Oregon Coast Vacation

Today we got back from our Oregon Coast vacation. We spent a whole week site seeing and enjoying the ocean and beach. We headed to Portland last Saturday to stay with my Aunt and Uncle while passing through. We had a nice time visiting and Michael and Macie LOVED playing with their older cousins Cole and Jake. On Sunday we followed them down to McMinnville to visit the Evergreen Aviation Museum together. This is where Howard Hugh's "Spruce Goose" is kept. It was definately a site to see! It was huge! We also saw a variety of airplanes and jets that have been flown thoughout the decades. Michael was in Heaven!

( The Spruce Goose)

From there, we went to Rockaway Beach where we stayed for 3 days in a beach-house. I have never had this opportunity and I highly recommend it over staying in a motel. The view was amazing and being able to step out with the beach right at your back doorstep was wonderful! The kids were able to fly kites (thanks Aunt Jean), find seashells, build sandcastles, chase the waves, and we even built a fire on the beach and roasted marshmallows. It was perfect! The weather even seemed to be cooperating (for the Oregon Coast). It was in the upper 60's low 70's with almost no wind.

On Monday we drove to Tillamook to eat lunch and have icecream at their cheese factory. Yummy! On Tuesday we drove to Seaside and window shopped. We then drove to Cannon Beach and played in the water and sand. It was a beautifuly, warm day. The only negative was being 7 months pregnant and having to walk a mile in the sand, with my 4 year old, just to get to the bathroom! On Wednesday we drove to Lincoln City, had some delicious fish and chips for lunch, did some shopping at their outlet mall, and then continued on to Newport. We stayed in Newport for 2 days. We walked around the historic bayfront and saw the fishing boats at the docks, went to the underwater seagarden, and viewed 2 lighthouses. Friday we left the coast and headed back home. We made a pit stop in Salem, OR and went to a theme park called " The Enchanted Forest". It was a neat little place with kiddie rides and some fun theme towns to walk through. Michael went on his first rollercoaster and loved every minute of it. Macie was able to ride a little choo choo train that made had all sorts of noises and had lots of gadgets to push. I think this was her favorite part of the trip! We decided to camp for the night just outside of Bend, Oregon. We brought our tent and sleeping bags and "roughed" it. Michael and Macie are only used to camping with our camper, so this was a new adventure for them. They didn't even want to roast marshmallows that night because they were so eager to sleep in the tent! Saturday we drove 7 hours back to Meridian and were very happy to be out of the car by then. Macie can really only tolerate 1 hour and then she's pretty whiney from there on out. So, you can imagine our state of mind by the time we reached home!

(Creepy witch house!)

We haven't been on a family vacation in 2 years, so this was a special treat. It was refreshing and so much fun seeing the kids smiling and giggling. I think parents get as much of a thrill by just watching their children having a good time. Making memories is what it's all about!

P.S. Sorry if I got carried away with the pictures.....there were just so many to choose from!