One of the things I enjoy most about living in Portland is that the ocean less than two hours away by car. With spring-like weather in the forecast, I made a return trip to the Sylvia Beach Hotel, a somewhat rickety wooden structure originally built in 1913. The rooms are unique, each decorated according to a theme surrounding a well known author. Prices include a delicious hot breakfast and the hotel also offers a fixed price four-course dinner served family style where single guests do not feel left out in a room full of couples. It was my second visit this past weekend. You can see the attraction, this was the view at dawn from my window:
The hotel is a book lovers haven, featuring books in every room along with a reading library. It's also the site of occasional writers' retreats. I went the first time fully intending to focus on writing, but warring notions caused me to spend more time out walking and shooting photographs. This time, although I took my notebook, I ended up spending more time exploring tide pools, the marina, and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
The three full-time original lightkeepers spent their days polishing, cleaning, and repairing, as well as tending gardens and livestock. The cast iron staircase had to be repainted every year!
I took a tour of the historic Yaquina Head Lighthouse, tallest on the Oregon coast. First lit in 1873, it was converted to electricity in the 1930s. The four inch halogen bulb casts a light that can be seen 20 miles away, thanks to the refraction of the Fresnel lens made in Paris.
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