HURRICANE WARNING ON THE OREGON COAST

Hi All :)

I hope Spring (Autumn for our S. Hemi Peeps) finds you well :)

2 weeks ago, I went to the Oregon Coast with my two Sons. We stayed in an amazing house on a sand dune right above the beach & looking out at the amazing vastness of the Pacific Ocean :)

We have stayed in this house before and knew it had awesome views with lots of windows facing the West for amazing Sunsets & Ocean viewing :)

What we didn't know was how bad the weather was going to be, rain had been forecast, hey, this is early March in Oregon so no surprises there, but we did not expect the Hurricane Warnings that started to show up the day after we arrived, oops! These are basically unheard of in Oregon. It definitely made for an interesting experience; I have experienced some strong winds in my life but for about 18 hours this was crazy and the rain, just pouring down like tomorrow was going out of fashion and the winds whipped the waves into a frenzy, the windows of the house were literally shaking (thankfully they were not glass) and we were happy to be indoors with a gas fire to keep us warm.

You can read about the Hurricane Winds Here; 

I went outside onto an upstairs balcony, a couple of times, very briefly, to take some photos of the very high waves but nearly got blown away; trying to hold my camera steady with a zoom lens was challenging but I tried :)

So, as fuzzy as some of these images are I wanted to share them with you because they have their own beauty. :)

The following day the waves were still high but lovely blue skies appeared; there was some flooding and some of the local coastal rivers were close to or at flood stage, we drove thru a few big pools of standing water along some coastal roads. Still not really quite believing what we had experienced.

Click on photos to see larger images :)

The Pacific Ocean, by early afternoon (1pm) the winds had picked up and the High Tide was churning - the sky was grey and the drizzle turned to rain. (Next 3 photos are early afternoon too)

I couldn't resist adding a little colour to this photo (and a few following ones) to see if I could show the brewing storm in a different light.

The Pacific Ocean at 3pm - The sky was so dark it was hard to see the horizon - the waves were powerful and swirling, it was amazing to hear their thunderous crashing.

1pm March 9th

1pm March 10th - 

It was amazing the transformation within those 24 hours

Same shot (Above and Below) 24 hrs. apart - Mother Nature is so awesome.

Again pretty much the same shot taken 24 hrs apart - the Ocean is beautiful, majestic, frightening and reassuring all at the same time. (High Tide both shots)

Looking out at the calmer Ocean at High Tide and the Blue Sky, if we hadn't lived it we would not have believed it had been so incredibly rainy and gale force winds less than 6 hours before and howling ALL night.

But as the camera was pointed South, there were still glimmers of those rain clouds moving inland towards the coastal range.

I have to admit I was just so excited to be by the Ocean again; it has been the longest time ever for me between trips to the Ocean, I had missed it so much. I'm a Water Girl, I need to see the Ocean and be by it on a regular basis or I dry up, lol :)

Well, I guess I got more water than I had bargained for but it was thrilling to be at the coast to experience this storm, call me crazy but I felt a kind of refreshed sense of renewal after it but I am also the kind of girl who likes to open the windows and breathe in deeply during a thunderstorm :)

Hope you enjoy my photos :)

Happy Wednesday :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

As Summer Comes to an End...........

Hi Everyone! :)

I know I have been MIA but as my youngest headed back to school in Ohio and then on to Boston for a college internship, my Daughter packed up and when back to live in San Fran (where her heart is.......thanks Tony Bennett, LOL!! :) My Hubby went on his 3rd business trip in 6 weeks to China and the Darling came back and gave me a cold which led to a really bad case of Bronchitis which took 3 weeks to clear up and totally wore me out (so I have asked him kindly not to bring anything back to give me this trip, LOL!!!:) 

My eldest son is still living at home for now but I think he would like a place of his own now he has a job, YAY!!! (only took 2 years after college to get a job, who said the economy is bad............)

It was wonderful to be able to spend the Summer all together, even though everyone was working crazy hours and sometimes not even on the same continent (I'd add, not even on the same planet but that is just rude, LOL!!! :)

So, as the house empties, once again, and no, it never gets any easier, this coming and going, sometimes living here, sometimes not; I know I raised my children to want to go off and spread their wings, I have raised a band of Nomads, I know that, but I think there is a little (actually a lot of :) Gypsy in me too, I always had Wanderlust, so I have no one to blame (well, except my Hubby, He! He! :). 

I am sharing photos of our time spent all together on our Oregon coast vacation during the Summer and remembering what a wonderful time we had :)

I hope you enjoy them too! :)

The first morning we woke to this view looking south, it is a pretty typical Oregon Coastal morning and there is no predicting if it will burn off or not but it is beautiful in its own right :)

But slowly, the sky started to clear :)

Looking North towards Cape Kiwanda started a little overcast and then.......

it got brighter and 

Brighter as the day progressed YAY!!! :)

If you missed the post of the photos I took of that massive sand dune and would like to see how big it is because the people on it look like ants, LOL!!! You can check it out HERE :)

These 4 photos are of the "Dory Days" procession thru Pacific City, we have never been there to celebrate this before, it was so much fun, true Americana, LOVED IT :)

We had some beautiful days and beautiful Sunsets but this night we sat out on the deck facing the Ocean, eating and drinking and I took photos all the way thru the Sun setting, it was absolutely gorgeous, not sure my camera did it complete justice but I LOVED the changing light :)

Just in case you didn't see this on FB, here is the Chipperfield Clan (sans moi), Sam, of course, doing his impression of "Blue Steel" :)

The Beautiful,

Majestic,

Powerful,

Mighty Pacific Ocean :)

Tierra Del Mar, such a gorgeous beach :)

It was quite windy this day I took these shots at a view point on 101 and this seagull was having trouble launching, I didn't like to mention that she really had too much eyeliner on, seemed like she was having a bad enough day, LOL!!! :)

Last night, at the Pelican Pub at Cape Kiwanda, watching the sun set, not too shabby :)

If you've ever had a bad day, think of this poor women she has been like this for as long as I can remember, LOL!!!!  Thru all weathers and it is part of our family tradition to check she is still there every time we visit Pacific City on the Oregon coast, we call her the "Lady in the Loo" but we do not know anything about her or how it came to be :)

I hope you enjoyed these and it is good to be back :)

Have a lovely Thursday :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

A Day At The Beach :)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Well, My Son and I were waiting and waiting for a sunny day to go to the Beach. So, we waited and waited, watching the weather forecast like crazy and eventually after a few weeks the first day of Summer started to look like a promisingly warm day at the Oregon Coast. So, we packed the car with seats and towels (more for wind protection, 'coz nobody in their right mind goes into the chilly waters of the Pacific ocean, except a toe or two, LOL! :)

We had a wonderful time, sat outside overlooking the Ocean for lunch and even got to go inside the house on the beach we will be renting later this year, YAY!!!

Here are a few photos from the first Day of Summer on the Oregon Coast :)

Click on photos to see larger images :)

Pic. I took of my Son on the way to the Beach :)

A shot of  Haystack Rock from the outdoor patio of the "Pelican" Pub.

View of the Pacific Ocean from the outdoor patio of the "Pelican" Pub.

Cape Kiwanda's BIG Sand Dune! (The "kids" LOVE to climb this! )

Part of the BIG Sand Dune overlooking the Tidal Pools

There are always surfers at Pacific City, I think one just went under as I took this shot, oops!

See those few little specs.(not the really little ones they are foot prints He! He!)  they are people, that is how BIG this Sand Dune is, you can just see on the bottom right someone running down it :)

Tidal Pools :)

Haystack rock as the Marina layer starts to form and we start to shiver.

Now it started to get chilly and out came the towels, the beach cleared really quickly, but rarely do the beaches get really crowded :)

A couple of shots taken about 30 miles on our return journey looking back the Coastal Range and the Marina layer.

I hope you enjoyed our little trip to the Oregon Coast :)

BTW, I just started a Facebook Page for; 

Teresa Chipperfield Studios 

if anyone would like to LIKE IT, click HERE :)

Have a lovely Weekend! :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.