Beachcombers

The day after I got back from Palm Desert, Clint and I drove down to the Oregon coast. My grandparents had a timeshare in Rockaway (south of Canon Beach) for years, and then gave it to my mom and uncle. Since it wasn't being used this year, Clint and I got to take advantage!

I hadn't been since I was younger (I actually remember watching the news about Aaliyah's plane crash while we were there, so I guess 12 years ago), and was looking forward to going back.

We took the longer scenic route there since we had time, cutting over to Montesano and down the Washington coast. A little less boring than driving down through Centralia. It was a gray cloudy day, but we lucked out with no rain.

crossing the bridge to Oregon

Our first stop in Oregon was in Astoria to see the house from The Goonies. I had googled the address, and when we saw this sign, we knew we were in the right spot. 

There it was, just like in the movie when Chunk does the truffle shuffle, minus the crazy mouse trap contraption to open the front gate.

Goonies

We also decided to stop in Seaside since it was on our way. We drove along the beach, not getting out of the car, and people watched for a bit.

good day to fly a kite

We stopped a couple more times before getting to Rockaway at Canon Beach and a couple lookout spots. Even though it was all gray, everything still looked really pretty. 

I'm not drunk - it was really bright. And Clint
takes forever to take a picture

looking out over Manzanita

clouds and ocean all meshing into one

We eventually made our way to Rockaway and got checked into our room. We had a great view of the beach, two bathrooms, a little kitchenette, a DVD player and a fireplace…we were set!

view from the room

Once we were settled in, we went out to the Whale Spout for dinner, which was delicious. We also stopped at the market for ice cream to bring home to eat while we watched one of the movies we checked out from the front desk, Alien. So scary!

The next day, we got an early start and went to Tillamook to visit the cheese and ice cream factory.

cheese!

You're able to take a free self guided tour overlooking the factory and watch how they make and package cheese. The place is full of informational signs and videos…Clint was in heaven.

This little girl was not though. She put herself in timeout and practically folded in half while screaming. Her dad didn't seem to care. Poor little thing.

not having any fun

Checking out the factory was pretty cool. I would be so tempted by all that cheese everyday!

We then got to sample a bunch, and bought some of our favorites to bring home. We also had to get ice cream cones, I mean right?

cheese line

cheese curds - squeaky cheese

so cheesey

From there we drove out to Oceanview, a town just southwest of Tillamook, on my grandpa's recommendation.

driving past the Tillamook cows

We didn't actually stop in Oceanview (since we were too full from ice cream for lunch), but we did drive up the steep windy hill checking out all the cool beach houses.

view from the hill at Oceanview

beach at Oceanview

As we looped around heading back to Rockaway, we came up to a lookout spot near the Cape Meares Lighthouse and checked it out. I'm glad we did, cause it was a pretty cool spot.

Cape Meares Lighthouse

The lighthouse was open, so Clint and I were able to take a tour up to the the top. Clint again was in heaven asking a bajillion questions.

learning all sorts of stuff

looking through the red glass

After the lighthouse, we drove back to Rockaway and found a tavern to watch the Huskies play the Ducks. We were definitely in enemy territory. We were the only ones in purple in a sea of green. After we lost, we drowned our sorrows in a couple more beers and split a pizza before heading home.

train crossing on our way back to the resort

sunset

view from our balcony

Having just seen the goonies house, we were feeling nostalgic to watch it. Luckily the front desk had it for us to rent! Funny to see scenes that we had now seen in real life. I also don't remember it being so cheesy, but it was oh so good.

The next day was absolutely gorgeous. A big change from the day before, so sunny and not a cloud in the sky. We decided to drive north to check out the town of Manzanita. Along the way, we stopped at the Nehalem Bay State Park to look around. Seemed like a pretty fun place to camp, plus the beach is just a short walk away.

sand surfing

beachcombers

cool drift wood

panoramic with tiny Clint on the left

We continued on to Manzanita and walked around for a while before finding a hole in the wall bar to catch the second half of the Seahawks game.

cute pots in Manzanita

gords

We lucked out at the bar, they were having a special since they were closing the next day for renovations…$2 beers! We watched the Seahawks beat the Titans, and headed home. We got there just in time for a walk on the beach at sunset.

For dinner, we made grilled cheese sandwiches (with our new cheese!) and tomato soup…and of course more ice cream for dessert.

The next morning, we slept in and took our time packing up leaving. I made us some breakfast while Clint had to do a conference call for work. Afterwards, we said goodbye to Rockaway and checked out a few more spots on the coast on our way back home.

Our first stop was Hug Point. I had read online that there are some cool views there, and they were right. Fun caves to check out, a waterfall, and a beautiful beach to walk along.

we thought these signs were pretty funny
with all their strict rules - watch for sneaker waves!

another gorgeous fall day

checking out some caves

waterfall!

little creek that fed into the waterfall

playing with barnacles

such a pretty day

more caves

After Hug Point, we drove into Canon Beach to explore and have lunch.

charming little coast town

true.

kegs of booze

picture of Clint by the library for his mom

I was on the hunt for pizza by the slice, and my senses led me here to Fultamo's. It was pretty delicious and really hit the spot.

We made one last stop before leaving the coast, and that was to drive through Ecola State Park. It was a windy bumpy drive, but we ended up at a cool beach where people were surfing. Clint was pretty jealous, and may have even changed the bias he has towards SoCal beaches. He chatted it up with one guy, and may even want to come back next summer to try it out (in a wet suit of course, brr).

sweet setup

watching the surfers

Overall, it was a great trip. We've even found ourselves saying lately, "I wish we were back in Oregon." It was just so nice to not be on a schedule, and we really lucked out with the weather. Thanks Mom, we had a blast!