Driving Around the Pacific Northwest

Hello again. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. I just wanted to upload a few more pictures from the Pacific northwest. We had a great time out there. The following pictures are from a drive south from Manzanita, Depoe Bay, Willamette Valley, to the Columbia Valley.

Here we go.

Multnomah Falls in the Columbia Gorge. We were the first cars in the parking lot, and it was incredible to have the Falls all to ourselves. A nice overcast day set the mood for the falls.

The fountain at the View Point Inn. There is an incredible Bed and Breakfast here, with a terrific Restaurant as well. We had the 4 course chef choice dinner with wine pairing at sunset. One of the most memorable dinners ever. This is also where the Prom from Twilight was filmed.

The Vista House overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. A truly breathtaking view. We were actually heading up to Seattle when we found a little roadside park and couldn't pass up the a picture.

Cabernet Grapes on the vine in Willamette Valley. Taken out of the car window right before we drove back to the beach.

Chardonnay Grapes at Ponzi Vineyards.

Domaine Serene Vineyards, great Pinot Noir, very cool tasting room.

The rolling hills of Willamette Valley. A great drive in a great location.

We took this one in a state park on the Three Capes Driving tour south of Tilamook.

Depoe Bay had one of the best lunch spots of all time. Tidal Raves, great wine selection with a great view. It was also where the boat scene from One Flew Over the Cookoos Nest was filmed. Cool little harbor.

Still on the Three Capes Drive. So many spots like this it was hard to choose just one picture.

Great lighthouse on the tour. The walk to get here was worth it.

So that is all the pictures we have from the Pacific Northwest for now. We still have a few pictures from our 2008 trip out there still to add.

Until next time, have a Happy New Year, and see you in 2011.

Joe and Nikki

Mackinac Island, Michigan - 2009

And now for the second posting. These pictures are from our trip to Mackinac Island last year when Nikki was five and half months pregnant. This was our first trip with my Canon EOS 50D. I took a lot of pictures, here is just a sampling.

On the way up to Mackinac we stopped by Traverse City for a quick break and to try some of the local wine, well Nikki just enjoyed the view. It happened to be during their Schooner Festival.

This is Old Mission Lighthouse on the very Northern tip of Old Mission Peninsula. It was gorgeous up there, and the water was so blue that it looked fake at times.

Sunrise at Mackinac City before we caught the Ferry over to the Mac Island. Beautiful way to start the day.

The Metevier Inn on Mackinac Island was were we stayed both times we have gone up there. The inkeepers at the B&B were the best hosts.

Here is the view from the Arnold Transport Pier the morning we left the B&B for The Grand.

The garden at the Metevier had so many little little surprises that I had to snap a few shots.

Swinging turtle greeted us each day by the front steps.

We went on a carriage ride and at the stop where we switched over to the larger carriage there was butterfly house, and it was incredible.

One of the flowers in the Butterfly house.

Another butterfly at the butterfly house.

Arched Rock on Mackinac Island.

The view from on top of Arched Rock. I didn't want to leave, but our ride was departing for the fort, so we had to say good by.

Mission Point Resort. Sight of a lot of hauntings on the Island. We took a tour of the Resort, and snapped a few pictures. In the summer this lawn is packed with people having picnics and lounging around adirondack chairs watching the sun set.

Fort Mackinac. What a cool place. Had lunch at the Tea Room that over looked the park and main street.

Every hour they would do a cannon demonstration. Very cool.

Nice view.

Joe trying to be creative.

Another artsy attempt.

On to The Grand Hotel or as the locals call it "The Grand". This was one magnificent hotel. It certainly lives up to the name.

The longest porch in the world. I think it was in the Guinness Book, but I'm not sure.

If you look closely you can see the Grand Hotel Shuttle. Very elegant Horse and Carriage.

Here is a view of the front of The Grand. Our room was above the yellow awnings.

They were filming "Dirty Jobs" the day we were there.

The north side of the island. This is where the "Is it you" tree from the movie Somewhere In Time was filmed. I know, but I like those sappy movies.

Nikki didn't know I was taking pictures of her when I was coming up the hill from the previous picture. If you were just walking by, you would have thought I was stalking her.

Leaving Mackinac on the ferry. The Round Island Lighthouse.

We had a great time on Mackinac. Over the course of the 6 days we were gone we took over 1100 pictures. Thank goodness for Digital.

That is it for now, until next time.

Joe

Getting Started with Manzanita Downloads

Manzanita, Oregon - Our happy place! The following posting is of some of our favorite pictures from our first trip out there back in November 2007. This was our first trip where we spent a lot of time taking pictures. These pictures were from simple point cameras, can't wait to go back out there with our new cameras, and see what we images we can get.

So please enjoy round one of our trip to the Pacific Northwest.

This is looking down to where my brother's beach house is. We knew at this moment, this trip was going to be a lot of fun!

Ten minutes north of Manzanita is Cannon Beach, and Haystack Rock. We had a great time, it was low tide, and the tide pools had so many star fish of different colors. Great little day trip.

For those of you who are fans of the movie The Goonies. This from the scene where they match the dubloon with the light house to find the entrance to One Eyed Willie's cave. Yeah, I'm a geek.

The first of many great sunset from the Beach.

Walking on the beach.

Great view and so much fun to walk on the rocks.

This was our first day taking pictures, we just went out for a walk, and spent 3 hours taking pictures. This was the first time we took pictures to try and capture something special. Photography has never been the same for us since this walk

Same walk, after walking on the rocks for about 10 or 15 minutes.

This was my desktop picture on my computer for about 4 months, it kept me wanting to go back.

One of the coolest sights we have ever seen

Hank the wonder dog




Campfire on the Beach, one of the best nights ever. Cooked out and listened to our Ipod, until the moon rose over the hills. The full moon was so bright we didn't need our flashlights to walk back to the house.



Nikki took this one, on a whim, and it is one of my favorite beach pictures of all time.



Mount Neakahnie, typo I think, fun walk on some great trails.



Lots of driftwood. There were forts built throughout the area. We wondered what it would have been like to grow up by this beach, letting our imagination run wild.

The God Pigeon

One of the best beaches we have ever been on

That is it for the first post. This trip was from 2007, I have 3 years of trip pictures to share, so stay tuned for more.

This is joe for now, have a great day!