After two lovely weeks with my sister and her family in Hawaii and San Diego, it was finally time to return to my home state of Oregon. (since leaving Korea, I had been living out of a suitcase for over a month due to shipping my belongings overseas)
Flying is so easy now. I used to complain about anything over 6 hours, but after 16 hour flights over oceans, any flight in the U.S. is a breeze.
Especially when I fly from Portland to my tiny hometown. It’s less than thirty minutes, they don’t even have time to serve drinks! It’s marvelous. Plus, I got a view of my familiar rocks of home.
Now you’d think I’d go straight to bed and sleep for two days after all this travel wouldn’t you? Nah, I went on a road trip with my parents.
It was my birthday weekend so they decided to take me to my favorite place in Oregon, the coast! We have our favorite spots, but lately we’ve tried to explore new coastal towns, you know, to be fair.
We decided to start at Cape Meares. (get ready for a bunch of adorable shots of my parents) Now, be warned, the road to this place is long, windy, and feels kind of like a trap. But I promise, you will eventually get there.
Cape Meares has so many beautiful things. It has an adorable, short n’ stubby lighthouse, and the biggest Sitka Spruce in Oregon. If you are super lucky, you can even spot a few whales (I’m not apparently).
There’s tiny, private beach villages along the coastline that I definitely want to live in. (I plan on retiring as soon as I get published so I can write in a house on the coast with a window facing the Pacific)
This was such a beautiful view, I tried to capture it with watercolor, and quite liked how it turned out! (click painting for color)
I couldn’t help it, they were just so cute.
We also saw the Octopus Tree. A very strange and unusual tree! I purposefully didn’t include a photo, because you should just go see it for yourself!
Down a hill that you will complain about climbing later, you can find your way down to the Cape Meares Lighthouse, but make sure to enjoy this view on your way down.
I told you, my parents cannot hold in their cuteness.
Or their tendency to be blown by the strong coastal winds…
Ok, last one I swear.
Ok I lied. I just want these criminals to be brought to justice.
It was a perfect ‘Welcome back to Oregon’ day.
Our first day done, we drove to Garibaldi for dinner at Pirate’s Cove. Wow, this food was delicious. The view was beautiful with bald eagles circling the bay! Reviews online are mixed, but we had an amazing experience.
We checked into The Ashley Inn in Tillamook that evening. This is such a sweet place with continental breakfast (which we missed), complimentary coffee (which we took advantage of), and DVDs to rent (which we didn’t notice until we were leaving).
Tomorrow held cheese, ice cream, and a land of Enchantment…