Weekend at the Beach

We didn't mean to do a whole tour of the coast thing this weekend. We left the house thinking: spend the day at Westport playing on the beach (I would say 'playing in the water, but this is the Pacific Ocean and you don't play in it without proper protection; think wet suit with long underwear under it). We did pack for overnight just in case we were having a great time and wouldn't make it home or in case of messy children.

The weather didn't cooperate. When we hit Westport it looked like this.
So after 45 minutes of wandering the beach gathering sand dollars D and I made a plan. We would wander the coast hoping for clear weather further south and checking out other beach areas.

Next stop Long Beach:

Interesting display of whale bones and horseback riding on the beach but as you can tell from this pic:
The weather was still not great; the surf was so rough it was making a salty mist. We continued south.

Next stop, next stop Cape Disappointment lighthouse. E loves lighthouses. I thought I had seen this one online one time so we tried going to it. It turns out you all have probably seen it in a pic somewhere because it is one of the most photographed lighthouses in America. BEAUTIFUL!!!


Spectacular scenery! At this point we knew we would go on to Oregon.

I drove across the longest most horrible bridge ever across the Columbia river from Washington to Oregon. Just had to put that in because I lived through it.

We drove through Seaside Oregon but didn't even stop. Just not that interested in it.
On to Canon Beach, Oregon. A perfect stop. Cute beach town. Beautiful beach. World famous bird sanctuary. They had a sand castle contest Saturday so we saw all the remaining castles. This gnome needs a permanent home on my blog somewhere. He could be a little symbol to mark entries that tell about our travels.
Anyway, we walked the beach a little bit, looked at Haystack Rock bird sanctuary from a distance,had dinner in town and were out for the night. All three boys in one bed--- hope this trick works for a long time.

The next morning we got up, dressed (mostly) for the beach,

and hiked toward Haystack Rock.

Main goal was to see some birds: loons, seagulls, komorants, and puffins. I was totally psyched about the puffins. Boys--not so much. By the time we got there the little ones were tuckered out. Luckily, one look at the sea urchins and large orange and purple starfish and loons and puffins brought them out of it. It was low tide so we could walk right up near the rock.

So FUN!!!
Sorry, I am still having difficulty controlling my child-like enthusiasm. The kids played in the sand for a while using the old piles of sand from the castle contest as their own.

The ride home was long, but pretty with one road winding along the Columbia River valley. We are all hoping to go back to the beach sometime later in the summer and maybe even get some warmer weather.

love and hugs, B