Oregon June 2020

Originally, a big family gathering in Montana was to be our vacation for this summer, but because of the covid pandemic that was cancelled.  So Tammy and I decided instead to visit Jaclyn and her family in Oregon.  We would either visit at their house for the week, or if things in OR opened up, we would rent a house.

As it turned out, the week before we were to leave. OR began to allow rental homes to reopen.  We booked a house in Rockaway Beach that sat on Lake Lytle, giving us the best of both worlds - a lake front property that was a minutes walk from the beach.

Our flight to Oregon was uneventful - which I cannot say was the same before the flight with our reservations being changed three times by the airlines in the preceding weeks.  We flew out of Boston on Saturday, June 6 at noon from a pretty empty airport due to the covid pandemic.   We landed in Seattle to a packed airport where we had an hour layover before our flight to the Portland airport which was very empty when we landed at 6pm.

We flew Alaska Airlines.  They, as most all airlines, were practicing "social distancing" on their aircraft.  What this meant was we had to wear masks while on board the plane, board the plane from the back to the front- unless you were first class, needed assistance, or a gold or silver miles member who we all passed by as we boarded maintaining a six foot distance, the middle seats were left empty, and you were only served a water bottle and a small snack bag.  Once the plane landed, their was no social distancing practices.  You got off just as you did pre-covid.

We picked up our Thrifty rental car which was a brand new Jeep Saraha with 7 miles on the odometer and headed through the southern section of Portland across the Pacific Coastal Range to the rental home.

On a rainy (which it did most of the time we were visiting) Sunday morning, Tammy and I drove to the Safeway in Tillamook to stock up on the groceries for the week.   We then took a walk on the beach before Jaclyn, Blake and the girls joined us that afternoon.

On Monday, Jaclyn, Blake, and I (who watched as I wasn't permitted to clam due to covid restrictions on non-residents) went clamming for cockles in Garibaldi Bay.  It was everyone's first time, but Jaclyn and Blake both got their limit of 20 each.  In the afternoon, Tammy, Jaclyn and Lilly went shopping for some fun things to play with at the rental.  Later, everyone except for me took an early afternoon walk on the beach.  In the late afternoon, Blake and I went crabbing off Pier's End (the longest pier in OR at 700 feet) in Garibaldi Bay.  We came away with just one dungeness crab keeper for our efforts.

Tuesday was a rainy day.  Jaclyn and Blake went clamming in the morning and got their limit again.  Blake and I went crabbing in the afternoon catching just one dungeness crab keeper.  When we returned, we dined on the harvested clams and one crab before going fishing on the drift boat.  Blake caught a 2lb 1oz bass and two rainbow trout.  I was able to get three rainbow trout.  We ate these for breakfast Thursday.

After Tammy, Jaclyn, Blake, and Lilly returned from a third successful morning of clamming Wednesday, Tammy and I went exploring on the kayaks.  We paddled from Lake Lytle through the Moroney Canal to Crescent Lake.  Lake Lytle is shallow at around 5 feet at its deepest and is full of lake weeds and shoreline reeds.  For such a small lake, it did have lots of activity.  Lots of people fishing from the boat launch, fishing pier, and various types of boats.  Swallows were constantly darting about the shore with a pair of Bald Eagles making their presence known on many an occasion.  Crescent Lake seemed to be deeper but still had lots of lake weeds and reeds.  It was very quiet as it was a no motor lake accessible only through the long, shallow canal.  In the afternoon, Tammy, Jaclyn, and Lilly headed to the beach to fly Lilly's new kite.  Blake and I returned Wednesday evening to the pier for my third and final evening of crabbing, with a catch of yet again one dungeness crab with an added red rock crab this time.  Tammy enjoyed the hot tub while we were gone.

Thursday, Blake and I went fishing in the early morning.  The fish were biting as evidenced by both of us catching our limit of rainbow trout (5 each) in just several hours.  After breakfast, Tammy and I headed to the Tillamook Urgent Care where we spent several hours for a shingles diagnosis followed by a visit to an ophthalmologist later in the early evening.  (See shingles blog for more information.)  Tammy and Jaclyn did a little afternoon kayaking while Blake took Lilly for a ride in the drift boat followed by Tammy soaking in the hot tub in the evening.

Friday morning's rain cancelled our planned fishing outing.  We did all get a walk in on the beach followed by a later kite excursion by Tammy, Jaclyn, and Lilly.  We celebrated Juni's birthday with some cream puffs.  Friday evening we spent getting everything packed up and cleaned for our Saturday departure at 6am for our trip back home to CT.

Link to pictures posted here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/on6uTkvDqJ9kZZxq8