Oregon Coast Road Trip Fall 2017 ~ Newport Oregon

After our morning walk, we headed South along Highway 101 toward our next hotel stop in Newport Oregon. 

Our first beach stop was picturesque Cannon Beach

The water was chilly but it was a beautiful walk along the beaches

Our next beach stop was Haystack Rock.  It was the most interesting of the two.  We climbed rocks and explored the many tunnels as the waves thrashed about.  It was so much fun!

Haystack Rock

SAY CHEESE!

No drive along the Oregon Coast would not be complete without a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory!  We arrived just in time for afternoon snack.  We tasted various cheese samples and left with some wonderful treats for later.

We checked into the Holiday Inn Express Newport after a wonderful day of sightseeing.  We were totally exhausted.

Oregon Coast Road Trip Fall 2017 ~ Seaside Oregon

Our first hotel stay on this road trip was the Holiday Inn Express in Seaside Oregon.  It was nice but we though there were better options closer to the beach with much better views of the Pacific Ocean.  .

This hotel was situated along the Necanicum River.

We spent the rest of the evening and the next morning walking along the beach.  It was quiet and we were the only ones until we reached an area where the morning surfers gathered.

We took some time to admire the beautiful beach homes along the way.

Oregon Coast Road Trip Fall 2017 ~ Astoria Oregon

We began our Oregon Coastal roadtrip at Astoria, followed by a stop Fort Stevens State Park.  We wanted to see where the Columbia River met the Pacific Ocean.  This first stop did not disappoint.  WOW, what a magnificent view!

Astoria-Megler Bridge crossing from Oregon to Washington
 

We parked and hiked the short distance to Jetty leading out to the Pacific Ocean.  We spend several minutes just admiring it, glad we hadn't missed this wonderful beginning of our trip.

Kentucky 2017 ~ Cumberland Falls State Park

This roadtrip to Kentucky was a birthday gift for our youngest Granddaughter who is crazy about horses.  We mostly took state road through Tennessee to our Cabin in East Bernstadt KY, the summer scenery along the way was breathtaking.

Here is a gorgeous Sunflower farm we passed in Ooltewah Tennessee.

The views of Cumberland Falls:

We decided to do two trail rides through two different stables for variety.  Our first trail was with Cumberland Falls Horse Riding Stables. The stable booked about a dozen riders per ride.   The horse.s were all well trained and basically just followed each other requiring very little horsemanship from the riders.  Riders are scheduled every hour on the hour and last about 45 minutes and cost $18.00 per person.  It is perfect for inexperienced riders, which made it fine for Hubby and I but too easy for our granddaughter who wanted something more challenging.  I would still recommend it if your in the area.

We took our second trail ride the next day with Bill's Riding Stables in Corbin, KY.  They are open 7 days a week 10am-6pm.  There were only 3 other riders with us making our trail ride much more personal.  Our guide was very knowledgeable with a great attitude.  We arranged a one hour ride at $18 per person.  Our ride was much more inline with our Granddaughter's style.

 The horses were well cared for and as well as beautiful.  If your every in the area, I would highly recommend Bill's over the park.

Kentucky 2017 ~ Wildcat Cabin Rentals

Part of our birthday gift to our youngest Granddaughter was staying in a cabin on a Farm with horses. We found a perfect place on HomeAway #378863 for a mountain cabin in East Bernstadt Ky.  It had everything one would need for a stay including a fully equipped kitchen as well as linens.  

We had complete privacy from the world although it also had satellite TV and wifi for staying in touch when we wanted.  The hosts Julee and Pete were friendly and close by if we needed anything.

 Our Granddaughter was immediately drawn to the three horses and the cow the owner had.  

She spoiled them with treats of carrots and apples each day..

Costa Rica 2017 ~ Arenal National Park

We hired our drivers Danny of CostaRicaDrivers.com to handle all our transportation needs while in Costa Rica.  His company was highly recommended on Tripadvisor.    We signed up for two tours.

Our tour today was to Arenal National Park and La Fortuna Waterfalls and tropical gardens.  We were picked up at 7:00am for our 3 hour drive to the Volcano.

 Once again, Danny stopped along the way so we could get our Costa Rica coffee fix at a place with jaw-dropping views, this time it was a coffee plantation.  We paid $16pp usd to enter the park and walked to the crater.  Unfortunately the ash was too thick for any decent photos.

Next we headed to the La Fortuna Waterfalls and tropical gardens.

 It was beautiful!  We were treated with tropical birds, frogs, lush greenery and huge waterfalls.

On the way home we once again stopped at a local cafe for dinner.  It was a small family owned roadside cafe and the food was perfect.  It was the end of another lovely day.

Costa Rica 2017 ~ Manuel Antonio National Park

We hired our drivers Danny of CostaRicaDrivers.com to handle all our transportation needs while in Costa Rica.  His company was highly recommended on Tripadvisor.    We signed up for two tours.

Our tour today was a full day at Manuel Antonio.  He picked us up at our San Jose hotel at 7:30am for our 3 hour drive to the park.   Along the way we made two stops.  The first was this lovely cafe for some delicious coffee with gorgeous views.

Our second stop was a place referred to as Crocodile River where we took some photos of these hungry guys.

We also purchased delicious Mango smoothies from roadside vendor.

Finally we arrived at the entrance to the park.  We were charged $16pp fees to enter.  The first hiking trail we took brought us to Playa Puerto Escondido Beach.  It was a difficult trail with lots of stairways built along the way.  At the end we were treated to this beautiful oasis.

The second trail we took brought us to Playa Espadilla Sur Beach.  It was short and ended at another beautiful beach.

There were changing room facilities and picnic tables for those who didn't mind the local pickpockets trying to steal their food and backpacks.

 These local residents were experts at stealing bags left unattended.


After a refreshing swim in the beautifully clean water, we hiked back to the entrance of the park where Danny was waiting for us.  We stopped for dinner at a local restaurant recommended by Danny.

The meal was as delicious as the views.

Finally we began the 3 hour drive back to our hotel.  It was a wonderful experience!

Costa Rica 2017 - Our Room

We booked our stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in San Juan with points.  Our free hotel even includes a full made-to-order breakfast each morning!

The views of San Jose from the balcony of our corner room on the 17th floor of our hotel room taken our first night.

The hotel pool from our balcony 

Costa Rica 2017 - Getting There

Free Airfare

We are lucky to have a Southwest Companion Pass for all of 2017, which means a companion can fly free with me, making our flights free for both us since I'm using points.  Choosing Southwest for our flights was a no-brainer.

We connected from New Orleans to Houston Lobby to San Jose.  We liked the easy friendly people we encountered at Houston Hobby.  The airport was not as hectic & crowded as other airports. Very Clean!

We hired a private driver (CostaRicaDriver.com) to drive us from the airport to the hotel. After we collected our luggage and cleared customs we headed out to the taxi area where Felix & Christian were waiting for us holding a sign with our names.

They deposited us at the door of our hotel 20 within 20 minutes.