When planning this trip and knowing that the Rose Festival would be going on we structured it so we’d be in Portland at the right time. We decided that since we were here during the Grand Floral Parade that we needed to go. I was glad we did. It was also Fleet Week, which is always a sight to see. We were hoping to get over to ships after the parade to get a tour of one of the US Naval Ships but we missed it by a few minutes. So instead we walked up to the near by bridge…
In this post, I’m continuing to share about trip to the Pacific Northwest. This is the day we spent on the Oregon Coast, which is always my favorite. We first drove out to Cannon Beach. There’s several lots where you can park for a small fee as well as free street parking, which is what we ended up doing. After we parked we looked up on the internet to see when low tide was, because if you want to look for sea urchins and star fish you need to plan ahead. Luckily for us, low tide was about to occur…
Day 13 of our West Coast trip was the day we were headed home. Our flight didn’t leave till later in the afternoon, which gave us time to do something. When Rob lived out in Portland, his favorite place to shop was Fred Meyer. Fred Meyer is similar to a Walmart, but way better. It is truly a one stop shop. From furniture to groceries to name brand clothing it has it all. After having breakfast and checking out of the hotel, we headed over to Fred Meyer so the kids could see what an awesome store it was and…
As I mentioned before since our days were so long (in a good way) but since we covered so much ground and so many amazingly beautiful places my daily travel posts aren’t including as much detail and as many pictures as I’d like. I want to write individual posts on many of the spots on this trip in more detail with more pictures. One day when I’m caught up, I’ll go back and share more. Today’s post covers our last full day of our west coast trip. We slept later that day than any other day on trip, which was…
Day 10 was all about the Oregon Coast. We started off with a lumberjack breakfast at Camp 18 Restaurant. This place is a must see. Every time Rob and I drive up the coast we stop and get pictures outside, our friends who usually follow behind on their motorcycles love to take videos of the landscape we pass by, but they do have to be careful because one of them almost fell of their motorcycle trying to get the perfect scenery shot, that day would have ended up either in a hospital or talking all night with their motorcycle accident…
Our drive up the coast of Oregon continued as we left Cottage Grove Oregon and headed to Newport, stopping a few times for some fun activities, like going to Sand Dunes, Sea Lion Caves, Thor’s Well, and more. First stop was Florence, OR for Dune Buggies ATVs. When we were researching we came to the realization that Dune Buggies for individuals really isn’t a thing you can do anymore. The thing now is driving ATV’s over the dunes. I really didn’t want to drive so Rob and I were in one and the kids each had their own ATV. Let…
On our 7th day West Coast adventure, we got up and checked out of the cabin. We drove up to Crater Lake Lodge, which was built in 1915 and is listed as in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Beautiful log cabin feel with gorgeous views of Crater Lake. We enjoyed the view a little more, but since we saw most of what there was to see the day before at Crater Lake we ended up not staying as long as first planned. We continued on our journey north as we drove to Cottage Grove, but made several stops…
On our 6th day of adventures on the West Coast, we got up and left Eureka and continued north towards Crater Lake. We made a quick stop at Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center in Orick, CA. We used the bathroom and took a quick peek inside. They have an informational desk, exhibits, bookstore, etc. We enjoyed walking out back where there’s a boardwalk to the shore and some informative signs about Tsunamis among other things. There was a cool bird’s nest we observed as well. We later stopped in Cave Junction, Oregon for lunch at a Dairy Queen. Then, we…