We took some money we got from family at Christmas (Thanks Grandma & Grandpa and George & Marilyn!) and planned a trip to get away for a much needed rest. It had been planned for January 10th, but snow happens and we had to cancel. Luckily, Dan's work was nice enough to let him have two more days off and we headed for Oceanside, Oregon for the 21st - 23rd.
On a previous trip to Seaside, we found these cute little cabins by the beach in this little town west of Tillamook. The OceanFront Cabins are priced just right for our budget. And although they are rustic, they are clean, comfortable and just the kind of place we look for.
We reserved the only cabin they had left that accepted dogs (two of them don't allow dogs, but most do), Cabin 18. The cabin had two bedrooms and we didn't need the second one, although I was tempted one night when the queen sized bed felt a little small. :)
We headed out on Sunday morning and drove south to Chehalis and after at stop at our Olympia rest stop we've become so familiar with, we cut over on Highway 6 towards the coast. We stopped at the Subway in Raymond for a sandwich and got to listen to all the local gossip while we stood in line.
We stopped again in Seaside for some sweets and a walk with the dogs and to get gas then we headed off for the cabins. We arrived around 4pm and got checked in and headed down to take the dogs for a walk. Here are some photos. The top two are the sunrise view from the front porch of our cabin (The cars are parked there for the cabins. The lot below is a State Park. The beach is just beyond.). The next two are Britt and Lucy loving the beach. The next three are views of the cabins from the road out front. That last picture is of our cabin, the one without the shingles on the wall out front.
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Monday morning we woke up and Dan made breakfast. After a walk on the beach with the dogs, we headed back inland to visit the Blue Heron French Cheese Company just north of Tillamook. We stocked up on brie, smoked salmon and bought some goodies for our friends Mindy and Robert who were feeding the cats for us. We talked about doing a picnic on the beach, but Dan saw on the map there was a fun windy road that went over the pass to Sheridan, where he went to boarding school when he was a teenager. We decided to make it a day trip out there.
We headed out and found the road without trouble. We even found a very detailed forest service map at an intersection where we weren't sure which way to go. Perfect! We passed some fantastic waterfalls like this one, and here's a picture of the dogs and Dan by the big map at the fork in the road.
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We got almost all the way up to the summit (or what we assumed was the summit) and it started to get sort of snowy on the sides of the road. Then we turned a corner and it was slushy snow over ice all across the road. We got a couple dozen feet into the snow and saw the road up ahead climbing higher and turning a corner. Dan got out of the car and walked ahead to see if he could see where the road went. I stayed in the car and started thinking about that poor family that was doing exactly what we were and got stuck. We both decided immediately that we weren't going further, but would save that route for another trip when the weather was better.
We headed back down and went out to the coast and had a picnic lunch. Then we walked out to the beach with the dogs. The dogs were nice enough to take a moment from their sniffing stuff to pose for what I humbly think is the best picture ever! Look at those dog smiles!! After that Dan ran off down the beach while I took pictures I won't bore you with. Then they played their favorite game. The drag whomever is attached to the other end of the leash out into the receding waves so they can sniff the bubbles coming up from the shellfish living under the sand. Then the next set of waves comes in and they play "Run away!!!" from the waves. Dan did a great job keeping his shoes dry. I always end up with a puddle in my socks. :)
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After our run on the beach, we headed back to the cabins and settled in on the front porch with our books and a beverage (Dead Guy Ale for Dan and Smirnoff's Green Apple for me.) Dan's been reading The Shining by Stephen King and I started Marley and Me which I got for Christmas (Thanks mom!). It was around 4pm and we read until the sun was almost down and then we did one more walk on the beach and went inside for dinner and more reading.
Dan headed in to bed around 10:30, but I stayed up until after midnight to finish my book! It was so good and such a fun read, even if it did make me cry at the end. If you love dogs, you have to read the story of Marley, the "world's worst dog". Very cute.
Tuesday morning we had breakfast and packed up the car. Dan had a nice run on the beach with the dogs while I packed. We got coffee at the little cafe next door and checked out at 10am.
We headed south into Lincoln City to find a bakery where we could buy a baguette for lunch (along with the rest of the brie and salmon. YUM!). Somehow we managed to miss the Safeway right by the casino, but we had a nice tour of the town. Then we headed out on the highway towards Sheridan to visit Dan's former school.
Dan attended his Freshman year of High School at The Delphian School up in the hills. He's told me many stories about it, but this was my first time visiting the campus. We didn't stay long, just drove through and I took some pictures.
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From there we stopped in McMinnville for dog walking and to split a sandwich. We stopped again for more lunch after a bad decision on the navigator's part. We drove through WAAAAAY too much stop and go expressway before getting to our next stop in St. Helen's on the river. Then we cut over the bridge in Longview, WA and headed up I-5 for home.
We listened to the President's State of the Union speech on the radio as we drove into Kitsap County. Then we picked up sandwiches for dinner in Poulsbo and got home around 8pm.
It was a fun trip. I never was able to really unclench all the way. Makes me think we just need to go back really soon! It's a great spot and I wish we had spent more time just sitting around the cabins and walking on that beach there. We always plan to do that on vacation, but we always end up running around and seeing things the whole time. What we really need is to relax and unwind a bit... one of these days. :)