Oregon Coast

In August, we took a family trip to Lincoln City, Oregon. We rented a condo just feet away from the beach and enjoyed relaxing for several days. It was our first vacation as a family of four.

We spent many hours walking along the beach. I had forgotten how good it feels to walk barefoot in the sand.

Rylan enjoyed swimming in "D" River which ran right into the ocean. Apparently, it is the shortest river in the world.

We rented a condo in this building, the Sea Gypsy. The view from our room was amazing and we loved listening to the ocean waves while we laid in bed at night.

What a beautiful day at the beach!

Rylan discovered this big wall of sand that someone had built to trap the water in at high tide.

It was like his very own fort and provided lots of fun for Rylan.

We watched the sun set every night...so gorgeous.

We explored the rocks and tide pools. We saw lots of sea life (sea urchins, clams, crabs, etc.)

Rylan got his pants all wet and didn't want to wear them anymore, so he got to explore the beach in his undies.

We did a lot of walking around Lincoln City. We discovered this fun boardwalk that started at the river and ended at a campground. It was a fun little nature walk.

Lincoln City is famous for it's kites. The big one you see is a huge, blue bear. Rylan loved that one!

This was our lovely view from the door of our condo. We felt spoiled!

We spent a lot of time playing on the beach. Rylan and Daddy played with the sand toys while Mommy and Ayla watched.

Running along the beach and in the water was Rylan's favorite beach activity. He loved running into the water as the waves were going out and running back up on shore as they were coming in. He got braver and braver as time went on, running farther and farther out into the ocean. He started to scare us a little once he started running into waves that were just as tall as he was.

Here's the little dare devil in action! (This is when he was first starting out. I didn't capture any of the scary moves on video.)

Rylan and Daddy had fun swimming in the pool at the condo.

One of our last days in Oregon, we drove around to some other local beaches and destination towns. We visited Pacific City and enjoyed the quietness and wide open beaches full of shells.

So peaceful!

Footprints in the sand

This is one of the many gorgeous views on our drive through the Three Capes Scenic Route.

The beach in Ocean City

Cape Meares Lighthouse

View from the lighthouse

Our final stop that day before heading back to the condo was the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

MOOOOOOO! Rylan got to watch huge blocks of cheese come out of the machines.

And, of course, we all had some of their delicious ice cream. They sell a few flavors at the factory that they don't sell in the stores. Sticky bun was one of them. It was yummy!

This was the condo we stayed in. There was another bedroom and bathroom down the hall, so we had lots of room. We hope to go back again next summer.

On our way home we stopped by the Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery in the Columbia River Gorge. We visited Herman the Sturgeon, a 70-year-old, 10-foot long, 450 pound sturgeon.

We bought some fish food and Rylan got to feed the trout.

They sure were hungry!

What a fun family vacation! And, both kids did so well in the car during the 9 hour trip each way. Lots of fond memories.