We decided to head north for Day 6. Our first stop was Fort Stevens. There is a great beach there with LOTS of sand and even some small sand dunes. There is an old skeleton of a shipwreck from 1906 which is perfect for taking pictures.

We headed even further north, to Astoria. We crossed the BIG bridge into Washington State and drove to the parking lot at the base of Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. It was a bit of a hike but worth it.

Last stop was……ya, you guessed it—FOOD! The Baked Alaska in Astoria is a fun place right on the water. Big barges go past and it’s fun to watch the pilot boats go out and guide them along. It also doesn’t hurt that the food is great. Most of us ordered sea food, but of course Shauna had her grilled cheese.

OK–it seems like it’s been a long day but that was just lunch. We still have time for some boogie boarding/beach time and the fire on the beach. The kids were too tired for the fire so we sort of cheated and had them roast marshmallows on the BBQ.
Another great day! Sorry for the overload on pictures–I just couldn’t figure out which ones to delete (and NO this isn’t all of them. I actually have a LOT more.

Today was a lot of driving but I think (and hope) the drive was worth it. We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.  It’s a very modern and nice aquarium and I think everyone enjoyed it.  It was just hard keeping track of everyone because there are so many places to go.  The kids loved the Passage of the Deep where sharks, rays and fish are swimming around you as you walk through the tunnels.  I think it made the “big kids” want to go scuba diving!  Here are some pictures.

After lunch we headed to Tillamook for some cheese and ice cream. Brayden loves “squeaky cheese” and would only eat the curds at the sample table. All the kids loved the ice cream–OK, we ALL loved the ice cream–even Emma had a taste.

We had a great day–it was just a lot of driving!

The first order of the day was the Seaside Aquarium.  It’s old and sort of dingy, but they have these seals that you can feed that are VERY entertaining.  They each have their own way of “asking” for food and some of them will really splash you if you’re not paying attention to them.  It’s a riot! The kids could touch the starfish and sea anemones.  It doesn’t take long to see everything they have, but with children it’s sort of a “must do” when in Seaside.

Next came Ecola State Park.  I think it’s one of the great picture taking places along the coast.  We hiked around there for a bit.

Next we headed to the town of Cannon Beach.  We saw the shops there and had ice cream!!  Alexis and Kim opted to stay at the house for a nap while the rest of us went to the beach part of Cannon Beach and the famous Haystack Rock.  We went at low tide so we could see the starfish and sea anemones in their real life world in the tide pools, but it’s very hard to do now because they keep most of it off limits.  Instead we made more sand castles and flew our kite and just had a great time.

Kim and Alexis joined us for dinner at Mo’s.  You can’t go to the Oregon Coast and skip Mo’s.  Besides, they sort of cater to groups and it’s casual enough that it’s OK to have 3 3-year olds and a baby along.    It was a great day.

Tuesday we started out by spending some quality castle building time on the beach. The sand there is so fine and the boys (of ALL ages) love it.

Meanwhile Jeff and Brittney are showing us their artsy side.

From Sandcastles

The afternoon was more boogie boarding time. This time Shauna and Steve let them take their underwater camera with them.

By dinnertime Nadine, Kim and Alexis had arrived, so we have big plans for Day 4! Stay tuned!

The good thing about Seaside is that there are plenty of things to see/do for young adults and children. Monday we got up and headed for the Mall that has the carousel in it. We found out that Brayden loves the carousel and Brennan doesn’t. We walked around downtown Seaside and along the walkway that goes parallel to the beach. Then back to the beach house for lunch and shortly after lunch we had a real treat because Greg and Lisa Brennan drove out to see us. Greg is a great surfer/boogie boarder and he brought boards with him. Lynn took a trip to town to get wet suits (you REALLY need a wet suit for those waters) and the guys took off for a nearby beach that was good for boogie boarding. We joined them a little while later. It was great to see them and spend some time with them. The boys (big boys) love having an expert boogie boarder around too.