So, my parents booked my plane ticket and a little house to stay,
and with everything ready I headed to Oregon to meet them and my sister! (Thanks again to Kyler who was a single dad for the long weekend!)
The morning of my 37th birthday (Thursday), we headed to meet Loradona on the coast.
The weather forecast did indeed bring rain, as predicted, but that means it's a great time visit Thor's Well and Spouting Horn, as well as Devil's Churn.
I purposely sat on the side of the plane that might have mountain views. I succeeded.
The morning of my 37th birthday (Thursday), we headed to meet Loradona on the coast.
And stopped to eat clam chowder in a bread bowl, obviously. We then got settled in to the Red Door Cottage in Seal Rock. Loradona and I can't resist the beach, so when we had a little downtime, we walked down to check it out.
We had never been to Seal Rock, so it was fun to explore somewhere new.
We encountered washed up sea stars,
(we tried to put them back in the water, although I truly think they were dead.)
rocks,
and even seals! At Seal Rock!
I think our afternoon walk was probably my favorite part of my birthday, although dinner at an Irish pub (I had fish 'n' chips, of course! And some amazing chocolate bread pudding)
was pretty good, too.
Friday started out beautiful, but we knew the weather was scheduled to change later. So we took advantage of the beautiful morning while we could.
We headed to Ona Beach at Brian Booth State Park,
where Loradona and I tried hunting for agates. We weren't terribly successful, but that's okay.
There were some really cool rock formations that we joked were the spine of a prehistoric megafauna.
The beach is still lovely, even in the rain.
One just has to be prepared for the weather!
Our stop at Cape Perpetua (highest viewpoint accessible by car on the Oregon Coast), was great because of the visitor's center. The view itself? Kind of dismal. Oh well!
By Saturday morning (Mom's birthday!)
the rain had all passed and we were back to beautiful blue skies!
We started the day at Seal Rock,
in our matching boots!
The waves were still pretty strong, so there weren't any seals sunning themselves. Plenty of them in the water, though, and birds to watch as well!
Next we headed to Driftwood Beach,
and then back to check out the little shops in Seal Rock.
We had a lot of fun, and supported to local economy a bit, too.
Soup, souvenirs for the kiddos (and me), fudge, glass works, and Mom got another birthday present:
Sir Bartholomew of Paddingtonhamshireby.
Happy beach birthday, Mom!
Thanks for inviting us all along!
Sunday we headed to church and then went driving down Highway101, stopping at beaches along the way, including Governor Patterson and Yachats State Recreation Area.
We also headed back to Cape Perpetua to see it without rain.
Not too shabby, eh?
PS, I love Dad. He's driving down Highway 101, and asks if we want to stop at the upcoming beach access. But before we even answer, he's already turning in to the parking lot. Because of course we want to stop at a wayside and check it out. So to Smelt Sands we go. And it was great!
Sloooooow motion waves!
Monday morning, I did one last trip to Seal Rock.
Because if I'm at the coast, I have to go down to the beach every day!
It was a perfect few days, but even perfect days have to end.
One last meal of seafood, hugs goodbye to Loradona, and my parents and I head back to their house.
To prepare for me to head back to my house Tuesday. I do still come back home, though part of me doesn't want to...
So far, 37 has been pretty good, and this beach trip was absolutely wonderful.
