Dog Friendly Beach Getaway to Lincoln City Oregon

I was so excited. We packed for the beach and my things were included. My dog food, supplements, bone, leash and rain coat. It was all there. We were going to Lincoln City to hunt for Glass Floats. I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one hunting but I figured I'd have the best nose for it!

Finders Keepers Glass Floats

What I found out was, the Lincoln City Convention and Visitors Bureau hides beautiful glass floats on beaches from mid-October through Memorial Day. And dogs like me can hunt them. And if we find one we get to keep it! I was told you had to hunt between the tide line and the grassy embankments on the beaches at Lincoln City.

But I had my hunting territory all planned out. I was headed for one of my favorite places - Siletz Bay.

Dog Friendly Looking Glass Inn

Now I've been to this wonderful beach before and I've luxuriated at The Looking Glass Inn, but this time I had a real mission. I was determined to find that float.

My home away from home at the Beach!

Last time I was at The Looking Glass Inn, it wasn't near Christmas. But this year we went in December and I got to see the decorations and look under their Christmas tree for something really nice.

We arrived at the inn and I knew where I wanted to go... directly to the office! You see, I had great memories of the nice people at the reception desk who were just waiting to give me a treat, a linens basket and a nice cushy bed.

I think of the pet-friendly service at The Looking Glass Inn as concierge-level service. The dogs come before the people. But the time my owner could even sign in, I had my treat and was headed to check things out under their tree. After all, the Christmas tree had unwrapped dog toys and treats just waiting for an assertive little Coonhound like me! It didn't matter that the tree was really for dogs who were there for Christmas. I was determined to make a fool of myself.

I made a beeline for the tree. This tree was a dog's dream... treats, toys and more.

Since they were so nice, they offered me a toy if I would back off from the tree. I selected a beautiful hot pink squeaky toy. 

They gave me this hot pink toy!

Finally, after I caused all the commotion, my owner signed in and we got our dog linen basket and big round cushy dog bed. And, of course, they were hoping I would leave quietly so they gave me yet another treat. 

Should I be offended that they said I'd do anything for a treat?

Once we were in the room, my owner put the round bed down and I checked it out. 

Dog friendly luxury!

We looked in the basket and guess what was there? There was a laminated page of dog rules (which I promptly ignored,) sheets to cover the human bed in case I wanted to sleep there, towels, dog poop bags, dog bowls and... you guessed it... MORE TREATS! 

The basket!

We settled in and unpacked. I took a brief nap since there wasn't much for me to do.

To The Beach

After I rested up for a bit I checked out the Finders Keepers website and learned that the floats I would be hunting were handcrafted glass floats made by local artisans. Float Fairies drop 3,000 of them on the beach. You never know where or when. But with my hound nose, I was certain I would find one. 

We headed over to the beach. It's practically right outside our door at the inn. I sniffed around the picnic area, up on the wall and then headed for the driftwood. I was certain I'd find one wedged in between the logs. I also looked in the grass.

No floats here!

Well, our afternoon wasn't too successful. I sniffed the air and smelled some seals over on the sandy bank across the river. I remembered those guys from one of my previous trips.  I heard that aside from the Sea Lion Caves near Florence or the Bayfront in Newport, it's the closest you can get to to them. Last time they were swimming in the bay, bobbing up and down, and giving me the eye. This time they kept to themselves across the bay and made a lot of noise.

The seals were WAY over there and didn't mess with me.

By 4:30 it was time for sunset. Sunset comes mighty early in the winter in Oregon. But I don't mind because I was looking forward to dinner in my luxury room and a nice snooze on my cushy bed.

My owner went out to dinner at the nearby Inn at Spanish Head and enjoyed some salmon and forgot to bring me any. We Coonhounds don't forget these things!

You Gotta Get Up Early to Catch the Floats

It was pretty early, maybe about 5 a.m. and I thought I heard the Float Fairies outside. I got up and woke my owner up. She wasn't too pleased but got dressed and took me out. The first thing I heard was some hissing and screeching. I nearly took off chasing those feral cats but my owner held me back and told me to quit baying. I guess it wasn't the Float Fairies after all.

We went back to the room until it began to get light out. It was almost light enough to see the glass floats on the beach. So I had breakfast and went out again. It was beautiful. The tide was rushing into the bay and we could see the waves breaking in the distance. It was peaceful as the pink sunrise came over the mountain. The sliver of a moon was still in the dark sky as dawn broke.

Dawn on Siletz Bay

We enjoyed a nice long walk. In about a half hour there were other people out there with dogs. I kind of wanted to get off my leash and play with them. But I also kinda wanted to search for glass floats. I looked under logs. I looked in the bushes and I looked in the grass. Drat! I couldn't find them.

I looked everywhere!

We needed to warm up so went back to the room and planning some visits for the morning. We wanted to see one place where they actually do the glass blowing and sell art glass. So we headed down the road to the Jennifer Sears Art Glass Studio. I wasn't sure if they were dog friendly or not so stayed in the car and looked at the fancy blown glass balls in the window. They were pretty but I wanted to find my own on the beach.

I saw these beautiful glass orbs in the window of the Jennifer Sears Art Glass Studio. Wow!

Finders Keepers

I was getting mighty tired of sightseeing so was happy when we went back to the inn and headed for the beach. I went down to the water and found some agates. 

I stayed away from the waves and found agates on the beach.

At that point I walked up toward the pathway and spied something orange. I thought it might be a kid's ball or something. But when I got closer and pawed away the sand, I saw that it was shiny. IT WAS A GLASS FLOAT!

Aroo! Aroo! I found one!

I actually found a glass float. It had a seal with a year and number on it. I was one happy Coonhound. I brushed off the sand and put it up on the big log so my owner could take a picture. It was a glorious orange float and I, Cinnamon, was the owner!

Finders Keepers! Isn't it beautiful!

Leaving the Beach

I slept well that night on my big round cushy bed. We decided that since we achieved our mission, to find a Glass Float, that we'd leave as soon as it was light. We took one last walk on the beach at dawn and this time I enjoyed the waves and water. I was finished looking for floats. I had mine tucked away in my food bag, ready to take home.

We packed the car. My only regret was that the Looking Glass Inn office wasn't open when I left. I thought I could beg for one last treat from the nice people there. Fortunately I still had some left in the treat bag. I was so happy with myself I even decided to share some with Francesca when I got back.

If you want to visit Lincoln City, check out the Visitors Bureau Website. There's plenty of things to do there and they are very dog friendly.

Love, Cinnamon

 

Note: As is common in the travel industry, Cinnamon was provided with accommodations and treats for the purpose of review. While it has not influenced this review, the writer believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest.

Also, there are some affiliate links in my story but you can easily figure out which ones those are!

Wine Country is Not Always Dog Country

I've always loved going wine tasting with my owner. Why? Well, I don't taste wine but I did find out that many wineries like dogs and let them come in the tasting rooms. Once I get in there, I usually get all kinds of attention! I like that.

So I was thrilled when I was invited to go along on a rainy day wine tasting adventure to the McMinnville area in Oregon. I got my harness on. I had a sheet and towels in case I ended up with muddy paws and I was so excited to jump into the car.

It was a long drive to wine country so I just slept most of the way.

First Stop
Our first stop was at Maysara Winery. It was beautiful, even on a rainy day. I got to get out and walk around a bit. I looked up on the hill and saw vineyard workers and some cattle. I kind of stared at the cattle to make sure they weren't going to chase me!

I got really excited when we went over to the tasting room. We opened the door and I stuck my head in. But then we found out there were NO DOGS ALLOWED. Just service dogs. I got a good enough look to know I would have loved to go in. There were dark red Persian carpets on the floors and nice people at the bar. I suppose they didn't want me in because of the carpets.

So it was back to the car for me and another nap.

After they enjoyed their time at Maysara, I did get to walk around the huge building and check things out. There was water running in ditches. I waded a little bit. I tried to eat some grass but they wouldn't let me!

Second Stop
Our second stop that day, after driving down roads that were beginning to flood, was at the St.
Innocent Winery. I got out and walked around a bit. They had a pretty fountain going... even if it was raining. And, I found out that THERE WERE NO DOGS ALLOWED IN THE TASTING ROOM!

But the reason, this time, was not the carpets. It was that there was a winery dog. A little poodle who was 18 years old was hanging out in the tasting room. I think I would have scared the little dog if I came in. So I stayed in the car, once again!

So after a day of riding around in the car, I slept all the way home. I got to go to wine country but didn't find any dog-friendly wineries that day. I wasn't sad, though. I had the company of people and I got to go on a car trip!

If there are wineries out there that love dogs, please leave the name of your winery in the comments. I'd love to visit your tasting room!

Love, Cinnamon

Champoeg State Park: An Oregon Dog Friendly Park

Today I got up early (again!) and we drove to Champoeg State Park south of Portland. It's a beautiful big park on the Willamette River. There is pioneer history, bird-watching, walking and biking and lots of wildlife for me to track. The best part about Champoeg State Park is that it is DOG FRIENDLY!

Here I am on the trail at Champoeg State Park

Today was State Parks Day so we got in FREE! Ordinarily it would have cost us $5.00. They were having some free fishing down by the river too! What a great day to visit.

Dogs can walk most anywhere people can if they are on a leash and you are tidy. There are strategically placed clean up bags on main trails. If you want to camp, you can even stay in one of six yurts (one pet friendly) and one of the six cabins (one pet friendly). 

I enjoyed views of the river from the trail.

But I just went for the day and here's what I did. I signed up for the Volksmarch along marked trails. It was billed as a walk on natural and paved park trails through early Oregon history where in 1843, the pioneers voted to be part of the growing western movement of the United States instead of Canada. Imagine, I could have been living in Canada rather than the U.S. if that vote had been different. Imagine!

So the Mossbacks Walking Club was all set up and there to greet me at 9 a.m. They were really nice to me! I was embarrassed when my owner spent time explaining that we needed a short, shady route because I can't handle the heat. Well, that is true, but she didn't have to tell EVERYONE!

I visited with Martha awhile and then we were on our way following the yellow and pink ribbons. The walk was partially on paved pathways. Since it was early there weren't too many bicycles out there on the trail so I could walk from side to side sniffing things and enjoying the tall grass. Eventually we got to some woods. That was fun. I just knew there were squirrels in those big trees.

Here I am on the boat dock wishing I could go fishing.

Since I was getting hot, we went down the boat ramp onto the dock and enjoyed the river for awhile. One of the people there said some eagles had just flown by. Drat! I missed them!

I met a girl who really liked me!

We walked on enjoying some historical markers all about the Pioneers. At the monument, a nice girl asked to pet and play with me. And we had some fun before it was time to walk through the woods some more. We enjoyed the views of the Willamette River and finished the walk. Some of my friends were at the finish point so I did a bit of socializing before things deteriorated.

I was kinda hungry. When Dar took a Red Vine candy out of a container I just knew it was dog treats for me and bugged and bugged her about it. I really made a fool of myself too. She felt so bad she went to her car and got a dog biscuit for me. Thanks Dar!

After that I nearly jerked my owner's arm out of the socket when I saw another dog getting some food. FOOD! I was nearly starving. I guess, in retrospect, that wasn't very good behavior.

Finally, when we got back to the car, I did get some food and water in the car. But I could tell my owner was not pleased.

I AM SORRY EVERYONE! I'll be better behaved on the next walk. I promise.

Love, Cinnamon the walking hound

Saturday Volkswalk in Hillsboro Oregon

This was a huge Klicky soldier and I didn't get scared

Saturday morning was a good morning because I got to GO TOO! I hopped in the car and we were off into the fog and down the road to Hillsboro Oregon.

Now Hillsboro is the county seat of Washington County but it's also a good place to walk and SQUIRREL HUNT!

We parked about three blocks from the registration point on Main Street because all the spaces were marked 2 hours only. And, I wasn't sure I could finish a 10K walk in under two hours. We headed down Main and found the registration place and THEY LET ME IN! They were really nice there. Carol held my leash while we registered for the walk and got the maps.

We walked down main street and saw a toy store, a hobby shop and some tasty looking restaurants. We didn't stop in and check out the cuisine. Drats!

So then we were off. I was pulling ahead because I was excited. Hillsboro is a rural town and there were plenty of good things to sniff along the streets and in the parks. I found SQUIRRELS! I chased them up the tree and barked at them. Soon, the word got out that I was in town so the Squirrels became few and far between. But just in case, I LOOKED UP EACH AND EVERY TREE.

I went up the steps of this majestic old court house

After the first 5K loop we were back to the registration point to pick up the next map. This loop was fun too because we went by the old County Courthouse and saw the huge Sequoia trees. I thought tons of squirrels could be hiding in those trees but I didn't smell any.

I was getting pretty tired by the time we reached the Rose Garden. I wanted to stop and take a little snooze but no, we couldn't do that. I chased one last squirrel in that park.

And then we were back in town to finish up. They were serving soup and rolls but I didn't get any. I did, however, get a nice packet of treats when we got back to the car.

I was so tired I SLEPT ALL THE WAY HOME!

Thanks to the Cedar Milers for another nice volksmarch.

Here I am in the car sleeping ALL THE WAY HOME!

So here is how many volksmarches I have done:

2014
5K New Years Day Walk in Vancouver - Vancouver Volkssporters - Website

10K Loops and Soup Walk in Hillsboro - Cedar Milers - Website

2013
10K Vancouver Land Bridge Walk - Vancouver, WA - Vancouver Volkssporters - Website

10K Columbia River Walk - Columbia River Volkssport Club - Website

10K Sherwood - Soup Walk - Sherwood Merrywalkers - Website

10K WSU - Vancouver Cougar Views Walk - All Weather Walkers - Website

10K Halloween Walk in Yachats - Yachats Coastal Gems - Website

Wet Dog Day at Multnomah Falls

What does a girl do when she's laid off? Well I can sleep my day away or... go sightseeing! It had been a rainy morning here but it was starting to clear. So I decided to head over to see Multnomah Falls on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. It's not far, really.

I wanted to see if it was still icy there. I wanted to feel the spray on my coonie face. And, I thought a hike might do me good. We started into the Gorge as it got a bit misty. Then it rained. I then knew I had made a mistake. I was going sightseeing in the rain and didn't even pack my raincoat!

We parked and got out to go visit the falls. I saw that the creek was really rushing along and the banks were sandbagged. Wow! This might be more adventure than I wanted.

It was really misty at the falls. I wondered why no one had hiked up to the bridge!

As we approached the falls, it got wetter and wetter. We went up to the view point and I found myself taking a cold shower. Brrrrr.

I thought I was going for a nice dry hike. But noooo!

See how wet I am? I was starting to get ticked off at this point. 

I got wetter and wetter and finally I demanded to GO HOME! Enough of this adventure. There were NO dog treats. There were NO FRIENDLY people to pet me. Everyone was rushing away from the falls because they were getting so wet.

So we went back to the car. No stopping for fudge and no stopping to buy a postcard. We were headed in the right direction, I thought.

When we got back to the car, I wrapped up in my beach towel to get warm.

We took off and headed down I-84 and pulled off at Exit 17. What? No more adventures I hoped. I was looking forward to my nice WARM HOUSE! But we needed gas and then... we headed toward a fast food restaurant for a sandwich. Things were looking up!

Here I am looking all perky and interested as we went through the drive-through.
Chicken sandwich, Fries and a Chocolate Shake, please!

I guess the order taker didn't hear me place my order because when we got to the window THERE WAS NOTHING FOR ME! I had to settle for a few small bites of her sandwich. But that was better than nothing and... I was beginning to feel dry once again.

So that was my afternoon. How was yours?

Love, Cinnamon

Home Sweet Home

Here at am at home on my favorite garden bench.

I loved the beach at Lincoln City. I loved the folks at Looking Glass Inn. And I even loved the Harbor Seals I saw swimming and looking at me this morning during our beach walk.

But what I love most of all, it seems, is being in my home sweet home. When I got home today, I ran out into my yard and romped a bit. Then I found a spot of sun and took a nap. As soon as my owner brought in my bed, I went upstairs and took a long nap there, too!

While I slept, I dreamed of the beach. I loved climbing on the driftwood logs and looking for crunchy crab legs to munch on. And I loved the staff at the Looking Glass Inn who gave me treats and looked the other way when I stole treats out of the new dogs' bowls!

But I am more relaxed in my own home. I don't worry about tsunamis or sneaker waves or harbor seals thinking I would be a good snack. I don't worry about rain and I don't worry about mean dogs. I am just home... where I belong.

But say the word.. BEACH... and you might entice me to go for another adventure!

Gonna get some beach time!

Here's the picture from the Looking Glass Inn Website

I just found out that I'm headed for the Oregon Coast... Lincoln City, to be exact. I found out that the Looking Glass Inn is right on the beach and... they are dog friendly. They are so dog friendly that they woo houndies like me with a special package deal. Here's what they say they will greet me with:

"Bring your dog to the Looking Glass Inn. We are dog friendly. Rain and Paco want all dogs to be comfortable at the Looking Glass Inn so when you check in your dog will receive a basket to use during their stay. The basket includes two dog sheets, dog towels, two dog bowls, pooper scooper bags, and dog treats. We take all shapes and sizes of dogs with a maximum of 2 dogs per room."

Now I don't care a whole lot about the dog sheets and pooper scooper bags but DOG TREATS sound mighty good to me! And, I'll bet I get to go sniffing around the seaweed on the beach... at least I hope I can. The dogs they show on their Dog Blog look like they are having great fun in the ocean and on the beach.

I'll be posting photos and will tell you all about my stay later next week. I'm so excited I can hardly take a nap, but I'll try!

Cinnamon at the Tulip Fest: Kinda dog friendly

Here I am posing for my picture in the tulip fields.

Today I went to the Wooden Shoe Bulb Farm in Woodburn, Oregon for their annual Tulip Fest. It was a sunny day so I enjoyed the hour ride through the countryside.

We got there and parked. I had hoped they had a dog park where I could run free sniffing the tulips and playing with the other dogs. But noooo. They insisted dogs be on leashes. That was OK because people couldn't pick the tulips or tromp on them either. So they let me in because I had my harness and leash on. It kinda cramped my style but it beats staying home with nothing to write about.

The festival takes place through May 5th so you can still go too! The fields are dirt with some grass paths so I don't think I'd want to be there in the rain. I checked the weather forecast and found out it would be sunny today. The tulips are brilliant colors. Anyone going to the festival without their camera had better get with the program!

Here I am sniffing around the tulip plants. This variety was named Jimmy

We walked all around the fields taking pictures. I even had my picture taken. Some kids petted me. I liked that. There weren't a lot of dogs there. I did chat with a puppy (you must know by now I like puppies) and saw a nice pittie, also on a short leash.

I liked the tulip fields but wished I could romp free.

After we spent hours in the fields we checked out the children's play area (still no dog area) and sniffed the wurst stand. We didn't get any but I would have liked a wurst and a beer. Oh, I forgot, this isn't Germany!

By then I was getting hot because it was a nice sunny day. So we packed up the camera gear, I jumped in the back of the car, and we headed home.

Yes, the Tulip Fest is "dog friendly," but don't get TOO friendly with the tulips or the people or you will be escorted to your car. Short leashes are the norm there.

Photography copyright: Elizabeth Rose Photography