NW Coast Roadtrip

we knew our golden summer would eventually come to an end, but boy did it sneak up on us! It wasn’t easy to leave, but we had a very, very good reason to pack our bags and head up to Washington – MY BABY BROTHER WAS RETURNING FROM HIS MISSION! Release the pigeons, sound the trumpets – After 2 years we were finally going to see lil Parky Poo.

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful drive from CA --> WA, and stayed on scenic Highway 101 for as long as we could. I picked out a few gems for our pit stops (J limited the number of stops we could make, or else we could have been on that road trips for dayyz). Our first stop was driving through the Avenue of the Giants and enjoying the beauty of the glorious Redwoods. We drove through a tree (JD steered), saw trees hollowed out into homes, and stopped at the ‘Big Tree’ and ‘Tall Tree’ (clever names, eh?)

 

After the Avenue of the Giants we continued on up through Oregon. We stopped off at the Sea Lion Caves, but unfortunately there were no lions to be seen. But, this stop was far from wasted. We were able to meet up with Rachel & JP, our good friends from college. Rach and I were roommates our freshman year, and have remained close even after moving to different states, etc. We went out to dinner and had a much needed catching up with these wonderful friends. We had a goal to make it to Newport by nightfall, so unfortunately we had to part ways with the Porters and jump back in the car.

Well we made it to Newport, but alas, we did not stay for the night. On my phone a plethora of hotels showed vacancies, but after driving circles around the town and trying multiple inns, we were shocked to find that they were all full. It was unbelievable. It was late. We had a very fussy baby who wanted out of the car. Heck, we all wanted out of the car. I was so mad that my phone showed available rooms but when we actually went to the hotels to book, they didn’t have a room to spare. Well, turns out I had the wrong dates entered into my phone… FAIL. We ended up driving about an hour out of our way and found the last overpriced room at a Motel 6… And no joke, a car literally drove up minutes after us and was turned away. I remember being so grateful that we arrived at the hotel first. The next town would have been another hour drive!

 

The next day we awoke happy, well rested, and ready to hit the road! We stopped off at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and learned all about dairy processes. It was actually quite fascinating, plus we got some very tasty treats. Then we were off to Canon Beach to build some sand castles and dip our toes in the ocean with Haystack Rock cheerfully sitting in the background.

 

After Canon Beach, we were homeward bound! We didn’t make any other stops and just cruised on in to Winthrop. It felt so so good to finally be home, and we couldn’t wait to see Parker. Bring on the Bradshaw Reunion!