Returning to Florida Dec 2016 and Jan -2017

Sunrise leaving Wyndham  Fairfield Plantation

      This year has a Week 53 at the Townhouses at St Augustine Beach and Tennis Club, so we decided to come for that week so that we would have five [fixed]consecutive weeks.  We found a 25,000 mile Delta reward ticket for the red eye from Seattle to Atlanta December 27^th, returning Feb 6^th.   We arrived in the Atlanta airport and our friend Hugh picked us up (he keeps our van for us) and we checked into Wyndham Plantation   in Villa Rica, as usual, and we got our favorite unit 511, right on the lake.  After visiting with our friends and relaxing for a day, we left for St Augustine on Saturday, check-in day.  We left at 7:30 a.m., a record for us.

     We stopped at Costco in Morrow, GA  for gas at 8:30 a.m. and then went inside to purchase two items.  It had opened at 7 a.m. There were only 15 cars in the parking lot, and the aisles were EMPTY!  It was so strange.

Delta Airlines and the Seattle Seahawks

If you live in Washington State, you can sign up to get miles depending upon how the Seahawks play.
    Whoever could guess that would happen? makes it kind of fun.....

Well, ...but, we didn't get very any miles.....

Joan’s ‘55 Blue Chevy

we heard this  on Sirius radio

Joan’s parents told her when she was in high school, that if she ever was concertmistress of All-City Orchestra, they would get her a car upon graduation (thinking, of course, that would never happen – even she knew it).  Then, accidentally, she got placed in the top four violinist, who switch places to be concertmaster/mistress.  Then, one day, each one was required to play the violin solo for “Scheherazade,” and amazingly, everyone else made mistakes, so she was selected as first chair. 

When she came to the car afterwards, her mother said, (seeing a new rash all over her face) “You played a solo.”  Yes, she said.   And, true to their word, they got a car for her. 

    Today she saw a similar car in the Fred Meyer parking lot:  not very often would we see a BLUE one!

Pacific Ocean Sunset

From the bluff at the resort, this beautiful sunset!

Boston is Only 3,000 Miles -- Along Just One Road

Newport has such a great sign, and they made quite a big deal about it in a newspaper article.
    US 20: a terrific road! (It says it is the longest road in the US.)

from the Boston end

Asiatico Waterfront Fusion Sushi Restaurant

Actually easy to miss at the far corner

  Ron said we could go out for lunch the last day we were here as we had spent so much time at the museums, and we read the Tripadvisor reviews and selected this one.  We didn’t really realize it was a waterfront restaurant with a dining deck, but of course, it was too cold for that.  However, we had a window seat and great meal and they stayed open a little longer for lunch in order to accommodate us.  

You go down at the side to the water

Nice deck.  Of course, in the summer, they wold not need the covering.

"We can't find that rock!"

    

     Monday, we saw the most beautiful raised fossil cast of a scallop shell, about 5”.  It was all black, but it was too heavy to carry up the bluff.  We put it down.  Later, we decided we at least wanted to take a picture of it.  So Tuesday, we went back down at low tide to look for it.  It was raining and 36 degrees but we still stayed, looking for the rock!  We looked and looked but couldn’t find it.   We did find some other rocks though, probably 70 pounds worth, and Ron carried them up the hill.

Can we find the rock?

     We went down during high tide the next day. The waves were huge, and at the next low tide, the sand was all washed away and there was a hard rock floor with big rocks all scattered around.  We looked again for The Rock.   But No!

Not much beach space available to walk, but can walk on the rocks

     The waves REALLY move things around a lot!  Every day the beach was different.  We still hoped to find our rock, but….NO! 

       We wrote Andy...he found it!!  (Well, not really!)

Wintertime on the Oregon Coast

    It was great!  Monday, we went down to the beach at low tide.  We saw the lighthouse from the bluff and then walked down the bluff on a nice mulched path and saw the sandy beach.

 When we got down to the shore, we noticed that at the low tide, the beach was very sandy (unlike a reviewer who said that you couldn't walk on the beach here since it was only rocks).  At low tide, it was easy to walk all down the beach.

View to the right

Left toward the bluff

Lighthouse looking further to the left.  Yes, there are rocks and rock breakers

looking to the right again

Then, a cloud came across, so even though it was daytime, the sky was dark to the left of the sun, and then the blue sky appeared to the right.  A nice contrast. The sky is clearing, and the wet sand reflects the light Reflecting clouds Then we saw these rocks with strange striations.    We thought were petroglyphs at first when they were only streaks but then, we saw shells embedded in the rocks!!!!  We also saw rocks with holes in them (the clams drill into them.) Joan wanted to look for more rocks.  Ron said, "We could be here forever!"  Then... he started looked:  you can't help it! We started finding them.

Schooner Landing, Newport, OR December 10-17

Ever since Joan first heard of Schooner Landing which is an oceanfront resort on the Oregon Coast, she wanted to stay there.  Then, we heard a few years ago that the foundations were slipping but they have since corrected that problem.  We had a chance to reserve it with a  Platinum Interchange bonus week, so we booked it.   Of course, usually you can’t get a week on the Oregon Coast, except off-season. 

       So how was it during December?

Here's to our front door.  We had a 2 bedroom unit.

First of all, it is a beautiful resort and we even had an ocean view from the dining room.

We had a vaulted ceiling and a view form the loft.  Both bedrooms were downstairs and the loft just had a seating area.

Attractive living room

Complete full kitchen

Really nice furnishings throughout

Clubhouse right across the street, large indoor pool, deck with grill, games, etc available.

Path to the beach, playground, firepit

Path to firepit

Nice playground

Even more building going on