The Beautiful Oregon Coast

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…

1989 Mother Tour Comes to a Close

We finally made it!! Our beloved home State of Oregon!!!

Yes, I did screech my tires, pull over and run up to the sign and hug it.
We had fun in California, but nothing quite compares to the ocean air, the fresh water, the incredibly nice people…

Almost as soon as we crossed over the border, I stopped at Dutch Bros. I couldn’t wait to get an Iced Kicker! As I finished paying, the teenage girl handed me my coffee and said, “How are you doing today?”

I almost started crying. I missed this! People actually caring about others. She was considerate and polite and didn’t even realize how rare of a find she was in this country, let alone her age group. Once again, Oregon proves its worth.

My Mom loves the old bridges in Oregon, so she decided to sketch one out to paint later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was going to be our last day traveling. We left Arcata that morning and ran through the redwood forest. All that was left now was to enjoy the Oregon Coast line on the way up to Florence. There was no way I would be driving to Oregon and not getting a bowl of Mo’s Chowder…but that comes later.

What I had initially planned, months before this whole trip, was to visit as many light houses as possible on the California/Oregon coast. I failed miserably at this. I overbooked myself, thinking I could do a zillion things, but driving eats up so much of the day!

We did manage to see one, Cape Blanco Light house, located just outside Port Orford, Oregon.

It’s part of Cape Blanco State Park, home to the windiest, steepest, gravelliest roads ever.

Another attempt at watercolors, this looks almost identical to one I did…when I was seven.

As we climbed further north, my Dad kept calling, asking when we would be home. He was getting very impatient since we were a day behind schedule (thanks a lot San Francisco).

But we couldn’t help pulling over to soak up as much of this gorgeous coastline as we could!!

I’ve always loved how outrageously graphic Oregon warning signs are.

We even stopped at a bookstore in Gold Beach, Oregon. It was a dollar sale, how could we resist?? We ended up buying a book on tape to keep us awake. BEST IDEA EVER. I can’t believe we hadn’t been doing this the whole time instead of playing the alphabet game a billion times (and Taylor’s 1989 album of course).

Driving through trees and misty corners gets a little creepier when you’re listening to Stephen King’s book Salem’s Lot read to you in very convincing voices. (it’s about vampires)

Luckily, we escaped from King’s creepy clutches by reaching Mo’s!!

We’ve been going to Mo’s for over twenty years, because it’s that good. The clam chowder is the reason you come; the service, atmosphere and clam strips are why you stay.

Because we are the nicest people ever, we brought a case of chowder base home for my Dad.

After a very long day of driving, we finally made it home to Central Oregon. I was so happy to see my Dad and my brother again!

This was an incredible trip. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it. Although we had some hang ups and wished we could’ve stayed longer in places, every moment spent in that car with my Mom was wonderful. We hadn’t spent 15 days straight with each other for almost ten years! Not only did our mother-daughter relationship survive, but I think our friendship as two women really grew.

Travelling together really tests a relationship. You experience a lot of discomfort and discover new things that may annoy you about a person. It can also show you how they handle a crisis, what kind of music gets them in a good mood, and it reveals the goofiness that exhaustion brings, creating the best jokes on the planet.

So choose your co-pilots wisely. Make sure your personalities will compliment each other. If you are a planner, and your friend likes to wing it, communicate before you start driving what kind of schedule you’d like to keep. If you’re on a budget, but they want to wine & dine the whole way, that needs to be addressed as well. It can all go swimmingly as long as you both communicate everything you expect from the trip.

Beginner’s Road Trip Checklist:

• killer mixtape (books on tape highly recommended)
• good co-pilot (must be willing to chat it up when it’s dark)
• road snacks (nothing smelly or crumbly)
• water water water
• general plan of where you wanna go. (this can be wibbly wobbley)
• Zero Expectations, just a goal to HAVE FUN!!!

1989 Mother Tour – Southern California

We had finally made it to the West Coast!! The end was drawing near, but California had so much fun in store for us!

First stop San Diego

…to stay with my sister and her family. I had been missing this nephew of mine hardcore. I hadn’t seen my partner in crime in nearly 9 months!!

We couldn’t wait to start making trouble.

Obviously, the first thing we needed was rest. Driving really takes it outta you. Sun, sand, and warm air was the only cure we needed.

This bug is getting so huge. I had a really hard time saying goodbye to him, knowing he will be so much bigger the next time I see him. He’ll know more things, have seen more, and maybe, just maybe, not want as many kisses from Auntie anymore…

But we didn’t want to focus on that. Instead, we focused on injury #3.

All Mom wanted was to enjoy her book and eat her sandwich, but the seagull didn’t feel that was an option. He decided she didn’t want it enough, swooped down and snatched the entire sandwich from her hand.

“Only you, Mom,” we all said

It was a perfect day with this little bug.

After a very tearful farewell, with many blowing kisses, we started out early for Anaheim, California.

Second Stop, Disneyland!!

My father went to Disneyland as a kid, my brother went as an adult. My sister went to Walt Disney World for her honeymoon, and I worked there for 3 years.

My mom was the only one to never have experienced the House of Mouse firsthand. I needed to fix that.

This was my first time as well, to Disneyland. I knew the basic Disney tricks to get us around quickly, but in terms of knowing about all the attractions, there were a lot I didn’t recognize.

I’d describe it as the better, even more kid-friendly version of The Magic Kingdom. In Florida, MK has around 13 rides that any child can ride. At Disneyland, they have over 20. Anyways, don’t get me started on comparing parks…

Another perk was Disneyland was celebrating its 60th Anniversary. I feel like these days, they have an anniversary for everything, but this one was actually legitimate. 60 is the Diamond year, so that was the theme throughout the park.

First thing we had to do was get our buttons. Mom got a First Visit and I got a Happy Birthday one, hey it was the following week…

She thought this was incredible and couldn’t believe I knew about it. C’mon Mom…(just stop by Guest Relations on your way in to get some, the building is usually labeled City Hall)

Next was the big reveal of the castle. I filmed her reaction. I’ve gotta say, I was a little underwhelmed. She probably thought it was charming and loved it. I’ve just been spoiled with the greatness that is Cinderella’s Castle in Florida, so Sleeping Beauty’s is kind of blah.

But unlike WDW, we got to go inside this one. Each corridor led to another part of the story, all self-led.

She didn’t care about Meet & Greets with Characters (thank goodness) or hitting every single ride. We picked a few areas and let the day plan itself. We rode Jungle Cruise & The Haunted Mansion and explored Tom Sawyer Island.

I couldn’t let my Mom leave this place without trying the glorious Mickey’s Premium Bar.

We got souvenirs for surprisingly cheap in a glassware shop. We each got mugs and engraved glasses celebrating the 60th.

Lastly, before we headed out, we watched the 60th Celebration Parade. If there’s one thing that Disney know how to do well (besides fireworks), it’s a parade.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It really killed me that we couldn’t stay all day to see the fireworks show at night. It’s something I’ve always wanted to show my Mom.  I really regret not biting the bullet and delaying the schedule to stay an extra day so she could’ve seen it.

But we had a blast. We drove the rest of the day, ending in Santa Maria. We couldn’t go too far because we were meeting an old friend in the morning that we both hadn’t seen in ten years!!

I decided to try my hand at people this time and practiced with the parade dancers.

Independence Day

We met our friend for breakfast. She was my youth pastor and a wonderful friend growing up. I miss her council and complete non-judgmental understanding.

Seeing her again definitely made our morning.

We were aiming for Napa Valley, but my Mom really wanted to drive through San Francisco. This, my friends, was a HUGE MISTAKE.

Pier 39 is a mess on the fourth of July. Never ever go there. We drove for two hours looking for a parking spot. I finally had to admit defeat and take the day as a loss. It wasn’t all bad though. We got some beautiful shots going over the bridge.

We also spent the night with my sister’s in-laws who lived about thirty minutes outside the city. They took us up this humongous hill so we could watch the fireworks shows of all the surrounding towns.

Even though we lost a day, it was a blessing to see friends and family.

Next Up: Napa Valley & The Redwood National Forest!

Me: so many hours, I can’t even keep track anymore

Mom: 2