I want to remember what we did each day, so I'm going to write this post chronologically. Cool? Cool.
Day 1: Traveling & Tillamook. So we left around 8 am and the 9 hr drive went pretty well. The girls played with their snacks, books, coloring books, and eventually watched movies on the tablet. I sewed together a holder for the tablet so both girls could watch it. Sadly, our tablet met an untimely death the day we returned from vacation, so this was the first and last time we used it on a roadtrip.
Both children decided to close their eyes during the pictures :)
When we finally arrived at the coast, we had a few hours till we could check in, so we went straight to the ocean!
The kids loved the beach, but it was a bit windy and the kids were tired after the drive. So we headed to the hotel.
We dropped our things off and headed to dinner at Pacific Oyster. I'm very picky about seafood. Very picky. And I have a hard time eating seafood in the same place that they have live, or uncooked seafood for sale....which was exactly what Pacific Oyster was. A fresh fish market with an eatery. I was pleasantly surprised though because they had the BEST clam chowder. We ate chowder at 8 different restaurants and Pacific Oyster was the BEST.
After dinner we went swimming at the hotel. The girls LOVED it. And I loved it because it was a salt water pool. No chlorine, no stinging eyes and skin, no smell. It was wonderful! And the girls loved swimming!
The girls loved sharing a "big girl" bed. They had snacks and watched a movie every night before bed. They did really well going to bed and taking naps in a confined hotel room.
Day 2: Sight Seeing: We chose to stay in Tillamook for 2 nights because first, I got a GREAT Groupon deal on the hotel, and second, we wanted to do some sight seeing including the cheese factory which is one of our favorite places.
We headed to some local places first and did some sight seeing. First we went to Cape Meares which included the Lighthouse and Octopus Tree.
This was the day that I got the most workout. It was a hike down to the lighthouse and a hike up to the tree. I think we walked about 2.5 miles. It was a great outside adventure!
After that we headed to the Maritime Museum in Garibaldi, OR. I wasn't sure how many "kid friendly" things they would have in the museum, but we went anyway. I was surprised that they did have fun activities for the kids, and exhibits that we were interested in too.
Andrew especially loved the 75 caliber gun they had on display. I think it was civil war era? I didn't read the description as I was chasing two children. :)
After the museum we headed to the hotel for nap time. After that we spent the afternoon at the HUGE Goodwill store that was right by the hotel. I used to do vacation shopping at outlet malls where I thought $15 for a shirt was a good deal. After having kids I stopped buying brand new things. Because when, not IF, but WHEN, the kids destroyed the THING I wouldn't be as sad if it was used, and if I got it cheap. (I wish I would have used this theory with the brand new $200 tablet that Beth shattered immediately after this trip.) At goodwill we got so. much. stuff. Rain coats and boots for the girls, a kitchen light fixture, BRAND new cleats for Andrew, twin sized sheets for Beth's future bed, sleeping bags for the girls, movies, etc. We paid $90 for 16 items. It was awesome!
After that we went to dinner, we were asked to sit up in the top section of the restaurant. I'm not sure if that's because of the "Duck Den" and Andrew's outfit....or if it was because the top section is furthest from the bar. Regardless, Andrew laughed at their "Den." Of course we tried clam chowder at the this restaurant as well....it was so so, but Ami decided she LOVED chowder.
After that, we called it a night. As adults we can stay out for 12+ hours and sight see till we run out of gas. But with 2 young children, we have to work in naps, quiet time, frequent bathroom stops, and snack and food stops. I loved the family time though. I was so happy that we were able to take the kids and enjoy 99% of the trip.
Day 3: & Tillamook Cheese Factory & Travel to Lincoln City. Visiting the Cheese Factory is the main reason we go to Tilamook (although after this vacation we learned there are more places that are fun for the kids!)
The kids had a lot of fun in the play areas of the factory. They were also mesmerized by the process of making cheese. They both LOVE cheese. So they were happy to watch each station for 5-10 minutes. I was the one in a hurry because I wanted the Ice Cream!! :)
We headed down to do some taste testing, and the kids approved!
Squeeky Cheese is my favorite, and also the only one they don't sell online. But we did buy a few packages to bring home, I still have half of a bag left. Yum! After the cheese we went to get some Ice Cream. I LOVE Marionberry Pie, which is also only available in Oregon. :(
After Ice Cream, we got in the car and headed to Lincoln City, which was only 45 minutes from Tillamook. Our condo at Lincoln City was right on the beach, so it had amazing sounds, views, and opportunities to play.
We went swimming at the pool and then got ready for bed. That night we brought the mattress from the bedroom into the living room so we could all sleep together, where we could hear the ocean. :)
Day 4: Lincoln City Fun. We decided to spend day 4 exploring even more of Lincoln City and the surrounding areas. We went to the outlet mall, and few local restaurants, and of course the BEACH.
I was VERY happy that Andrew didn't drop his expensive phone in the ocean while taking pictures of the waves :)
Beth found a washed up Jelly Fish. FUN!
It was such a fun day of family time!
Day 5: Oregon Coast Aquarium. Well. The day started off with A LOT of excitement. We arrived at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport around 10am.
But then we saw this:
WHAT? For those of you that don't know. The "touchpool" is the fun interactive area where the kids get to actually TOUCH things, hence the name. Well. It was closed. And when I asked when it closed, the information desk said "Last Night." Dang it. If I had known, we would have come the day before. Oh well! We still had a lot of fun watching the Sea Otters and Sea Lions get fed. And they had a few more exhibits for the kids than the last time we were there. So it was still a great visit.
This is a tornado simulator. Wind speeds get up to 75 miles an hour. Ami loved it, Beth took some convincing!
The shark passage is my favorite. You are able to see fish and sharks above, below and on both sides. Creepy and amazing at the same time! The kids loved it!
I had no idea what was in this picture when Andrew first showed me.....it just happened to be on his plate when he finished eating. I guess they were happy to be spared! :) Andrew was disappointed that the steak was only 4oz, but the Special was only $20 for 2 people. Good Deal!!
Virgin (DUH!) Lime Margarita. I definitely enjoyed this as our last dinner at the coast! I was definitely reminded why I don't take my children to restaurants often, they don't understand the concept of being patient. Seeing as we ate out about twice a day, we tried to go at times that the restaurants would be fairly slow, and that worked well.
Thursday night was our last at the Oregon Coast, so we spent it again, at the Beach. Andrew wanted to build the girls a HUGE sandcastle. The kids were happy with his creation!
That night we had an amazing sunset and we enjoyed sleeping to the ocean waves for the last time.
Day 6: Homeward Bound!! We woke up on the last morning happy, but sad that we would be leaving such a beautiful place! I was pleasantly surprised with how well the trip went, and how easy it was on the kids (and parents). We will definitely be returning to the coast in future years!
While at the coast we tried 8 different clam chowders. Typically I don't do ANY clam chowder, but the first bowl we tried on day 1 was just so delicious, that I ended up stealing the bowl from Andrew, who loves chowder. After that I had to try the rest to compare. :) We made a list (more for us than for you), but I thought I'd share it.
Chowder Rankings!
1. Pacific Oyster- Bay City, OR (Near Tillamook). EVERYONE in the restaurant had a bowl (or bread bowl) of chowder when we walked in. So, I took this as a good sign. It had creamy sauce, chunky (recognizable) pieces, and not fishy. SO SO good.
2. J's Fish and Chips- Lincoln City, OR. I had heard AMAZING reviews about their hand cut, hand dipped halibut and cod, but most people said their chowder was sub par. I whole heartdedly agreed with the halibut and cod reviews (it is amazing, seriously), but I disagreed with the chowder reviews. We thought it was good. Not as chunky, but great flavor, fresh, and filling.
3. Lakeside Hideaway, Rockaway Beach, OR. This was the place that had the "Duck Den," so I wasn't sure what to expect when we walked in wearing BSU gear. But the Chowder was good. Ami became another taster and was the cracker dipper for us.
4. Chowder Bowl-Depoe Bay, OR. You'd think with the name they would have amazing chowder, but....not really. It was good. But nothing stellar, middle of the pack.
5. Soups On-Lincoln City, OR. This place had A LOT of soups to choose from. So that was wonderful. Beth kept asking for Tomato Eggplant. The guy was nice enough to give her a sample so we didn't have to waste our money on a whole bowl. She quickly changed her mind. I probably would have ranked this chowder higher, except the garlic toast they served with it tasted like FISH. Really gross Fish. So after I took a bite of it, the rest of the bowl tasted funny. Andrew tried the Dungeness Crab Chowder here and said it was good.
6. Kendra's Kitchen-Tillamook, OR. This was a nice small restaurant that were very accomodating for our kids (books, coloring pages, etc). The chowder was good, but it didn't seem very fresh. They did have AMAZING homemade mac and cheese, which is what that kids and I both had. It was so delicious.
7. McMenamins-Lincoln City, OR. This was a Pub that advertised as a "family place" during the afternoon and evening. We tried it out and it was Ok. I was disappointed in the service, Andrew commented that it didn't seem like our server liked his job. The chowder was thin, and didn't have much flavor. Their Split Pea soup was good, better than the chowder!
8. Mo's-Lincoln City, OR. Ok. So we know people that SWEAR by this place. They LOVE the chowder. We tried it a few years ago, and weren't impressed but decided to give it another try. Same Result. Gritty, fishy, what tasted like canned chowder. It was not good. Their home baked bread was good, just not if you dipped it in the chowder. :)
Well, if you survived this MONSTER post, good for you! As you can see, we loved our vacation. It was a good mix of adult and family activities, pretty good food, and lots of family time. If I could change things, I wouldn't focus so much on trying food. A lot of meal discussions would start with "I'm not really hungry.....but I don't want to waste our opportunity to try something...." I came home feeling pretty frustrated that I had gained some of the weight back that I had fought so hard to lose. However, I am constantly reminded that healthy eating and weight loss (my personal goals), are a long term, ever going, goal. So, I'm not going to beat myself up.
I hope that you all have fun summer adventures planned and that you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed ours! Until Next Time, Happy Blogging!
