Spring Break 2018 Part 3

The next day we headed south.

We stopped at a Cabela's for a smashed penny and stopped to play at the shooting gallery.

Next, we stopped at the Washington State Capitol. The grounds were beautiful with blooming trees and the inside was amazing with marble and decorative archetecture.

Then it was south to Mt St. Helen. The weather wasn't terrible that day, but the clouds insisted on making it difficult to really see it. It was still winter in the mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got a few pictures of what we thought was the infamous volcano, then we got out of there just as it started snowing.

I definitely preferred the mild temperatures at sea level.

We saw big foot!

We decided we had had enough of Washington and we headed for Oregon and the Columbia River.

We finally made it to Astoria where we went across the 4.5 mile bridge back into Washington so we could see the worlds largest chopsticks and the worlds largest frying pan. Crazy stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

Astoria was a cute little town where we stayed the night. The kids swam for 2 hours that night.  We woke to the sounds of huge ships coming up the river and sea lions barking.

The next day was Oregon Coast day. We really couldn't have asked for better weather. I think the coast is almost always windy and cold, but the wind was calm and it was actually a pretty nice day for early April. That didn't stop us from wearing two jackets each.

We started by visiting some of the Louis and Clark National Park. We stopped at the fort where they spent the winter.

 

 

 

then we headed over to the coast where there was the wreck of the Peter Iredale. This was in the Fort Stevens State Park. I thought it seemed like such a fun place with trails and beaches and camping. If it wasn't 15 hours from home, I would totally go camping there.

 

 

 

From there we headed south to Seaside. We walked along the beach, looked for a cheap t-shirt (didn't find one) and ate lunch.

 

 

 

Cannon Beach was next. So pretty! poor Marisa, she was not feeling well, but she sucked it up and played along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids found this strange antique. The didn't understand it.

 

 

After cannon beach though, the road just winds and you go up and down and back and forth. It didn't take long for everything to come up. Poor girl! Luckily for us all, I had put a waterproof fabric over our seats just to keep them clean during our road trip so the car came out unscathed after a few Lysol wipes. A quick roadside clothing change, we were rolling again in no time with a Ziplock bag at ready.

 

Next stop was Tillamook for the cheese factory. We tested cheeses and had some ice cream sandwiches.

 

 

 

From there, we headed out to the Cape Mears light house. The light house was fun but the best part that bellow us, there were whale all over. We could see some spouts out in the distance and there were some close enough we could hear them and see them quite well too. SO FUN!

 

 

 

We hiked to the Octopus tree from there and watched for more whale.

 

 

 

 

From there it was just a beautiful drive winding around the cliffs and beaches. It really is one of my favorite places. SO pretty. It's just not warm. Even when we went in June it was cold. SIGH.

 

 

 

We stopped at the Yakina Head Lighthouse and at the Devil's punchbowl before landing in Newport. It had been a long day and we were happy to be done driving. But my goodness! Beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

That night the kids swam for an hour while I did laundry.