Tide tables and west coast sunsets.

While visiting the Oregon Coast, tide tables are essential. For starters, a beach may be an entirely different place, depending on the time of day (and therefore, the tides) you happen to hit it. And, because there are many points where the rocks jut out just enough that you can only navigate them during low tide, lest you be swept out to sea. Which, during some moments on this trip, would have been a fate I could have dealt with considering the behavior of my children.

Anyway, Hug Point was one such place. We went during afternoon low tide (not the lowest of the day, but who wants to be up at 5 a.m.?) and scurried the kids around each point, narrowly escaping an incoming wave. I found it rather exciting, in some strange, twisted, high-risk, before having kids fashion. And then I remembered that I was holding Rachel's hand; she thought it rather terrifying herself.

She liked the caves just fine, though.







Interesting note: the original Oregon Coast Highway, traveled by stagecoach in earlier years, was right on the beach at times. Here's a picture of the ruts carved by the wheels.





We took our chances and kept the girls up past their bedtime for a look at the sunset.





Going...



Going...



Still going...



And then, in classic style, someone had an urgent need to use the restroom (a good hike away... over halfway back to our house, in fact) so we threw in the towel and missed the sunset altogether. Still worth it. Nothing as peaceful or mesmerizing as a sunset (or almost, at least) on the beach.