In August, we took our first trip to the Oregon Coast. We spent two days driving and four days enjoying the cool weather and the beach. On the road trip to Cannon Beach, we stopped in Portland to go to the zoo. The weather was so nice and cool walking from exhibit to exhibit was like going on a nature hike. The zoo was beautiful and had lots of great animals to look at. We were even surprised to find out that we had come on $2 Tuesday! Yea!
There is a huge fish behind Caleb and Levi, but you can' see it.
It started to rain on us a bit. I told Levi I would hold him if he would hold the umbrella. He took his job very seriously.
Our first full day in Cannon Beach was a bit of a disappointment because it rained the entire time. You can't see it in these pictures, but there was a solid "mist" on us and after 15 minutes outside, we were soaked. The kids enjoyed the 15 minutes however. The big rock you will see is called Haystack Rock. It housed a variety of nesting birds that were so fun to watch. At low tide, we went out and viewed the tide pools. They had muscles, starfish and other fun sea creatures. The kids loved our second day there as the weather cleared and we spend the entire day digging in the sand and running away from the waves.
This is our hotel that was right on the beach. It was so convenient and we had a full kitchen to do all of our cooking. We would definitely stay there again!
With all the rain on our first day, we took a 45 minute drive to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Our kids were a bit worn out and all fell asleep. Chris and I sat in the parking lot for a half hour to give them a little cat nap. Sorry for the crazy close-up of our faces. Yikes...no make-up and our hair isn't done. It rained so hard that it seemed pointless to even do your hair. We were damp most of the day.
It was chilly at first, so Caleb played on the beach in his jeans. It didn't take him long to go in the ocean and get soaked. He stayed in his wet jeans for a few hours before I talked him into wearing his bathing suit.
After two days at Cannon Beach, we traveled two hours south along the coast to Newport. We visited the aquarium there and the kids loved the bird aviary. They got to see all the birds that nested on Haystack Rock upclose.
We went out to eat once on our vacation. Here we are a Georgies Restaurant. The kids tried fish for about the second time in their lives. I tried it, again, and I still don't care for it. Man, I wish I liked it though! We also took the kids to a little quaint toy shop to pick out a souvenir. We were hoping they would pick something to remind them of Oregon, but we got action figures, animals, and a bead set instead. Oh well. That was definitely one of the highlights for the kids. They are simple creatures.
Our second day in Newport, we spent a bit of time at the Yaquina Lighthouse. It was so pretty. This first picture is of the "beach" down by the tide pools. The stones were so cool. I guess they were made by hot lava being hit by the ocean and cooling quickly.
This lighthouse was beautiful and it sat on the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. I had to wait outside with Levi while Chris and the two older kids climbed to the top of the lighthouse. You can't carry your kids up the stairs for safety reasons. Caleb was so excited when they gave him a pin to congratulate him on making it to the top and back. They seemed to like this better than the aquarium. I thought that was funny. I watched Levi as he ran around and explored and I also got to see some gray whales out in the distance as they surfaced. They were easily a couple miles away, but it was still my first sighting of whales!
You can see how the mood was on our road trip back home. It was a 10 hour plus drive and my kids were feeling it. I (mom) had to go to the bathroom, so we stopped at a fish hatchery/dam. We decided to break for lunch as well. Levi was sure enthusiastic though.
That's it! We even recovered from the drive home, though it took a few days. Caleb asked me a week later if we could hop in the car and head back to Oregon. I was sure glad he liked it. When I asked him what his favorite part was, he said, "Buying a toy". OK, so you could buy a toy anywhere! Oh well. I am sure the hotel pools came in a close second! ha.
One last thing to mention. This is the most simple, boring way to announce things...but we are going to have a fourth baby in March. I am due on March 7th and we are excited! I even managed to get through the entire Oregon trip with no nausea. Not sure how that happened. I was tired and a bit moody (sorry Chris), but we made it.
