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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
