Our adventure up the Oregon coast continues. Our base for two nights was Yachats, OR, which is about halfway up the Oregon coast. On our first evening, we got a delicious dinner at a local brewery.
After dinner we walked down to the bay to see if the tidepools had much to offer (they didn't really in that spot).
The next morning we drove a few miles south to Cape Perpetua National Forest (the whole state vs. national nature area thing can be confusing because both require day use passes). We explored the tidepools first, while the tide was low. There are a lot of very rough rocks along the coast and it was hard to find amazing pools, but we did find some treasures along the way.
Touching sea urchins
The focus of my search was finding more rare finds. I found a few sea stars along the way, some of which were out of the water.
We then drove to a lookout area on the cape.
At one look out spot, we were able watch a group of whales swimming in the water below.
We drove north to Newport for our long awaited meal at Pig 'n Pancakes. The kids enjoyed some great after lunch brunches. Carter got Swedish pancakes with lingonberries and Ashlynn got pancakes and then shared eggs benedict with crab with me (so yummy!).
He ate it all (well, I had a few bites).
After our late lunch we drove a few miles north to Yaquina Head Outstanding Nature Area (that's its name!) to see the lighthouse. They have a pretty impressive interpretive center that we had to check out fairly quickly before heading out to the super windy point where the lighthouse stands.
We needed to do some laundry so we found a laundromat in Waldport. While Eric took care of the loads, I took the kids a few blocks to a little beach so they could FINALLY fly the kite we had brought on the trip. It was a perfect day for flying a kite and it took little effort for our inexperienced kite flyers to get the kite into the sky. Carter was giddy about flying it and bounced and giggled. My favorite declaration from him was when he called out, "I am not totally like Charlie Brown! I CAN fly a kite!"
Before heading back to the house to make dinner, we stopped back in Cape Perpetua during high tide to see the water play on the rocks near Cook's Chasm.
Spouting Horn
Thor's Well
After dinner we walked out to the point near our place that is a part of the state park. Along the way we spotted seals playing in the bay.
And there were whales offshore.
We watched the sunset. Ashlynn took the camera and got a few photos of Eric and me.
After packing up the next morning, we drove north to Tillamook. Our main destination was the Tillamook Cheese Factory.
There were hundreds of people there! Most of them seemed to be there for the ice cream.
They have a free cheese tasting.
Eric's dream come true. Ha!
Ashlynn has talked of someday becoming a cheesemaker, so she was in cheese heaven.
We got lunch there. We all either got grilled cheese sandwiches or mac and cheese.
Then we HAD to get ice cream for dessert.
Look at all the flavors! Ashlynn got caramel toffee crunch, Eric got chocolate and peanut butter, Carter got Oregon blueberry patch and I got wild mountain blackberry.
We drove more north to Cannon Beach and found a spot on the beach with a view of Haystack Rock. There was some more kite flying.
Eric found that it was harder that he expected.
Ashlynn also enjoyed running and sliding into the sand.
My boys
Ecola State Park has beautiful views of the coast looking down toward Haystack Rock.
Three photos taken by Ashlynn. She's getting good!
The Tillamook Rock Light is set on some rocks out from the shore.
We checked into our cabin in Fort Stevens State Park. Not long after we arrived the firewood cart came by! I got the giggles that we had firewood delivered!
A deer passed right by our site.
The cabin. Not bad!
Eric was able to BBQ steaks we picked up at the local Fred Meyer's. Our sides were microwaved Ready Rice (no stove, only a microwave) and Washington cherries (Washington is only across the river!). Not exactly camp food!
After dinner we drove to another part of the park to check out the Peter Iredale shipwreck. On a clear day like we had, it's hard to imagine running aground on that sandy beach, but I suppose during a storm I can imagine.
Ashlynn's sand photo was pretty cool!
We were able to explore Battery Russell all ourselves. It's a World War II gun battery. Fort Stevens was actually fired upon by a Japanese submarine during the war!
The only occupants now are birds, which would dash out of rooms when you came in. I found a nest that they were concerned about. No eggs!
And of course we had to make s'mores that evening. Our time outside didn't last long. Despite bug spray and long clothes, the mosquitos were after us. I was bit 3 times through my jeans!
Breakfast in the morning
Our final activity in Oregon was a visit to a recreation of Lewis and Clark's Fort Clatsop. I had Carter wear the coonskin hat I brought on the trip. He wasn't thrilled but ended up getting quite a few compliments on it. It was a great visit and we wished we had more time for it.
Yes, there was a bit of a living history aspect to it. So you know I LOVED it.
We learned some fascinating things from a guide who is a former Oregon fourth grade teacher. I think we could have spent hours with him! We learned about collecting salt, making leather from elk, about Clark never actually being a captain, and so much more.
This trip continues to be pretty cool! Looking forward to what Washington brings!
