Taking On The Pacific Coast Highway - Day 7

Stop 18 - Tillamook Cheese Factory: Our first stop of the day was at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. The highlight was getting to go upstairs and watch the factory machinery in action. The kids just stood in awe as we moved from window to window watching the cheese move through the factory. The kids enjoyed the long line of free samples at the end of the tour and REALLY loved the large ice cream cones we got them before getting back on the road. 

Stop 19 - Haystack Rock: We were planning on just making a quick stop at Haystack Rock but decided to hang out for a while so the kids could get a break from the car. We laid out the beach towels, grabbed the sand toys, set up some music, and whipped out the kite. The boys played in the sand, Maeli flew the kite, Camp slept on the towels, and Ryan and I sat their soaking up that perfect moment. Nothing monumental happened at Haystack Rock but it will forever be one of the highlights of our trip up the PCH. 

Stop 20 - Goonies House: After leaving Haystack Rock we drove to Astoria to visit the famous Goonies House. One of the nearby neighbors stood and talked to us for a while about the house before we headed up the driveway to get our picture. Cooley decided he didn't want to cooperate and refused to get in the picture. 

After leaving the house we stopped at an old boat that had been converted into a small fish and chips stand and Ryan and the kids ate a dinner of fish and chips before we continued on our way. 

Stop 21 - Cape Disappointment: We finished our day with a quick stop at Cape Disappointment to see the beautiful views from the lookout points. 

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Taking On The Pacific Coast Highway - Day 6

Stop 15 - Crab Fishing in Yaquina Bay: We started the day off with our crab fishing gear at Yaquina Bay. We were hoping for an experience similar to the ones we had in Ireland where we would have several bites within a few minutes of having the line in the water. Unfortunately, the crabs did not get the memo and we didn't even see one crab. Despite our lack of success, the kids had fun trying.

Stop 16 - Devil's Punchbowl: Our next stop was a quick one at Devil's Punchbowl in Oregon. If we had more time it would've been fun to hike down and explore the inside of the bowl but with a busy day ahead we figured a quick look was better than nothing.

Stop 17 - Lincoln City Kite Festival: Next we headed to Lincoln City for their annual summer kite festival. The city was crazy busy so we parked in an outlet shopping center and took a shuttle bus over to the event. Upon arriving at the festival we sat and watched some of the professional kite flying performances choreographed to music. After watching for a while we walked over to the waterfront and busted out our overpriced Minion kite we had purchased in Chinatown. Although neither of us have great kite flying skills we actually got the kite UP! We were especially grateful for the extreme wind that made it much easier to get the kite up in the air. 

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Taking On The Pacific Coast Highway - Day 5

Stop 11 - MacKerricher Tidepools: The next morning we got up early to arrive at the MacKerricher Tidepools at low tide. We brought the kids' rain boots and went out onto the rocks to search for sea life. We immediately started finding crabs, sea anemones, starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. It was so cool to be able to explore with the kids and let them touch and pick up the amazing creatures that they found. This was definitely another highlight of the trip. 

Stop 12 - Chandelier Tree: As we ventured through the Redwood Forest we made a quick stop to drive through the famous Chandelier Tree. While the tree was impressive, we quickly discovered that the true gem of the park was the densely populated frog pond. The kids found huge toads, small frogs, and hundreds of baby frogs just waiting to be caught. I'm pretty sure we ended up catching more frogs than ever thought humanly possible.

Stop 13 - Avenue of the Giants: As we drove through the Avenue of the Giants we ended up stopping to let the kids get out and play. They balanced on logs, made branches into massive swords, and chased each other around the trees. I'm pretty sure that we if we didn't have other places to be, they could've played there all day long. 

Stop 14 - Wizards Hat: Our final stop for the day was at the Wizards Hat in Bandon, Oregon. The weather was really cold and windy when we stopped so we just ran out and saw it before jumping back in the car. 

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