The Pacific Northwest

Our last leg of our trip can actually be broken up into a couple of legs. But by this time, I was getting pretty sick of living out of suit cases and unpacking and repacking. I think maybe 17 days is my limit for a vacation, although I know in my 28 day Alaska trip, I wasn't annoyed until at least day 22. I'll keep this in mind when we eventually go to Hawaii.

Monday July 22- Newport, Oregon

We left early Monday morning. After saying goodbye to Emily, Uncle Emmett and Aunt Patti, we headed off. We drove through Portland and all the way to Newport, about halfway down the Oregon Coast. It was amazingly cold there. I went to Alaska in the summer people, and this was way worse. After checking into the hotel, we walked down to the Chowder Bowl.

I love Clam chowder, made well of course-- not that stuff from a can, and this was supposed to be some good chowder. I ordered a shrimp basket, and a bowl to share with Asa and to see if Peyton would like it. I was skeptical, because he doesn't tend to like anything cream based. But he LOVED it.Mom got some coconut shrimp, the boys all got sandwiches, and Asa got a Shrimp-wich. It was, exactly like it sounds. And yummy.

After dinner, we walked back along the beach to our hotel. It was freezing, the wind was blowing, Calib's feet were numb, but we all had a good time jumping in the sand, sticking our toes in, and enjoying what scenery we could see, as it was very foggy.

Our hotel, however, lacking in it's internet, was a nice room. It actually had two rooms, and we had two double beds and pull out couch. Even better was the indoor pool. We never would have swam in the outdoor pool with those temperatures. And we had ton of snacks for bedtime/breakfast/ect. Thanks to Tim, Emily, her mom, and Aunt Patti! 

Tuesday July 23- Driving the Oregon Coast

I often say I have some favorite days I can pinpoint. Going to the Vikings/Lions game with my dad, and the day we drove from Anchorage to Fairbanks and stopping all the places in between. This might be another one.

We started out the day in Newport. Asa, Mom, Calib, and Peyton walked down the beach to get some coffee and hot chocolate at a little shop we had seen the day before. Mom wanted to walk the beach in the morning, and so they headed off while Hayden slept. By the time they got back I was packed up and ready to go.

Our first stop along the way was the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center. This was heaven for Peyton. Admission is by donation, we gave them $20, and along with it comes a nice hard cover book about Marine Science. We checked out their octopus, and many of their education displaces, also enjoying their touch tanks.

After awhile, we joined the estuary tour. We learned about the plants on the oregon coast. Some can even grow in salt water, and fins ways to get rid of the salt- some you can even eat although it's VERY salty, we learned about the grass that people imported from Europe and took over, we even learned about the little shrimp that live in the ground. It was about an hour walk, which even took us through some of the labs the students work in. Peyton was totally sold on the place, and now wants to go to Oregon State University.

Our next stop was for a picnic lunch, we found a pullover spot with some tables that wasn't right at the water hoping this would help with the warmth. It wasn't as cold, but it was still pretty chilly.

Continuing down the coast, we stopped at Devil's Churn. It's a narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean that creates quite the spectacle at high tide. We climbed all the way down to the bottom. Asa, Calib, and Peyton, went all the way back where the path really narrowed to find where the noise was coming from. It was very similar to that of a wave pool, only not at an amusement park-- in nature!

After leaving Devil's Churn, we stopped at the Sea Lion Caves in Florence. It's the largest sea cave in America. After taking an elevator down 200 feet, you enter a cave with an overlook into the larger cave that is home to many wild sea lions. They come and go, but the cave always has some to look at.

Not only did we get to see the sea lions, there was also lots of informational signs, and some really cool orange footed pigeons, that I thought were cool. Apparently they are sea birds, and rarely seen. It was sort of expensive, but a cool experience.

Usually you can also see some sea lions outside of the cave as well, but it was foggy, windy, and cold, so we only got to spot them in the caves.

Our trip down the coast continued, and we stopped at the Oregon Dunes State Recreation Area. Asa LOVES sand dunes, and had really wanted to go. It was a mixed experience. Even though we were in an area designated as no off road vehicle area, people were still driving stuff around us. It made me pretty nervous with the kids just out there jumping.

But, we did get some good jumping and climbing in. It remained pretty cold and windy too, so nobody (except maybe Asa) would have wanted to spend too long there anyway. Mom did climb all the way to the top with us all. It was quite the climb too. I wish any of these pictures gave anything justice: The size of the sand dunes, the awesomeness of Devil's Churn.. it just can't be captured.

After Sand dune jumping, we used a map given to us at the Marine Science Center to find some good tide pooling. I wish I could tell you all where it was, I don't really have a clue anymore, but it was the best tide pooling I had ever seen. There were THOUSANDS of sea anemones,a bunch of clams and muscles and probably hundreds of starfish, though most of them were out farther than we could touch.

The beach itself was so pretty and so different from Florida beaches. It's all just so natural and non-commercialized. While this is part of the charm of the Oregon Coast, I think I'd get sick of the cold weather, spotty internet, and miles of nothingness. But to visit, just lovely.

After that we drove, and we drove. I'm pleased to report nobody got car sick. The one thing I remember about the Oregon/California coast as a child, was how much everyone threw up on the trip from getting car sick. But not this time, thank you dramamine, and children who never ever get car sick. Somewhere along the way, two Elk even crossed the road. Flashback to my Moose in Alaska picture. Although, this time if you zoom in, you can totally see the Elk. We even got to see the sun set along the coast as we drove.

We finally stopped for dinner around 10. We couldn't find anywhere to stop (note the nothingness), and so we ended up at a McDonald's trying to get mom some wifi for her classes. When asked what his favorite part of the day was, Peyton replied with 'Today'. It was a day tailor made for him, but we all had an absolute great time.

We arrived at our cabin in Crescent City, California around 11. It was just a basic cabin, with 6 beds. But it was nice and cozy, and even had a space heater, because yes, we needed it.

Wednesday July 24-

After having lunch of beef stew (and grilled cheese in a camp pie maker for Hayden) at the campgrounds, we headed south to the Tree's of Mystery. We knew we found it when we passed the giant Paul Bunyan.

It's a sectioned off piece of forest with some really weird, unusual and big trees in it, including some redwoods. We walked the trails, and took in how unique the trees were.

Then we got to take the skytrail up to the top of the mountains. It was a 7 minute ride ot the top in a 6 person cabin. The views from the top were awesome. You could see the pacific ocean, and the awesomeness of the forest.

There was a trail to get back down, however, it was for advanced climbers only. You were given many warnings of how steep and rugged the terrain was. This only enticed Asa, Calib, and Peyton more. Hayden, mom, and I took the skytrail cabin back down, and waited about half an hour for the other boys. They said it was indeed for advanced climbers, steep, and rugged. However, they were happy to have done it.

We walked back through the rest of the normal trail, complete with carvings from trees in the Tall Tales Trail. We hit the gift shop, where Peyton continued his pencil collection, and I continued by magnet collection.

We headed back north toward the campgrounds, and stopped at a beach on the outskirts of Crescent City. I hadn't really stuck my feet in the ocean yet, as when we were in Newport it was more a dip in streams leading down to the ocean, so I had to make sure to do that.

The beach also had tons of crabs. We're pretty sure the seagulls had picked them all dry, some really cool shells remained. Of course the boys all thought it was super cool and picked them all up. I let them both keep one shell, picked clean so it wouldn't be stinky. But after a couple days in the car they were both broken. I should have packed them away right away.

After no luck with tide pooling at that beach, we tried another further into town: Pebble Beach Drive and 11th street proved to be pretty good for tide pooling. Less anemones, and only one starfish, but TONS of hermit crabs, snails, and a few small fish. Peyton actually said he liked this one better.

For dinner, we headed back to the cabin for some hot dogs and brats along with some Oregon Plum Wine (so good, and I don't even like wine), and smores.

The kids had a good time playing with the other kids at the camp ground, mom headed off to do some work- and some of our laundry- while I spent the evening repacking yet again. I was kind of over packing by this point. But, I was always trying to limit the number of bags we needed to take in places. Since we hadn't all been together, we had 5 bags one for each of us- and that just seemed annoying to drag in everywhere. It just made for a lot of repacking.

Thursday July 25- The Redwood Forrest

We got up and left the cabin early, knowing we had a long drive ahead of us. It was a pretty drive, and early in the morning, we saw tons and tons of elk. Whole herds of them laying in valleys by the side of the road. No pictures though, it's really hard to get a picture of a wild animal like that.

I had decided the best way to see the Redwoods while driving down to San Francisco, would be to take the scenic route of the old 101, called the Avenue of the Giants. We stopped a couple places along the way for the boys to run around and see the enormous trees.

Also on the Avenue of the Giants, is the Founder's Tree. It is the largest easily accessible tree (You have to hike something like 6 miles to see the tallest still standing tree). The Founders Tree is over 360 feet tall. Although from the ground, you can't really see how tall it goes. The first branches however, are WAY up there.The same short trail is also home to the Dryerville Giant, which was the largest tree until it fell in 1991. We climbed on top, and walked the length of it. It is something to see, even though it has since fallen.

Our next stop on the Avenue of the Giants was the Shriner's Drive Thru Tree. Having read this is the largest tree for driving through, I had hoped our rental mini van would fit. When we got there, we decided against it. It probably would had fit, but it was really too close to call.. and after all, it was a rental. So, the boys settled for walking through it, and taking a picture of the next random car driving through it.

After a picnic lunch along the way, and more driving we made it to San Francisco. The route to Uncle Charlie's house even took us over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was however foggy the entire time we were there, so I wasn't able to get awesome pictures of it. I took some driving over it anyway. I guess a dip kiss picture in front of it will have to wait.

We had dinner on Fisherman's Warf at some little restaurant. The boys all had pasta, which I couldn't believe being at Fisherman's Warf. The grown-ups all had seafood. And it was delicious.

Freezing from the cold weather, and tired from driving all day we finally got to Uncle Charlie's around 9:30, and he set us all up very nice. Thanks to Cole and Kayla for giving up their bedrooms for company!

Friday- July 26

It was prefect timing for us to visit Uncle Charlie and Aunt Pattys, because my Aunt Linda and Aunt Karen were also visiting from Arizona. I got all the Kuehmann's in one visit. My Uncle Charlies kids, Cole and Kayla, are Calib and Peyton's ages but my first cousins, so it's sort of a fun dynamic. It was awesome to visit with them.

We all headed into San Francisco for the day, knowing our first stop would be Candlestick Park. Since two years ago I couldn't convince the kids to leave the airport on our layover to get my picture there, I knew I had to knock this off my list. Thanks to a stupid Justin Timberlake Concert that night I couldn't get any closer. Even after I told security I was from Florida, here for a day, and was just trying to get my picture in front of the stadium and then I'd leave. Jerks. Also, Justin Timberlake, I didn't care about you previously, but I now hate you. Thanks a lot. It's not a bad picture, just not the one I would have liked.

After that debacle, we headed to Pier 39 for lunch. We decided on a place called Chowders. Almost everyone got the clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl, but I opted for the crab and shrimp sandwich. It was delicious. Everything there was, as we all shared. Mom had cocktail shrimp, and Aunt Linda had be try the fired zucchini fires.

We were lucky enough to find three tables next to each other, making an adult table, a kids table, and what Asa, Aunt Linda, and I determined to be the intermediate table (at least maturity level wise).

Clint had told me Pier 39 was a good place to spot sealions, and sure enough when we walked past the docks after lunch, there were all kinds of them just laying around. I love seals and sea lions anyway, but seeing them in the wild is pretty cool.

 Also from Pier 39, you can see Alcatraz. I had wanted to go, but I couldn't get the kids on board until there were no more tickets left. So I had to settle for some pictures from afar. Hopefully next time.

We spent some time on the pier, shopping and riding some of the rides. Everyone went on some 7D ride/game, while Hayden and I opted for the carousel.

After awhile we walked down hoping to ride a cable car, but the line was at least an hour long, and I didn't think the kids would wait that long, so we snapped a picture and continued on our way.

We walked all the way down to Ghirardelli Square where Mom treated everyone to ice cream. I don't think I've ever, or will ever again, see an ice cream bill so large. But the Sundaes were delicious. And the free samples were the milk chocolate caramel squares, my favorite!

After a long trip in traffic back to Uncle Charlies, we had a quick dinner. I was a little worried about adjusting back to eastern time, when I realized it was 12:30 am back home and my kids were just eating dinner. But, being on vacation, I let them stay up late anyway. 

Saturday July 27- Go home day

I was smart enough not to book us on a super early flight back home. The 11 am one sounded perfect. So we got up, had a nice breakfast with everyone, and said our goodbyes before heading to the airport.

Mom and Calib we're flying back to Detroit so that Calib can spend another week with Jeff. The rest of us were obviously flying to Tampa, but we did get the first leg of our trip together with a layover in Chicago. 

After saying goodbye to mom and Calib, we had a quick bite to eat before getting on our plane home. We landed a little after 10, but it didn't seem so late to us on Pacific Time. 

Thanks to everyone who watched our pets for us, and dropped off Asa or our car so we didn't have to pay parking. We're so happy to be home, and we even came home to good mail! Asa's 72 cent head scratcher from China came, and so did our Bucs Season Ticket Package. A great big welcome home. 

Sunday  July 28- Home Day! 

After getting home late, we all decided to live the day on Pacific Time. We unpacked, and got the laundry going (it's now Monday at 4:30 and I'm still not done with it!) before I had to run to the store for something for lunch. I'm pretty sure the only thing in the fridge was some hummus, ketchup, and pickles. 

Tracy and JD stopped over to drop off Ulysses, Simpson, and Grant. Peyton was thrilled to see them. 

And, because it was Justin's birthday I made him a really easy birthday cake. I went with the ice cream sandwich cake. A crowd pleaser, but nothing fancy. 

Monday July 29- 

Which brings me to today. We're still putting away stuff, getting the house in order and such. I had to blog the last two weeks so I didn't forget any of it. The blog is done since the beginning of July, but the pictures haven't been added so that'll be my next step. It's crazy that it's the 29th, and I can tell you what I did every single day this month. I'm hoping August is a bit more low key. 


Next Up: Being Home, and Calib getting back here!