We took a much needed vacation this week. We drove out to the coast on Sunday and setup camp. We stayed in a yurt at Nehalem Bay State Park-- that was a wise decision on our part, it rained really hard one night. Aside from the rain at night, the weather couldn't have been better.
We spent Monday in Astoria. We took Bubba up the Astor Column and threw airplanes off the top. A few of our planes made it across the street. As I looked down the grassy hill that the column sits on, I couldn't help but think about ice blocking, it's been years since I have been.
We hit up the Maritime Museum for a few hours. I knew that the area where the Columbia River meets the ocean is dangerous because my grandparents were almost killed in a storm there once, but after reading about all of the ships that have had problems and people who have died in that area, I think I can say I don't have a desire to go boating in that region. It is truly amazing what the Coast Guard does.
We thought it would be fun the drive across the really long bridge that connects Oregon to Washington, so we did. That is by far the longest bridge I have ever been on.
We came across the North Head Lighthouse. Andy stayed in the car with a sleeping Bubba and I ran a quarter of a mile to the lighthouse. I was hoping to get a stamp in my lighthouse passport. I quickly realized that there was no where to get a stamp. I was cold so I snapped a few photos and raced back to the car. It wasn't until later when I was looking at the photos that I realized that this lighthouse had no light-- this has caused me to ponder a lot.
Tuesday we visited Seaside. We tried to make arrangements to go on a helicopter ride, but the helicopter was put away in a hanger in Astoria for several days because they were expecting bad weather. Instead we took you on your first carousel ride, you liked it at first and then you cried. The ride operator stopped the ride, so you could get off. Daddy bought some saltwater taffy and Mommy tried to convince him to ride the mechanical shark. Mommy failed.
We spent a good portion of the day on Cannon Beach. I was finally able to see that famous rock (Haystack Rock). We found two red rock crabs on the beach, we wish we could have kept them but we didn't have a shellfish license.
Wednesday we headed for home. On our way home we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I think being a connoisseur of cheese must be in our blood. Bubba, you ate A LOT of cheese! The cheese curds were your favorite! Daddy took you through the sample line more times than I can count.
The rest of the week was spent at home trying to finish up some never ending projects.
