Oregon: Part One: Lewis and Clark and Pollards

My mom invited us up to Oregon for a week. She lives near Seattle and drove down, while we flew in. So the boys got to fly, in a plane! And take a shuttle from the parking lot to the airport! It was so exciting!

My dad loaned us his car while he drove with my mom. John and I were so shocked at all the brilliant greens, I kept taking pictures from the car window. California has such a beige-ie cast to it, which I can see because I've lived in Arizona which is so red. The green was so much brighter than I could capture.

We drove from Portland to Cannon Beach which is about 80 miles. You start in a city, head through the plains and farmland, into a rain forest. Here is our drive:

I know, no one likes photos taken from the passenger seat...it's better than the drivers seat! Sunny and lovely and green and blue!

Here's where we stopped when Bee announced, "I have to poop!" And like Annie, when he's gotta go, he's gotta go. This is Rogue Pub and Eatery in North Plains:

I like little towns, so I took another photo:

Back in the car, we drove through the farmlands and into the forest:

Through a tunnel! Ooooh! You can see the wipers...classy...

Then freak rainstorm, which my parents, who were ahead of us never experienced:

That was the first time I fully understood the "don't like the weather, wait five minutes," joke.

Five minutes later:

We finally made it to Arch Cape and the kids were ready for the beach. This little hole in the hedge led directly to the rocky beach.

Yay! Beach! Here are the boys and their cousins running around on the beach. I have no idea what Bee found, but it wasn't pretty:

The next morning, we drove to Astoria for the Midsummer Scandinavian Festival. Did I mention I'm norwegian?

The boys were starving so we got them some homemade pannukakku, a fluffy Finnish pancake type thing. Really yummy, reminded me of a dutch baby pancake. I still have the recipe from the festival, I will be making it soon. Hartwell was probably singing, fueled by his pannukakku and ham steak. That kid sings constantly!

After sampling the scandinavian delicacies and purchasing swords and t-shirts, we drove down to Fort Clatsop, one of the spots Lewis and Clark spent the winter. The fort is a reproduction, but super cool. I really hope everyone was shorter back then. Hartwell is just starting to make silly faces in his pictures. I love it...(I don't).

The view from inside the tiny, dark bedrooms in the fort.

Down the hill from the fort is a small spring leading to the ocean. One of the reasons the fort was built there. Did I mention that the trees were huge?!

For lunch we went to Fort George Brewery. They did not have room for all nine of us, so they sat us next door in the actual brewery. Our table was right outside the tasting room and there was foosball and shuffleboard for the kids! Only one small injury from shuffleboard because they were trying to play shufflejoust.

Our last stop was Fort Stevens. A WWII fort. Lots to climb on with crazy ladders and passageways and  stairwells. Here's Bee at an old cannon. I should not be standing there...

That was only 2 days! 

What?! You want to read more longwinded Oregonian vacation musings?

Oregon: Part Two: Cheese and Crabs and Sharks better scurry...

Oregon: Part Three: Adventures in Astoria

Oregon: Part Four: Hugs and Voodoo