Day 6&7: Back to the Coast!

When we left Mt. St. Helens we had to make a decision as to where to head next.  We could go straight to Portland and spend the rest of our vacation there or we could go back to the coast and see the northern most part of the Oregon coastline that we had missed at the beginning of our trip.  Of course I was 100% willing to go back to the coast for a couple of more days.  We headed to Astoria, Oregon which is one side of the mouth of the Columbia River and Washington is on the other side.

 

I don't think that I have mentioned that you cannot pump your own gas in Oregon.  This is one of our lovely gas station attendants :)

The Port of Astoria, just inside the mouth of the Columbia

 

 

The Astoria Column...it has carvings that tell the story of the Pioneers and Westward Expansion

 

The bridge that takes you to the other side of the Columbia River and Washington

 

We had dinner at this restaurant, Baked Alaska on the waterfront

 

We ordered Kellan his first meal of his very own at a restaurant.  Grilled salmon with zucchini and squash.  He ate all of the salmon and a little of the vegetables.  I don't think they were cooked soft enough for him.

 

 

 

 

The next morning we crossed the bridge back over into Washington to go to the Lewis and Clark National Park (it includes lots of pieces of land in both Oregon and Washington) and to see two lighthouses.

 

Yep it happened again...the North Head lighthouse is having new glass installed

 

 

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse...I disagree...North Head was the disappointment

 

I forgot to post about Kellan's Mt. St. Helen's National Parks passport stamp (although it is not a National Park it is a National Volcanic Monument so they have a stamp).  We traveled back over the bridge into Oregon and visited Fort Clatsop (the Oregon part of the Lewis and Clark National Park) to get Kellan's stamp for his passport book.

 

The Flavel House built in 1885 by George Flavel, one of Astoria's first millionaires.

 

All of the trashcans in downtown Astoria look like cans of salmon!  I was obsessed...Michael was less than impressed.

 

 

Shipwreck of the Peter Iredale from 1906 still sits on the beach at Ft. Stevens outside of Astoria

 

We kept driving south to Seaside, Oregon...the end of the Lewis and Clark Trail.  We didn't visit any historical centers here but I guess this was as far as Lewis and Clark's exploration could take them once they had reached the Pacific Ocean.  And what a place to stop...it is beautiful here!

 

Kellan and Michael hanging out with Lewis and Clark

 

We had lunch at the Seaside Oceanfront Inn and Restaurant.  It was the perfect little inn and I wish we had time to stay there.  It was right on the beach and you walk right out onto the boardwalk.

 

They have starfish lights hanging from all of the light poles in their downtown.  It is just an adorable little ocean side town.  Lots of inns and little shops.  They also had a small outlet shopping center.  We already had tons of luggage so we couldn't go crazy shopping but we did go to Carter's and Osh Kosh to get Kellan a few cold weather outfits.  It was hard to say no, when did I also mention, that Oregon has NO SALES TAX?  Its a crazy looking receipt I tell ya!  Whatever your food, clothes, etc. costs is what you pay...no tax.  Very strange...but nice.

 

The beach has a view of this cliff that you can see off in the distance.  Portland was our final destination for the evening so we left Seaside and headed to Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock at sunset before we said goodbye to the Pacific Ocean.

 

This is where our trip began so many days ago!  We have circled Oregon and somehow ended up back where we started!  I am so glad that we did.  The sunset over these rocks was amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was sad to say goodbye to the coast (for a second time) but we were both excited to spend our last few days in Portland.   The best thing about it...we stayed at the same hotel and didn't have to unpack and repack the car every morning and night!



Vacation Wrap Up!

I feel like I have gotten all of the posts from our vacation pictures that I can but I still have a few photos to share.  This post will wrap up our adventures on Anna Maria Island with a few random pictures that didn't seem to fit in any of my other posts this week.

First up are our pictures from our visit to Rotten Ralph's!  Michael and I got their Fish N' Chips special...it was really good!

But the big excitement was watching Mr. Pelican out the window on the pier.  He was just begging to have his picture taken.

An older gentleman offered to take our picture so we could all be in the same one but bless his heart he snapped and snapped away and when he gave us our camera back there was no picture to be found.  We're not sure what he was doing but we didn't have the heart to tell him.

The next adventure began at some local shops on the island and the family looking for a good place to eat lunch.  My sister asked a lady that worked at one of the shops where she recommended.  She said she would definitely suggest the village of Cortez which was a short walk away and had delicious seafood.  Well she was right about one thing...the did have delicious food but it was NOT a short walk.  We tramped a mile and a half (Michael GPS'd it) across a bridge and down into the town of Cortez.  Mind you it was hot and we are walking along side pretty fast moving traffic and trying to avoid stepping on roadside debris like tire rubber.  My dad even made the comment "I wonder what it means when we are the only people walking on this bridge?" 

Have I also failed to mention that during this entire trip BOTH of my ankles are killing me to talk on them from something that I did to them while running.  Yes I seriously hobbled everywhere we went during the entire vacation.  When did my ankles start to feel somewhat normal again?  The day we left, of course.

I'm getting off topic...so our little walking extravaganza led us to The Starfish Company.  A little seafood market and restaurant that sits right on a fishing pier that extends into the bay.  It was a great place and definitely not somewhere that we would have found if someone would not have suggested it.

Here's how our little buddy started out the visit to the Starfish Company.  Sippy cup of water and trusty brush in hand overlooking the water.  It was rather warm outside and we had just trucked it quite a ways to get to this fine establishment...

So eventually he ended up like this!

Next, our adventure to Anna Maria City Pier!  There is a restaurant at the end of the pier and there happened to be a band playing and lots of people fishing.  It was kind of loud and crowded so we just stayed long enough to walk out, check out the view, take a few pictures and head to another location to watch the sunset.  Before we left though Owen did get the chance to reel in a fish!  I didn't get a picture of it since I was standing with the babies but it was quite the experience!  While Owen was fighting with a fish, an extremely inebriated man came over to tell us how beautiful our family was, patted each baby on the head, and I'm pretty sure was trying to pick up my mother.  On that note we decided to head off...

And yes my child is naked yet again...

"Hey girl...can you see anything good?"

Finally we headed to Bean Point Beach at the tip of the island and supposedly the best spot to watch the sunset.  We made it right as the sun was dipping below the horizon.

Michael and Papa's shell finds...unfortunately the little critters were still living inside these shells so even though they were all whole we put them back in the ocean so they could live :)

"Man, I gotta learn to walk!"

Well, that's all folks!  The end of our vacation pictures!  We had a great time relaxing at the pool and the beach, doing a little sight seeing, lots of eating good seafood, and taking in a baseball game and the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.  We highly recommend a trip to Anna Maria Island and we might even be back one day!