This is our third year traveling to Oregon with Max....
and every year I stress and stress about it - but of course
everything ends up just perfectly (well as perfectly as it
can when you have a three year old on your hands). :)
(plane rides were made bearable due to copious
amounts of Ipad time)
Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sugar were the ultimate
hosts - having nearly everything we possibly needed...
from train tracks to bath toys and 10 pounds of
applesauce (which Max would love to be served
at every meal)!
We spent the week driving up and down the 101
stopping at each little beach along the way, kite flying,
searching for banana slugs, building and then smashing
sand castles, and taking in the gorgeous view from
our rental in Arch Cape.
(views from our lunch spot on the way to the beach)
Here are some pictures of our adventures....and be
prepared to plan your eventual move to Oregon.
Without fail, every time we are in Oregon, I start
trying to conceive how we might be able to move there!
All of the above pictures were taken at "our beach" -
the one down the hill from our house. Max and I decided to
venture back there on Tuesday morning...and
the views on the way down are just incredible!
I've never been to a beach surrounded by such
incredible old growth forest. And then, to get
down to the sand, you have to scurry over
rocks and piles of driftwood.
After our morning beach session, we decided to
drive back into Cannon Beach - which is still
my absolute favorite. Coming around the bend
of 101 - you can see Haystack Rock in the distance...
and I crane my neck to see how far out the tide is.
I'm not even going to apologize for the insane amount
of pictures that I have from this beach! Max was
content to build a sand castle with Grandpa Jim,
while Papa Rob and I explored the rock!
The tide was really far out so lots of tide pools
were present. We could see the giant green
anemones...mussel shells, crabs, and even fish!
We left the beach to wander around town....grab some lunch...
and hit the candy store. I grabbed some jelly belly's in my
favorite flavors (chocolate pudding and buttered popcorn).
Max was enthralled with the idea of the jelly beans but
never actually wanted to try them. The highlight of our
town visit was the kite shop though! We purchased
a neon green kite that looked like an octopus!
With kite in hand we drove to a different beach - called
"Hug Point". None of us had every been there...and it did
not disappoint. More exposed tide pools, rugged cliff sides,
beach combing, and of course, kite flying!
The real highlight was Grandpa Jim discovering
a purple star fish in the tide pool! Ahh! So cool!
On Wednesday morning - we decided to head back
to the northern end of Cannon Beach and visit Ecola
State park. Ecola has some amazing view points and
perfectly captures the real beauty of the Oregon Coast....
let me show you what I mean in pictures...
Our next stop was Indian Beach (which is actually
located within Ecola State Park). It was another
beautiful beach surrounded by more cliffs, lush green
forests, waterfalls, and more tidepools!
The runoff from the waterfall created this
stream running down to the ocean...and it was filled
with rocks. Max happily filled bucket after bucket
with rocks for his sand castle. Later, he also
added some fancy feathers!
On the way back from Indian Beach, Max fell
asleep in the car. We were trying to figure out a good
spot for lunch...trying to keep it casual and fast...so we
ended up back at Mo's. Max slept for about 40 minutes
in the car and I carried him in when the food came.
He woke up abruptly and was sort of grumpy -- but
nothing that another beach trip couldn't cure!
This time we were at Short Sand Beach.
It was about a half mile hike to get down to the
beach...and I know you're probably sick of hearing
me say this - but.....it was just beautiful!!
Who minds walking when the views are this good.
When we made it down to the beach...we dropped our
stuff and I headed out to do some beach combing.
The beach here was wide...and full of mostly rocks....but
I loved every minute.
It probably seems like this trip was go, go, go..but
I have to say it was so relaxing to dip my toes
in the icy cold water, walk and walk on the flat
beaches, and hang with Max while he created his
sand castle masterpieces.
Grandpa Jim was the ultimate tour guide the whole
time - driving us to and fro - soaking up our reactions
to everything - playing sand castle builder extraordinaire....
and trying out fish tacos at every restaurant.
When we got to the beach house, he said,
"the only rule for this vacation, is, there is
no rules! We can do whatever".
And he totally just rolled with it...Max
falling asleep in the car, meltdowns over
applesauce, demands for popsicles and to
be carried, and my request to visit the Tillamook
Cheese Factory. :)
After loading everything up in the car Thursday
morning - we drove about thirty minutes over
to the town of Tillamook. And we got to see their
whole factory and the cheese being sealed up....
and then we sampled all different kinds of cheeses
(which is exactly as great as it sounds).
Our final stop was the Blue Heron Farm -
It was totally kid friendly - with cut outs galore,
a petting zoo, friendly chickens, tractors, LLAMAS,
and even ice cream!
(can you believe we found another llama??)
Before we knew it - we were back in Portland!
We spent the afternoon hanging out with
Max's cousin Brooklyn, having our last delicious
dinner, and repacking our bags (which consisted
of me trying to figure out how to get a whole
bag of driftwood home).
By the end of the trip, we were exhausted, but glowing.
My heart was full of new beach memories...time spent with
my buddy Brooklyn, and of course Grandpa Jim and
Grandma Sugar.
We miss you already, Oregon.
xoxo
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