FALL BREAK IN OREGON

We just got home from our funbulous Fall Break in Oregon. I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again, "What a beautiful place Oregon is!" The weather was great!! NO RAIN!! We had a great time and got to do just about everything on our list that we wanted to do. Of course vacations are always way too short and we hated to say goodbye, but I'm sure we'll be back!

Playing around at Mattress World is a blast for the kids. They love to hide in the rows and rows of mattresses and play on pallet jacks. They wear themselves out big time! Although this day, the only one sleeping was me, MOM (or at least trying to sleep sitting up in a chair). I was coming down with a big head cold/flu and riding on the plane there only made it worse!


Riding in the car and trying to have a little fun at the same time

Riding the ferry to Washington is one of the kids' favorite things to do when in Oregon. We drive the car right up onto the ferry and then stand out in the open air for the ride. Grandma Brinkerhoff was buried in Cathalamet Washington last month so we we got to visit her grave.

We ate out A LOT!!

Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach is our favorite spot on the coast. The kids love to go right after the tide has gone out so they can hop from rock to rock and look for stranded sea creatures. This trip, not many creatures were found other than a "drifting out to sea" flip flop belonging to Carson

Grandpa Garrison lives in Astoria. We were able to spend the day there and visit several of the kids' favorite sites.



Most of Astoria is built upon a hillside and the streets look a lot like those in San Francisco. 8th Street is the steepest, funnest street to go down. You literally have to hold on and enjoy the ride!! The kids want to go fast down it, but us old fogies who obey the laws of the land go slower than they would like. We've been known to go airborn and hit our heads on the car roof ocassionally though.

Also in Astoria are the famous sea lions. Most of the locals hate them but of course, we tourists LOVE them! They lay on the docks and sun themselves and bark (or whatever it is that they do) and make quite a racket. We heard them all night at our hotel while we were there. Astoria sits at the very Northern tip of Oregon at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and mouth of the Columbia River. This time of year the salmon are making their run up river so there were a ton of sea lions everywhere waiting for their feast.


When we got out of our car at the docks to go see the Sea Lions, instantly Mark and Colton were bombed from above. (Seagulls) YUCK!!

We went to climb the Aster Column in Astoria but it was closed for renovation. The kids still got to look out over the city and enjoy the view! Mark likes to visit here because he can see all of Astoria and the surrounding area where he grew up out on the farm in Olney. This day was a particularly clear day and we could see all the way up the Washington Coast for miles!