Newport, Oregon

The Hallmark at last! This is what Lulu has been waiting for the whole trip. Maybe next year we'll just come straight here and stay for a week.

We arrived in Newport at about 2 and checked in at the Hallmark, Lulu's favorite hotel. She loves this place: it has a fireplace, a Jacuzzi in the room, an indoor pool with warm water, balconies that face the ocean, a kitchen, and a beach that has sand dunes and allows dogs. I agree with her--it's a great place. The view is not to be believed: ocean and beach as far as you can see, a point in the distance with a lighthouse on the end of it...it's the stuff postcards are made of.

We showed Mom around the hotel and then went down to the beach for a while. It's cooler than normal here today--only in the 60s--and the wind is blowing, so there were lots of people on the beach flying kites. And a few dogs were running around looking unbelievably happy. It really was great sitting there relaxing.

Mom didn't want to come down to the beach--too many steps down and up again--so I finally had to tear Lulu away from the beach to go meet her for dinner. We ate at the restaurant in the hotel, Georgie's. I like Georgie's because no matter where you sit, you get a view of the ocean. Lulu likes it because out front, there's a pirate chest, and kids can go pick out a treasure after their meal. Lulu's been looking forward to that for over 3,000 miles now!

After dinner, we went back to our rooms and watched the sunset from the balcony. The perfect way to end the day.

You know how, some places you visit and you're just visiting them, and other places, you immediately feel at home in? Newport is one of those places where I feel at home, and so does Lulu. And tomorrow, we'll explore more of it :)