The Love Bunch

We got back Saturday evening from 10 days on the Oregon Coast. It was gorgeous! We love going there, and weren't able to last year, so we were excited to go back again. The weather was absolutely phenomenal. It only rained two days of our trip, and one of them was the day we were driving home, so it didn't cause any trouble. The other days were either outright sunny, or would be grey and foggy in the morning and burn off by late afternoon. We were loving the sunshine. It doesn't get much better than a sunny day on the coast. The contrast between lush green forests and sparkling blue ocean is stunning.
We followed the same basic schedule that we did in '07. Basically, we started out by driving to Astoria, with an overnight at a state park outside LaGrande on the way. Breaking up the long distances makes it much easier for Isaac. He's generally very patient with us, but we don't like to take advantage of that, and know that he's much happier if we can keep the time in the car to a minimum.
In Astoria, we stayed at Ft. Stevens state park. It's a huge campground, and a little less private than we normally would like, but it has lots of miles of paved bike trails, and Isaac was in heaven. We enjoyed riding our bikes to the beach. Isaac was pretty fascinated with the wreck of the 'Peter Eyredale' (wrecked on the beach in 1910, I think). He kept wanting to know what happened to the broken boat, and why it was on the beach. He made references to it for the rest of our vacation. I forgot our camera on our main day-trip into the city of Astoria -- Rats! It was a beautiful day, and we fit in a lot of activity. We rode the 'Old 500' trolley along the waterfront, and then visited the Flavel House Museum, where they happened to be having a kids activity day on the grounds, with old-fashioned games, food and free horsedrawn wagon rides. Isaac loved it. I'm so sad that I don't have any photos. Then we went down to the pier to see the California Sea Lions that summer there - over 100 of them! And they are HUGE and NOISY. It was pretty funny to see them sprawled all over the floating docks. I wonder how the owners of the boats tied up at the slips get to them. The sea lions didn't really look like they'd be inclined to move, even if you asked politely. We went back the next day to get photos of them, but the weather wasn't as sunny. Oh well. And, we found a favorite place to eat in Astoria. It's an old fishing boat that's been turned into a fish&chips stand in a vacant lot across from the Maritime Museum. It's called "The Bowpicker", which is the name of the type of boat it is. We just thought it looked interesting, and decided to give it a shot. Oh me oh my!! They use tuna for their fish & chips. It was excellent! We've tried cod, halibut and salmon, as well, but the tuna was the best fish & chips I can remember having in a good long while. So yummy! And their batter was crispy, not greasy, and the fries were fresh, thick-sliced potatoes. Rick and I always laugh, because he goes on vacation to try new hiking and biking trails, and I go on vacation to eat. I love to find new restaurants, and try things I don't normally eat at home.
After attending church on Sunday morning in Astoria, we traveled a couple of hours down the coast to Beverly Beach state park. It's one of our favorites, and we met a really nice couple from Salem, OR. The man, Mike gave Isaac a rock he'd found on the beach that has a bunch of fossils in it. Isaac kept close tabs on it the rest of the trip. From Beverly Beach we made a day-trip up to Tillamook and down the Three Capes Scenic Highway. We gorged ourselves on ice-cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We told ourselves last time not to each get a 3-scoop bowl, but we always get dizzy at the sheer number of scrumptious flavors, and can't narrow it down to fewer choices than 3. Rick got White Licorice (surprisingly good), Oregon Strawberry, and Mint Chocolate Chip. I ordered Sweet Centennial, Lemon-Blueberry Pie, and Sticky Bun. All of them were delicious. Isaac mis-heard the name of the Sticky Bun ice cream, and when he'd had a couple of spoonfuls, said, "I sure like this 'Stinky Bum' ice cream!". Rick and I laughed so hard. Isaac didn't get what the joke was.
We stopped in Depoe Bay for dinner at Gracie's Sea Hag on the way back to our campground. Before we went into the restaurant, we watched the bay for grey whales, and we actually saw one! It jumped (breached) up out of the water! How lucky to be able to see that, when the whale center there had only had 12 total sightings that day. We watched a little while, hoping that it would jump again, but it only made a few more surfaces to breathe, and we saw its back and the spouting, but nothing else. Still, we were so excited to have seen it jump. We've been really lucky with whale sightings. After dinner (and yes, I got their clam chowder, of course!), we went to 'Ainslee's' Candy and got some fresh saltwater taffy. Mmmmm.
Tuesday, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was fun, but we'll probably wait a few years before we go again. It's a little bit pricey, and Isaac had fun looking at everything, but was just as happy at the beach, which is free. We ate at Newport Cafe for lunch, and weren't terribly impressed, although we'd been referred there by a local as its being 'the best' in town. Next time we're in Newport we're going to try to find a place called Szabo's, which someone else said was terrific. Okay, so this post does seem to have a lot about food in it. See how I am? I go on vacation for the food! After lunch we drove down to Carl G. Washburne campground.
On Wednesday, which was our only really rainy day on the coast, we mostly hung out in our trailer and tried to dry off. We'd gone down to the beach in the morning, and when it started raining we were soaked. Thank goodness for heaters. It cleared up in the afternoon. Thursday, we hiked up to Haceta Head lighthouse. Isaac hiked all the way there (1.5 miles, mostly uphill!). He was tuckered out, though, and fell asleep in the hiking carrier on the return trip. We ate our lunch at the beach, and then flew a pocket parafoil kite that Rick and I got as a wedding present from an older couple who take one with them whenever they vacation. We've taken it to the coast every time we've gone, and to a lot of other places, but this is the first time we've ever flown it! It was really fun, and flew really, really high. It took forever to wind the string back up. We'd tried to fly it a couple of days before, but there wasn't enough wind. That afternoon, we went into Florence and found a laundromat to dry our still-wet clothes from the day before, and then ate a cup of chowder in 'old town', and then hit McDonald's for a little play-ground action for Isaac and some chicken nuggets.

On Friday, we packed up and headed inland to Silver Falls state park. It was awesome, and we will definitely plan our next trip with more time there. We went on a bike ride and walked to one of the falls, planning to go on a longer hike the next morning. But, as luck would have it, it started raining the next morning, and we decided to just head home instead of hiking first. After thinking about it, we decided to just bite the bullet and drive home in one LONG trip. It was a long day, especially for Isaac, but he was a good sport, and it was good to be home on Saturday night so that we had a full day to recoup before getting back in the swing of things on Monday. It was a great trip, and we're looking forward to next time! Click Here for more photos of our trip.