We had the BEST vacation, so get ready for picture overload! I'm splitting this up into several posts, because the thought of blogging it all at once is WAY to overwhelming for me.
We left our house, drove to Boise, toured the haunted State Penitentiary, and then continued on the Vancouver, Washington. The next day started our Oregon Coast adventure.
ASTORIA
Astoria is the oldest settlement west of the Rockies. It dates back to 1805 when Lewis and Clark's expedition entered the area. They call it "Little San Francisco," because that's exactly what it looks like.
Entering Astoria.
This is the Astoria Column. It stands 125 feet tall and sits on top of a hill, giving you a view of the whole surrounding area. We climbed it and had a great view of the Megler Bridge. The bridge completes an unbroken link between the Mexican and Canadian borders.
Sawyer and Bailey at the top of the column.
We toured the Flavel House. It was a mansion built in 1885, by Captain George Flavel. He was a Columbia River Bar Pilot and one of the first millionaires in the area. The mansion was also in the Goonies movie.
Next we went down to the beach to see the Peter Iredale Shipwreck. The huge ship wrecked in Oct. 1906. It was pretty cool. This was also the kid's first time down to the beach, and I think they were more interested in the water than the ship.
This is a picture of what the ship looked like at the time it wrecked.
This is how it looks now. It's slowly eroding away.
I walked around the opposite side from where the kids were and realized they could go in it. I called them over so I could get a picture. Bailey was coming around on the ocean side of the ship, and I noticed that there was a place where the water got really deep. I told her to walk around the hole. Sawyer didn't hear me, and came running through the water. The next thing we know, he's screaming and running through water up to his butt. I wish we would have had the video camera going, because it was the funniest thing to watch!
Warrenton/Hammond
Bailey learned a ton about Lewis and Clark in 4th grade, so she was excited to stop at Fort Clatsop. This is where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806.
The kids outside the fort. It was pouring rain, so there was hardly anyone there.
Sitting in one of the rooms of the fort.
This is Del Rey Beach. There was a 10 mile stretch where you could drive your car right on the beach.
Seaside
Seaside is one of the most popular towns along the coast. It rained most of the time we were there, but that didn't stop the kids from playing in the water. The overcast skies actually made the coast look awesome.
This is the place in Seaside that marks the end of the Lewis and Clark trail.
We went to the Seaside Aquarium. It was a fun place that had touch tanks, aquariums, and a place to feed the seals.
Bailey holding a starfish. She was excited about all the stuff she got to hold and touch. Little did she know, that all along the coast, she'd be seeing and touching all the same stuff in the tide pools.
Here's one of the cute seals we fed. Bailey even got them to do tricks!
The kids LOVED the beach in Seaside. They could have stayed there all day, rain or shine.
Just a little bit south of Seaside, is a viewing point to see Tillamook Rock, and the Terrible Tilly Lighthouse. It was the fist lighthouse we saw along the coast. It was on a rock a mile and a half off shore. We also got really excited, because we thought we saw a whale in front of it. We were cheering and videotaping it, and so excited! Then we handed the binoculars to Mark, and he informed us that our whale was just a rock :)! Way to rain on our parade!
Cannon Beach
This is one of the most photographed sites on the coast, and you can see why. It was gorgeous! This is a view of Cannon Beach, and Haystack Rock in the distance.
We went down to the beach and took a long walk to Haystack Rock. The kids played in the water the whole way down, and back.
This is Haystack Rock. We spent a lot of time there, because eagles kept swooping down, trying to take baby birds out of the nests on the rocks. Mark and Sawyer saw one of the eagles get a baby, and when all the seagulls attacked it, it dropped the baby into the water. It was pretty exciting to watch.
A little south of Cannon Beach is a place called Hug Point. We didn't think we'd be able to see it, because the tide was up pretty far. I waited until the waves went back, and took off running around to the next cove. When I turned around, I saw that the kids and Mark were following me. I'm so glad we did, because we found this waterfall, a cave, and Hug Point.
The beautiful waterfall.
This is Hug Point. We couldn't get any closer than this, because the tide was already up to it. It's named because the stagecoaches used to drive around the rock, and had to hug the point. You can still see the road carved into the rock. We couldn't stay here long, because we didn't want to get trapped in our little cove. It was funny enough trying to time it perfectly to get back.
We spent the night in Rockaway Beach. The next morning, we stopped at the Three Graces (three big rocks in the water), and experienced our first tide pools.
Tillamook
We toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory!
That's a lot of cheese!
We went through a sampled all the different kinds of cheese they make in the factory.
We got Tillamook ice cream, and Sawyer and Bailey ate theirs in the Tillamook Baby Loaf bus :)!
We also stopped at a place called The Blue Heron French Cheese and Wine Company. We sampled more cheese, and then went out to the petting zoo area to feed the animals.
I fed a Yak!
Bailey made friends with lots of goats!
The Three Capes Loop
We got off of Hwy 101 for a while to drive the Three Capes Loop. It's a 30 mile scenic drive that takes you along 3 capes- Cape Meares, Cape Lookout, and Cape Kiwanda.
This is the Cape Meares Lighthouse.
We hiked up to a crazy Sitka Spruce tree that grew in the shape of an octopus. We also hiked up to another tree that is the largest Sitka Spruce along the Coast. I must say, it was quite large.
While driving this loop, we got our first look at Sea Lions.
Me and Mark had to prove we were on this vacation too. We had to take pictures of ourselves, because anytime we stopped at a beach, the kids went straight to the water.
This ends our Northern Coast adventures. Now on to the Central Coast!
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