The Oregon Coast

Talon and I headed up to the Tri-Cities on Saturday morning as the start of our one-week vacation. We arrived just in time to go to one of my good friends wedding receptions where we saw many other friends as well. They were all surprised to see me and my pregnant belly. Monday morning, my mom took Talon and I shopping for a cowboy hat for his graduation gift. He tried lots of different styles on, and he sure looked like a hunk to me, but we decided to keep searching for the perfect hat in Idaho. Tuesday morning was a big morning for the girls in my family. It was the day we had been waiting for since I announced I was coming home to visit. It was thrift store shopping day (and when I say day, I'm not exaggerating). We left the house a little after nine in the morning, hit six thrift stores between Kennewick and Pasco, had lunch at the usual El Chapala restaurant, and around 5:00pm headed home. We didn't even make it into Richland before I couldn't ignore my aching feet and had to turn in for the day. I was completely fulfilled having bought dozens of the cutest baby outfits, random knick knacks to put in my house, shoes, maternity clothes, more baby items, etc. It was a fun day with my sister and mom.

Wednesday morning, Talon and I packed up our things and headed down to the Oregon Coast. It was a very pretty drive, trees grew like tunnels over the roads.


We made a quick stop at a toll bridge called Cascade Locks, also known as the Bridge of the Gods.
























We made it to Newport, Oregon just in time to visit the Aquarium. This was Talon's first time going to an aquarium and he was pretty anxious to walk through the fish tank tunnel.

















































That night we cooked dinner over our campfire and hiked the short distance from our campsite to the beach for a walk.






hiking trail to the ocean













After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and sausage, Talon and I packed up camp and headed South to Yaquina lighthouse. It was a pretty place, but it sure smelled of bird droppings.


















view from the top










Our next stop was another lighthouse further down the coast called Heceta lighthouse. The area around this lighthouse was even more spectacular.


The light at the end of the tunnel













































Just a couple miles from Heceta lighthouse, we went to the sea lion caves. We went down a 20 story elevator into a dark and damp cave, but where were the sea lions? This time of year the sea lions were not found in the caves but after visiting the caves we were able to see them just outside. It was really cool watching them climb all over each other like slugs and watch as other sea lions came from all directions in the ocean to join them on the rock. Lets just say it was one big family reunion.

On our way to our campsite, we stopped along the beach to watch the sunset and walk through the warm sand. Because the tide was low, we were able to find live starfish and other shelled beings on large rocks. Talon decided he wanted to be adventurous and lead me back to the car around the large rocks just as the tide was coming in. Somehow, I was the one soaked in the end.


















































It was really cold!










That night we had another fun adventure as we went out to a nice seafood restaurant. I about freaked out when I noticed that nothing on the menu was less than $25, but Talon played it cool. He ordered a meal that had salmon, rock fish, oysters, and prawns and I got a crab appetizer. We each tried a little bit of all the different seafoods and everything was delicious (exept the oysters). Talon stuck one whole oyster in his mouth and had to spit it out into his napkin. Then, he tried to get me to eat one, telling me that they weren't that bad. He even stuck a second whole one into his mouth to try to convince me, but he couldn't see the face he was making in his attempt to keep the thing in his mouth. I didn't fall for it, but tried a tiny morsel of oyster for myself. I didn't mind it, but just the thought of eating more of the squishy, oozing oyster didn't kept me from trying any more.
The last day of our Oregon Coast adventure extended into the tip of California where we visited the Redwood forest. Paul Bunyan and his blue ox were there as well.




























While walking along a trail, we came upon a tree labeled "nursing tree" because a second tree had sprung and was feeding off of a fallen one. You can tell what my mind has been on lately because when we saw another tree that had fallen over, I named it "the birthing tree," and here is Talon delivering.














The nursing tree





























Can you find me?









We went out to eat again this night but decided to play it safe and went to an italian restaurant rather than a seafood one. Afterwards, we were lucky to snatch up the last available camp site at Honeyman campsite, and spent a relaxing evening roasting marshmallows and making smore's in the midst of Redwoods.

On our journey back to my parents house on Saturday, we stopped and made Talon's last vacation wish come true. We stopped at the sand dunes that ran directly into the ocean. I took pictures of Talon running down the steep slope into the ocean while I waited at the top. Heck, it took me at least five minutes just to get to the top, I wasn't going to do that on sand again.
















Our last and final stop was at Multanomah Falls. It was really busy when we arrived and it took us a while to find parking. When I finally got out of the car to see the Falls, I looked to the waterfall and said, "That's it!" From where we were standing, you could only see the very top of the falls, but it turned out to be a lot more beautiful once you got up close.






























It was fun to get away as a couple for our last big hoorah before the baby comes, and as much as we crammed into just a couple of days on the coast, it was a very relaxing vacation.