a cuppa tea and a warm blanket and just read. It's November and we are heading towards winter. I can feel the change in temperature and pressure in the air. I've been noticing the trees losing their leaves and the last of the summer blooms falling by the wayside. It is such a lovely change from the desert and I love settling in to each new season.

On the very next dry day, we headed in to town to explore the arty downtown area of Florence.

Lying at the mouth of the Siuslaw River, you enter Florence by passing beneath the expansive concrete double rainbows and ornamental art deco pillars of the Siuslaw River Bridge making a stunning backdrop for the downtown area with expansive views of the river and the bridge. The bridge is an iconic symbol of the city. Designed by Conde McCullough, opened in 1936, the key feature of the bridge is the double leaf bascule in the middle that lifts to allow clearance for fishing boat traffic. Along the banks of the tidal river, snowy plovers, a variety of sandpipers, blue herons, white egrets, cormorants, gulls, songbirds and other birds I couldn't quite identify, provided wonderful entertainment with their stooping, whooping and swooping. A lady in the crystal store told us she had even seen a couple of orcas chasing seals down the river and into the harbor last summer.

In the harbor we could see the halibut boats and signs for fresh local crab. We could hear sea lions barking somewhere in the distance. The tang of salt in the air made you lick your lips and yearn for a bag of chips wrapped in butcher paper with lashings of salt and vin, just like we would get on the seafront back home in England.. 

We spent a leisurely hour or two walking the main street, popping in and out of the shops that seemed to lean towards local crafts and art work, chatting with the friendly locals and enjoying the ambience of the riverfront. 

The sky turned a grisly grey and we felt the first spots of rain that quickly turned into a downpour. While Henry and I huddled under the awning of a nearby gallery, Kim dashed back to pick up the truck to collect us. We headed back to the trailer for an early dinner of Kim's special homemade chicken curry. Delicious!!!

Best. Curry. Ever.

​❤️❤️❤️

Kim and I continued with our quest to seek out and find all eleven lighthouses in Oregon with a day trip out to Bandon, between Gold Beach and Coos Bay on the Oregon coast. This time we set out to find the Coquille River Lighthouse.

We found Bandon to be delightfully charming with plenty of cool cafes, galleries and mom and pop gift shops. It is perhaps most famous for its Circles in the Sand annual event, now in its tenth year, where groups of artists create mesmerizing labyrinths and other elaborate designs in the sand on a mission to spread love, joy and kindness.  Unfortunately our visit didn't coincide with the event but we saw the lovely wet, sandy beaches, perfect for this style of artwork.

We stopped in the old town for an early lunch in a beautiful old building that housed a co-op of local artists. We sipped our specialty coffees and we each had a lovely bagel with cream cheese, lox, capers, dill and lotsa freshly squeezed lemon on top. Delish! We then mooched around the artists stalls, enjoying the diverse artistic styles and media. I enjoyed the sculptures made out of reclaimed plastic and other debris found in the ocean. I especially loved the crested puffin that reminded me of the macaroni penguin. I have a bit of a thing for penguins and puffins as they are loyal, eccentric and comical, a bit like me.

After lunch we walked around the old town marina where we saw an array of colorful boats bobbing on the river, saw the skeletal wooden legs of bygone docks, listened to the barking seals and screaming gulls, did a bit of window shopping, and generally mooched around town.

We then returned to the truck to get the most advantageous view of the Coquille River Lighthouse. Built in 1896, the purpose of the lighthouse was to light the entry way into the Coquille River and to provide safe passage for local fishing vessels through the perilous sandbars. As well as the lighthouse, a fog horn was also built at the site to help guide boats through to safety when it became too foggy even to see the light. It was first lit on February 29, 1896 and it was the last official lighthouse to be constructed on the Oregon Coast. The lighthouse was fully functioning until 1939 when it was decommissioned and an automated beacon was installed on the south jetty to take its place. 

From our viewpoint across the Coquille River, we found it to be a quaint little lighthouse with a bright red base, whitewashed walls and dark top, only 47 feet tall, built adjacent to a squat octagonal keeper's house and boathouse. Through the rising mists it looked beautiful.

After taking numerous shots of the lighthouse we explored the southern end of town through Kronenberg County Park and onto Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint. By the time we got there, the mist had descended and was swirling around the rocks making a spooky scene worthy of the witches of Macbeth. The words "something wicked this way comes" turned over in my mind. The black rocks below resembled witches hats and the churning ocean became some kind of  powerful potion. Once again we had stumbled upon nature's magic. I was mesmerized and let the mist swallow me as the wind whipped my hair and took my breath. Fabulous!

After some rainy days, finally the sun came out and we ventured out to find the barking seals in the dockside area of Crescent City, California. We could hear them barking from our trailer about a quarter of a mile away.

We explored the dock area and could see seals and sea lions flobbed out on the floating docks. Some were barking and jostling for position, but most of them were basking in the sunshine and sleeping.

The fishing season was over. Someone on the campsite had told us they had been able to buy tuna straight off the boat the previous month. Alas, we did not find any fishing boats loaded with tuna, so we had to make do with visiting the restaurant for some hot, deep fried fish and chips with lashings of salt and vinegar, but no curry sauce I am sad to report.

Gorgeous weather and beautiful views! Lush!