Oregon Coast

 Sometimes the most random trips are the best trips. Sarah came to Oregon for a Woodbury reunion and then all the boys flew off to water polo camp. Instead of heading home, she and Isla stayed for a few days and we joined them on the coast. I've always wanted to try Tillamook and it didn't disappoint. 

Tuesday we drove down and of course had to stop at IKEA in our forever hunt for all the pieces of our entertainment center. Will it ever end? Who knows. 

That night we got to our awesome airbnb and Isla started teaching Clark how to play chess. Sarah and I caught up on all the hot goss and it was lovely. It may have been 100+ in Yakima, but the coast was cool so we opened the windows and enjoyed our nice 60 degrees while poor Dana sweated it out at home. 

Wednesday we got into the true Tillamook passion - cheese. Their factory does a free tour that gives samples, teaches about the cows and even lets you watch real workers on the assembly line. It was fascinating, especially when something broke on one machine so we got to watch these poor workers scramble to pull off all the blocks of cheese. 

Sarah led us to a really cool hike up to a waterfall. There was a road closed sign at one point which everyone just goes around so they can get even closer. Our group did the hike with all the kiddos in flip flops and it was seriously cool. 

As if that wasn't enough, we finished the day at my favorite beach of the trip. There was zero wind so it was warm and the sand was dry. The kids played for hours in this little river and chased the birdies all over the beach. 

Thursday we headed up to Seaside because we heard they had some cool beaches and a nice aquarium. Well...we did find an aquarium and I guess it had some nice parts. Clark sort of enjoyed feeding the seals but I think his face tells you what he thought of the sardines. 

My kids did NOT want to touch any of the sea creatures but they did make some cool rubbings and stalked the octopi. We also saw the COOLEST crab doing this hilarious dance while it just crawled over other fish in the tank. Didn't take a photo because we were laughing so hard. 

The beach we found was okay. Not as awesome as the first day but mostly because it was windy and so they got cold quickly. It did have a giant rock formation that we finally saw when the mist cleared away. Still lots of fun to get messy and sandy. 

That night we ate pizza and painted rocks! 

Friday was our last day together. Unimpressed with the aquarium, we went to the Tillamook air museum with very low expectations which were quickly blown out of the water. It was amazing!! The museum is in an old WWII blimp hanger which was used to house 10 or so blimps during the war that would go out with ships during patrols. They had incredible aircrafts and displays, all super kid friendly, and a scavenger hunt that kept everyone engaged. We learned so much about the war and the fire that took out one of the hangers years ago. It was really educational and fun. 

Then we had the getting lost part of our trip due to a giant sinkhole opening up on the main highway to the beaches. We ended up backtracking quite a bit and finally had to go through a horrible logging road that almost ate Sarah's minivan. Still, we got to the beach and had a good time going through the hidden tunnel and looking for agates. No photos cause it was pretty dang cold and we didn't stay long. 

A great trip all together. Beating the heat. Staying up late chatting with my sis. The kids just hanging out and being silly and getting so much beach time. I think I might be sold on that Oregon cabin idea.