This is the first of a three-part series about my trip to the Oregon coast.  Be sure to enjoy all three parts!

Fall is undoubtedly my favorite time of year.  I flip through magazines filled with endless photos of places with beautiful fall colors, while looking out my windows at the lawns that have barely survived another long, hot Texas summer.  It’s time to take a trip someplace where the seasons actually change!  I haven’t been to Oregon since I was a child, so I hop online and search for a nice inn to visit along the coast.  I’m not about to waste my ‘free’ American Airline ticket.  No way.  I opt to stay at the Channel House Inn in Depoe Bay, Oregon.

The drive from the airport in Portland, Oregon to the coast took almost three hours, but was a very scenic trip through farmland and over the low-lying coastal range.  The maple trees glistened gold in the off and on again rain showers, and the fragrance of spruce and fir trees filled my slightly open car windows.  I had some great pizza for lunch in Lincoln City, then on to my destination and some exploration of Depoe Bay before nightfall.  My room at the Channel House Inn was small but well-appointed, and the staff were very courteous.  Best of all, I had a lovely view of the Pacific Ocean, and could open the lower portion of my large window to let in the cool air and the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing into the nearby rocks.  The bed was very comfortable.   I just need to figure out how to bring the sound of the ocean home with me.

Apparently Depoe Bay holds bragging rights to being THE best place for whale watching all along the Pacific coast.  And I wasn’t disappointed.  On my first morning there I was able to sit in the Channel House breakfast room and watch a small pod of whales spout repeatedly while eating my scrumptious breakfast of yogurt, fresh fruit, and a hazelnut topped pastry.  It was spectacular!