Oregon

Morning at the Brooks and Z man enjoying his relax time not knowing we are about to drive the coast down from Seattle to Oceanside...

I just love the North West and all the coffee drive thru huts on the side of the street, in parking lots and gas stations. It seemed the next one was more clever or more funny then the last. 

Leaving Washington State and entering Oregon. I wish we took more pictures of Washington coast... it was just breath taking. We found ourselves in aww and forgetting to take pictures. I love Washington, always have and always will. I can not wait to get back there and actually take some pictures .

Looking back across the river to Washington

Astoria Oregon.. full of characters and style. Drove around the town on the river at the bottom of a hill. Wish we stopped and looked around a bit more, but we wanted to see more of Oregon.

Totem Poll... so many of these all around the North West and there's a story behind everyone. Didn't find out the story for this one because it was right off of an intersection :(

After driving around Astoria we found ourselves back under the bridge we just crossed at a small local cafe. Got some coffee and some cookies for refueling ;) Enjoyed watching the people walking in and out of the cafe.. looked like some kids were looking for the twilight town and got lost...

We left Astoria and drove south to the town of Cannon Beach. Super story book out of the movies type of town. There were so many cute places to choice from to eat lunch... it took us forever to pick and finally we picked a log cabin that was family friendly... in other words, they didn't care if our kids were sick of sitting down.

Little Miss Eira and Daddy waiting for lunch

A walk along the beach before the wind turned us back to the town. The coast of Oregon is so beautiful. James loved how it went from ocean right into cliffs and evergreens.

The houses along the North West coast are so unique. Built for the woods and the beach. Dream homes all along the coast.

James and I took a few pictures of the turn outs, but soon they all started looking the same on the camera. We soon figured out our pictures were not going to do our story justice. But we kept taking pictures saying " we will know"

The 101 south drives right along the ocean the whole way, even up huge cliffs or along sand dunes. Here we are up so high, this pictures... again, doesn't so it justice.

Sometimes the Coast road would drive inland a few miles, take us along huge rivers and mountains so high you could not see the tops. Blackberry bushes covered the sides of the roads and any place there wasn't trees... blackberry bushes.

 Some locals out for a Sunday drive.....

It's a bit blurry, but the closest shot we had of one of them many rocks with trees on them. All the way down the Washington and Oregon coast are HUGE rocks out to sea or just off the shore or even in a little bay. They would have a few trees or maybe just one tree, sometimes they looked as if they were perfectly manicured Bonsai trees. I think I may have taken this picture while still moving. 

I just loved the coastal towns along Oregon. They all seemed to be proud but very welcoming. One of our most favorite places in Oregon was Lincoln city. We drove into it and decided to grab a room there. Found a hotel right here on this little river and close to everything else in town. We loved it.

We asked a local where he thinks we should eat. He sent us to a doggy looking bikers pub on the side of the road. So I sent James in all alone to see if it was OK before we brought the kids in. When we all went in, there was money plastered to the ceiling, stickers and neon lights on the walls and peanut shells all over the floor... covering the floor with buckets on the tables full of peanuts. So the saying "when in Rome " turned into "When in Lincoln City " We grabbed a booth for 4....

Dad teaching Z man how to open a peanut.... and then toss the shell on the floor... oh ya they had stop lights hanging too ;)

Money ... with this place looking like such a dumb and some characters getting around. It was some of the best food on our road trip. We walked away happy and full and a memory ... When in Lincoln City

The Nicest drive thru coffee hut and a very yummy one at that. James had a chat with the people who worked there while I walked around and took pictures. Found out the man who opened this one was from Australia. Small world in a way ;)

How could you not stop at these places ? So fun and sometimes good coffee and food. Good bye Lincoln City we head South.

I sometimes wonder why they went through all of this hard work to build these amazing bridges along the coast when they could move over 15 feet to the hill. I understand land slides, but I feel it was clearly for the art. We drove over so many bridges that were worth pulling over to just look at it.

A house with a view...

The further south we got, we noticed the trees started shooting more north. They kept getting taller and taller, but stayed so GREEN and mossy.

Took a side road cause it looked like fun... turned into a one way that took us to the Devils punch bowl and a cute little town we would never have seen. It was truly an adventure. 

Looking back at a little community off the one way road.. They have the best views on all four sides of their houses. At one point we saw whales enjoying the sights of a little town. Still can't remember what kind of whale they were, but it was still amazing to watch them make their way.

The Devils Churn.. If the swell is big enough it will shoot up over the highway.. My guess is 100ft... give or take... a lot ;) But we saw it on a nice calm day as you can see in the picture.

Weak devils churn....

Getting closer to California, but the boulders were still shooting out of the ocean and not getting old to stop and look at.

James tried to zoom in to see the surfers... he thought it was crazy to get in these Dark and cold waters to surf. He said " your worried about sharks in Australia ? "

Good Bye Oregon, amazing breath taking and full of so much life. I hope I can get back here and give Oregon at least two weeks to explore. Now on to California .....