Day 48 - 6/1 - Happy June everyone! Brett and I are very excited to welcome June (and hopefully warmer weather). It is now time for ‘Tidbits about the state of Oregon’. First off, in Oregon, you do not pump your own gas. All gas stations are full service stations, which definitely takes getting used to. Secondly, there are nine lighthouses along the coast that are available to be photographed. However, one of them is 1.2 miles off shore on an island and is impossible to see most of the year due to the fog. And third, in Oregon there is no sales tax. This tidbit Brett enjoys because it reminds him of growing up in New Hampshire.

On the first day of June, we went lighthousing -(yes, I know that it is not a verb). We saw five of the nine lighthouses today. They were all quite different. I am not going to elaborate on them as I have a sneaking suspicion that Brett is going to do a post about the lighthouses. The most spectacular site today was not on the shore but off of it - we saw gray whales! We went to Cape Perpetua to see the Devil’s Punchbowl as it was almost high tide and every now and then it is fun to watch the fury of the waves. When we arrived there were six or seven people all staring out at the ocean - no big deal - it was a scenic vista afterall. One of the men told me that they were whale watching and instructed me on where it look. Sppoofff! I saw the water spout up and the back and then tail of a gray whale. Brett and I stood there watching them for a little over 30 minutes. Gigantic creatures and yet so captivating.

We made our way just to South Beach which is just south of Newport, Oregon. Newport was named after Newport, Rhode Island - a favorite spot of Brett and mine on the East coast. We will definitely enjoy exploring it tomorrow.