It was incredible arriving on the first night, after we decided to push on and go for a long drive from Boise. As we arrived during our intermittent phone service we were discovering that most of the accomodation was either fully booked or very expensive. Luckily just as the rain started with the fog coming in, we found a place to stay.

During our drive around Newport we chanced upon an Irish pub and decided to book for dinner. I managed to confuse the doorman with my booking as we hadn’t realized that we had crossed another time zone.  

We arrived and had our first clam chowder of the trip and coupled with the warmth and atmosphere of the bar it was fantastic!! Rather than the Guinness I enjoyed some more of the fantastic local brews which have been on offer. Long gone is the perception that America is simply buds, they really have some great local breweries.

While we were finishing dinner,a band set up, taking up half the bar and what made the evening more entertaining was the locals (maybe suffering from a few flashbacks) dancing around.

The next day we went out in search of a campsite to settle down in and relax for a few days as we were both very enchanted by the area. The coast and the towns were full of quaint, small houses which seemed to brace themselves against the weather all along the coast. You can see that while they look fantastic in the summer they are built to last the gales and freezing temperatures that the winter must bring.

Sarah had done same great research and led us towards the Cape Perpetua campsite and when we arrived we realised than we had found something pretty special. Our campsite was set back from the road and we enjoyed a night by the fire nestled in amongst the forest with a babbling brook easing it’s way not 5m from the tent.T

     
Functional yet small fishing ports are a real feature of this area.

    
 The coastline is breathtakingly beautiful, and the fog rolling in adds to the mystique of the area.   
    
The shops in the small villages are all painted different colours and offer fish and clam chowder and firewood.  All you need here really. 

 These types of houses are perched all along the coast.  You can somehow see that they would all be set up to be nice and cosy during the blustery winters. (And fairly blustery summers too)