We continued our Oregon roadtrip with a trip to the coast. We grabbed some lunch at a local brewery (every restaurant in Oregon seems to be attached to a brewery) and then headed off to Cannon Beach. At the beach, there was a commotion since there was an ocean rescue in progress. We tried our best to stay out of the first responders' way and maintain a sense of normalcy for the kids' sake.. but needless to say, I didn't let the kids near the surf for the remainder of our stay along the Oregon coast. Relatively oblivious, the kids happily contented themselves searching in the small tide pools (under close supervision) and burying each other in the fine, soft sand.
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| Look ma, no pants! |
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| Cannon Beach is famous for Haystack Rock |
We then checked into our rental in the nearby town of Seaside. When Joe had presented the rental options, I specifically chose this Airbnb because of the two bunk bed room. It did not disappoint. The kids quickly claimed their bunks and Jad complained that it "wasn't fair" that he couldn't sleep in the kids' room.. he eventually relented and said that he would sleep with the big kids when he was six, like Sora. It was a bit crazy having Ryan, Kai and Sora in one room (Ryan claimed to be up until 11), but it was a lot of fun for them and I think it was good bonding time for the cousins.
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| The kids enjoyed this table-sized checkers set |
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| Cousin love <3 |
We opted for easy for our first night at the coast and ordered pizza to-go, and then walked from our rental to the beach for more playing in the sand.
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| With lots of room to spare, it was nice to have a grownups' table.. |
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| .. and a kids' table |
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| Some sensitive artistry by Nik |
There were lots of broken fragments of sand dollars on the beach, so Sora wanted to go to the beach early the next morning to look for a whole sand dollar. We searched and ended up finding lots of tiny, albeit fragile, sand dollars. After returning from our sand dollar hunt, we joined the rest of the family who were heading on a walk down "the prom" which runs along the seaside to the small downtown strip.
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| The Prom with Tillamook Head in the background |
The downtown strip was pretty standard, with restaurants serving standard American fare and kitschy tourist shops. There was a small midway with bumper cars and rides, but we passed on them since Kai was too short to ride unattended. We found a smoked salmon store for a healthy-ish lunch and then I walked home to get the van (there was no way that Jad would make it for the walk back home) while everyone else went to the arcade.
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| Soon, he won't tolerate these silly photo ops. If you look at his expression, he's barely tolerating them already :P |
We returned to our rental and after a quick nap for Jad (going back to get the van was a good idea), we went back to the beach to play. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand and much to Sora's delight, we found two large, whole sand dollars in the surf!
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| Ryan and Kai blinded by sand being blown up by the wind |
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| The haul |
It was the cousins' last day together and after another late night, shared room shenanigans, we parted ways and headed for the next leg of our trip to Bend. We stopped in Salem for a hearty lunch, made a spontaneous decision to check out the Detroit Dam (random road trip stops are part of the fun!) and pondered the burnt landscape along the drive. Perhaps distracted by our own wildfire drama, we didn't realize that there had been a large wildfire which had devastated the area last year. It was also interesting to see the lush, green forests I usually associate with Oregon transition into a high desert terrain shaped by a volcanic history.
Bend was a quick pitstop for us to visit friends, but is probably worth another trip to actually stop and explore the city. The town isn't big, but has experienced a recent population boom of people looking to trade their urban lifestyles for an active, outdoorsy one. There are lots of trendy restaurants and so many roundabouts. By chance, Nik had found out that Jean, Anthony and family happened to be vacationing nearby, so we met them for dinner. It was great to see them, though difficult to have a meaningful conversation with young children in a restaurant setting.
We stayed the night in Bend (the kids were bummed that the hotel pool could only be used by one family at a time and needed to be reserved well in advance). The next morning, we met Jess, Micah and family for a Father's Day brunch at their home. Our kids were entertained by the trampoline and the abundance of toys, it was nice to catch up and it was a good way for the kids to blow off some steam before another long day's drive.
The drive down from Bend was uneventful. We tried to stop at a fish hatchery along the way, but were disappointed to find that it was closed. Our next stop was Fall River Mills, a quintessential small town. We tried to explore the very small downtown, but most of the storefronts were closed or vacant. The local museum highlighting the history of the intermountain area and probably would've been interesting if it wasn't already closed.
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| Happy Father's Day, Nik! Sad that the fish hatchery was closed, but at least we got a good picture of Nik and the kids |
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| Yogurt stop at Klamath Falls |
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| Fun photo op at the Fort Crook Museum |
The next morning, we headed off to visit the main item on our agenda: a visit to McArthur-Burney State Park. Nik had read about Burney Falls and really wanted to visit on our drive down, so we made it a priority. For a relatively minimal amount hiking, you get an awesome payout with a spectacular waterfall.
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| We all enjoyed the benches engraved with inspirational quotes set along the short, loop hike |
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| Kai needed a pick-me-up after the hike. What better reward than soft serve? |
From McArthur-Burney State Park, we drove to the Lassen National Forest for a nearby lave tube hike. We were prepared and had brought headlamps and flashlights specifically for this hike. The kids enjoyed the pitch black trek through the tunnel and it was nice to do something so completely different from our last hike.
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| Sora's light up sneakers were perfect for this hike |
After a quick lunch stop just south of Redding, it was time for the long drive home. Immediately after the long and exhausting drive up to Oregon, Nik had forsworn another roadtrip, but I'm sure as time passes the kids will get older and easier and the past becomes rose tinted. Besides, there is definitely more to explore, and between Crater Lake, Lava Beds, and Lassen, I am sure we will visit again. ;)
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| Quick stop in Red Bluff for lunch |
