Our First Family Trip to Oregon
Oregon has been very hot and dry this summer which has caused a ton of wildfires. I made me sad to see that red sun caused by all the pollution from wildfires. The good news is that the kids were really good travelers. We stayed in Pendleton at the Red Lion Inn and the lounge entrance was closed. Marshal called told me it was a cage. I thought he was pretty spot on. lol (pic on the top in the middle)
Multnomah Falls
Our first item of business was to stop and hike at Multnomah Falls.
Kent had never been there and it is one of my favorite places in
Oregon so we had to stop and explore!
Portland Oregon Zoo
Everyone stops at the zoo on their vacation...right? When we planned this trip we were going to introduce Cort to my friend Roy, who was in fact a zoo keeper, & get a personal tour. Due to poor management Roy quit working at the zoo to pursue a new career a few weeks before we came so we weren't able to get the tour I had planned. My kids still enjoyed the zoo and Cort especially enjoyed seeing the flamingos!
Camp 18
This is one of those fun places Kent and I enjoyed visiting on our honeymoon. It is an old saw mill camp and it has a ton of old machinery. My boys seemed to enjoy it especially Marshal who wanted a picture with everything.
Peter Iredale Shipwreck Beach
There is an awesome history and story behind the Peter Iredale shipwreck you'll have to look up. We loved sharing the history of this with our boys and letting them explore the beach, ocean and we even got to see a live crab in the water. It was such a highlight!
Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock
One of my favorite beaches is Cannon Beach. I love the tide pools at Haystack Rock and I was so excited to share them with my kids. They LOVED it! Marshal especially loved the beach and had to be dragged away from it.
Columbia River Maritime Museum
One of the most fascinating places to go for an interesting lesson in history is the Columbia River Maritime Museum. My family really enjoyed learning and exploring the boats, the Columbia River at the mouth of the Pacific Ocean and many other facets of sea life.
Our tickets to the Museum included (I believe) a trip on the Columbia River Lightship.
We enjoyed exploring the way life on a boat would be.
Astoria Column and Fort Stevens
Astoria really does have some fascinating history! My boys enjoyed floating planes off of the Astoria Column and learning about the hidden military installation on the other side of where the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean meet.
Washington Lighthouses
We hopped in the car and drove across the Columbia River
to enjoy checking out the lighthouses of Southern Washington.
Cape Disappointment is in the top left picture and North Head Lighthouse
is on the bottom middle picture. It was under construction.
Tillamook
I think it's a written rule somewhere that if you take a trip to the Oregon coast that you have to stop for ice cream at Tillamook. We made sure not to break the rules!
The sharp white cheddar cheese was my favorite!
Otter Rock Beach
Just north of Newport, Oregon is Otter Rock. We stopped at the Cape Foulweather Lookout shop and watched some whales which was very cool! After that we met my dear friend Gretchan and her boys at the beach there and we had a blast! My kids absolutely LOVED the beach! I think I could spend a week at the beach with them and they would not get bored. My kids even caught tiny sand crabs. It was fun! After that we went to Mo's and had some lunch.
Hatfield Marine Science Center
Gretchan told me this was the place to go and she was right! We had a blast exploring tide pools, science exhibits and checking out the many other exhibits!
Newport Docks and the Seal Lions
For a real treat we went down to the docks (by Oregon Undersea Gardens) and enjoyed watching the sea lions. Cort and Marshal were almost as fascinated by the people who were there crabbing. The hardest part about being there was the heart attack I had as my kids got close to the end where those who were crabbing were throwing their cages in the bay.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse
It was colder this day and we had a lot of plans so we didn't go see the tide pools, but I think next trip we will have to schedule that in.
Yaquina Bay Historic Lighthouse
This lighthouse used to feature a cheesy ghost story, but these days the ghost story is only just mentioned and it is more of a historical tour. My kids enjoyed it.
Oregon Coast Aquarium
There was a lot that was fun to see at the aquarium, but I do have to say I think considering the price difference I did enjoy going to the Hatfield Marine and Science Center more.
I did enjoy seeing the strawberry anemone and Braxton loved the diagrams of the ships!
Marshal loved the spider crabs. I'm pretty sure Cort loved it ALL!
Another thing I learned about were sea pens.
They were interesting creatures I had never heard of before.
They are pictured here on the bottom left with Cort.
Devil's Churn and Thor's Well
We had such a blast at Devil's Churn. Marshal fell asleep in the car so we had to leave Kent with him in the parking lot. The older boys loved balancing rocks and we even got to see a purple shore crab. It was so much fun to watch. We were able to enjoy Thor's Well with Kent and Marshal after their naps.
Avery Park in Corvallis
It was so much fun to get together with Gretchan and her kids again and meet her husband. We also enjoyed being able to see Becca's Sister Jill and my old bishop David Bird. I was honored they took time out of their Friday's to come see me!
My Corvallis Memories
I wanted to take the kids to see the house I grew up in and my high school.
It was so fun to go back and relive some memories!
Portland Temple
We stopped by the Portland Temple and Cort LOVED the flowers!
I still have a lot of love for this beautiful temple!
Blackberry Picking
One of the highlights and a gift I'll keep enjoying until it's gone is the blackberries we picked. It is such a fun memory of Jeni and Kent and I picking blackberries until every bowl was brimming full and finishing up with phone flashlights and headlights!
Evergreen Aviation and Space Musuem
Because of Braxton's love for large vehicles (aka Titanic) we decided we needed make a stop in McMinnville at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Musuem to see the Spruce Goose. It was not quite as exciting as we had hoped and it was quite spendy, but I am sure those who love aviation would have been thrilled. I was interesting.
The trip ended with meeting Roy and Lisa for dinner in La Grande, Oregon.
As sad as I was that we didn't get the tour of the zoo I was so happy to be able to see Roy.
I can't wait to go back to play in Oregon's playground again!
