A Little R&R to Soothe the Soul...

Photos by Damian Arvetis

Yup...that's me in the upper left corner of the above photo--looking out the window of the Old Wheeler Hotel and enjoying the incredibly fresh air out

on the Oregon Coast.  The wonderful photographer of this picture whisked me away for an amazing, much-needed romantic getaway to a town called Wheeler on Nehalem Bay.  For two and a half days I was able to turn off my cell phone, shut down my computer and escape into the magical world of ocean and forest.  The Oregon Coast is amazing.  I'm so used to the beaches of Southern California and it's nothing at all like that.  It reminded me much more of the beaches of Cape Cod.  A mixture of woods and sky, trees and ocean.  I loved it.

The Old Wheeler hotel is quaint and charming filled with antiques and old-world elegance.  The proprietors treated us like old friends and the room we stayed in was quite luxurious, complete with a stunning view of the bay,  and a large and inviting Jacuzzi tub to soothe our aching muscles from  all that hiking......Ahhhhh......NICE! Here are some photos of the beautiful sitting room at the hotel.

The view from our room

We went on a really long hike in Oswald West State Park. The beauty there was breathtaking. Here are more astonishing photos of our trip from the very talented Mr. Arvetis:

 It was muddy, but totally WORTH IT!

Happy girl on the Oregon Coast!

In addition to our spending some quality time in Nature, we also enjoyed the quaint town of Wheeler itself, as well as the neighboring towns of Manzanita and Nehalem, where antique shops are plentiful as well as the town's colorful characters. 

The trip was so enjoyable and I had such a wonderful and relaxing time it was hard to return to the realities of life.  We were only gone a short time, but we were a world away and it felt like the trip lasted much longer than it actually did.  We ate very well and breakfast being one of my favorite meals of the day, I'm including this photo of my fabulous meal at the Big Wave Cafe.

On the way home, we stopped at the Tillamook Dairy for delicious cheese samples and the most incredible ice cream I have ever tasted.  If you get the opportunity to sample any Tillamook product...do it!  Their cheese, ice cream and yogurt are bursting with flavor and they didn't even pay me to say that.  It's truly remarkable.  If you live on the West Coast, look for it in your local grocery store.  Sooooo delish!

I hope you enjoyed the photos of my mini vacation.  Now, I'm back to business as usual...but the Coast is calling and I know we will be going out there again soon.  I cannot wait!