An Oregon Coast Love Story

The last time I visited the Oregon Coast I was Eliza's age.  This time I took my babies, and left a little piece of my heart.

For some reason I had this idea in my head that we must go to the Oregon Coast because we are so close.  Well, close is a relative term, and a 12+ hour drive is sort of miserable any way you do it, but especially with three kids (one of whom really doesn't love her car seat).  But to Oregon we go!

Our first event of the trip was a stop in the great metropolis of Pendelton, Oregon.  Some of you may be familiar with the Pendelton Woolen Mills and their colorful wool blankets.  I am more familiar with it as the the place Ryan lived and played college baseball for two years.  I've heard many stories about crappy apartments, interesting roommates, baseball games, and visits to Uncle Richie's house; but in our ten years together I had yet to make a visit.  Our Oregon trip was the perfect opportunity, and it was so much fun seeing the places that make up a large part of Ryan's story.  The girls especially loved our visit to Uncle Richie's land where they hung out with the horses and played in the awesome gym at the top of their barn.

From Pendelton we headed to Beaverton where we met up with the Watkins and decided to stay for the night.  After a long day of traveling we began making ourselves at home in our hotel room until Ryan began his routine bed bug check and found out we had company.  But of course we did.  Why are bed bugs a reoccurring theme in our lives???  An hour later we were finally putting our babies to bed in a new hotel a few miles down the road.  It was a rough end to a long day, but the next morning we woke up ready to drive a little bit more to reach the beach (and possibly never stay in a hotel again).

Our first stop was the famous Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach.  It was foggy and a delightful 60 degrees--my new favorite way to do the beach.  After taking some pictures and exploring a few tide pools Eliza had to use the potty, so we all trekked back to the cars and decided it was lunch time.  Grandma Carole had recommended the clam chowder at Mo's, and it didn't disappoint.  Fresh seafood for the win!

We spent the rest of the day traveling along the coast, stopping at a few beaches to explore caves and dig in the sand, getting ice cream in Tillamook, and then finally reaching our beach house in Lincoln City.  When we were trying to plan our trip I thought I had booked a different beach house, but later realized I hadn't completed all the steps required to secure our reservation and we lost our chance.  After that mishap and a few other difficulties finding somewhere to stay, we were worried our little vacation just wasn't meant to be.  But finally we found our little blue house overlooking the ocean, and we all ended up falling in love with the perfect location and cozy accommodations.

With beach access only a short five minute walk down the road (and about 100 stairs!), bushes full of fresh blackberries out the front door, and the most adorable beach community (complete with a park for the kiddos) just down the hill, we really loved our little abode by the sea.

The next few days were spent flying kites and building sandcastles when the sun was shining, and playing games and doing puzzles when it wasn't.  We made most of our meals at the house (including fresh blackberry milkshakes), but fell in love with the yummy fish and chips and fish tacos at J's.

The girls loved playing with the Watkins boys, and it was so much fun catching up with old friends.  We missed the other families who couldn't join the fun, but it only reinforced the need for a complete dental reunion soon.

Oregon, you were so good to us.  

I loved pretty much everything about you (okay, the 12 hour drive not so much), and we can't wait to visit your lovely coast again soon.

Love, The Palmers