If you know me, you know how much I love Oregon and how antsy I get without a trip planned on the horizon. So last Sunday night my friend and I were sitting on our couch dreading work the next morning when I said, "Let's go to Oregon on Tuesday." After a few minutes of googling and number crunching it was decided, we were Oregon bound on Tuesday!
I lived in Oregon for six years but Kelsie had never been. So we planned to hit some favorites. If you're trying to do a quick Oregon trip, here are some musts!
Multnomah Falls,,,so beautiful! Driving in from Utah it's right off the highway just outside of Portland so you can't miss it. And this isn't the time to sleep in the car! The Columbia River Gorge is to your right and the mountains are on your left. Once you get through Eastern Oregon the rest of your drive is gorgeous! Once you get there you can walk up to the bridge, do a little hiking, visit the gift shop and get some food. Or you can just stand at the bottom of the falls and stare.
Guys. The The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm is the most incredible tulip festival you will EVER see. If you're in Oregon in the springtime don't miss it. And wear rain boots....we learned that the hard way. If you have kids there are all kinds of fun activities. If you don't have kids, you can do the rubber duck races yourself too, no judgment.
After Portland we headed to my very favorite part of Oregon and one of my favorite places in the world...the Oregon Coast. Here are some of my favorite places to see and things to do while there:
These tide pools are just at the base of the lighthouse. We didn't see a lot but we did see TONS of sea anemones. (Totally had to look up how to spell that)
Yaquina Bay.... the haunted lighthouse. In a nutshell a girl went in and never came back out and when her friends went looking for her they only found her handkerchief. With BLOOD ALL OVER IT! Over the years I think I've heard a few variations but that's usually how it ends. Some tour guides tell it better than others. This time the guy ended it by saying there was a bloodstain on the floor. When we asked if we could see said bloodstain he looked at us like we were crazy and said, "It's pure FICTION." Buzz kill.
Apparently this is roughly 250 sea lions. You can imagine how loud this cave was.
I took this picture from inside the cave. You can just barely see the Haceta Head lighthouse.
That was our last stop before we started to head to Elko for Easter with my family. We got caught in snow up in the mountains before Bend and everyone knows how much Kelsie and I hate snow. I threw a little fit and yelled at the snow and it still didn't stop but we made it to Sisters for the night and the weather was much better in the morning.
We drove from Bend to Elko in one straight shot. It's about 8 hours, in case you were wondering. We ate a lot of salt water taffy, played 20 questions, finished off our case of diet coke and sang quite loudly. Shout out to the best copilot, Kelsie. She refilled my diet coke, kept me awake, navigated and pointed out every cow we passed. Just in case I missed them.
Moral of the story is: roadtrips are good for the soul. And Oregon is the greenest, happiest, rainiest place you will ever see. And that's why I love it.
I lived in Oregon for six years but Kelsie had never been. So we planned to hit some favorites. If you're trying to do a quick Oregon trip, here are some musts!
Multnomah Falls,,,so beautiful! Driving in from Utah it's right off the highway just outside of Portland so you can't miss it. And this isn't the time to sleep in the car! The Columbia River Gorge is to your right and the mountains are on your left. Once you get through Eastern Oregon the rest of your drive is gorgeous! Once you get there you can walk up to the bridge, do a little hiking, visit the gift shop and get some food. Or you can just stand at the bottom of the falls and stare.
Our next stop was Portland where there is sooo much to do. We of course stopped at Powell's Book. Whether you're a reader or not, you will find it hard not to lose yourself in this place! Voodoo Donuts, where we stood in line for 40 minutes for a glazed donut...but it was an experience! We went to the Tin Shed for breakfast the next morning which I would definitely recommend.
You can't go through Portland without catching a glimpse of the LDS Portland Temple through the trees. Definitely my favorite temple!
After Portland we headed to my very favorite part of Oregon and one of my favorite places in the world...the Oregon Coast. Here are some of my favorite places to see and things to do while there:
- Tillamook Cheese Factory. Guys. They give you free cheese. And teach you how to milk cows. Now if that's not what you're looking for on vacation I don't know what you want. After the cheese portion you hit the ICE CREAM section. Eat the ice cream. Eat all the ice cream.
- Lighthouses. I LOVE lighthouses. A strange obsession, I know. When I was a kid I had a lighthouse themed bedroom. I wanted to get married in one and live in one. Let's be serious, I still want to live in one. My favorite is the Yaquina Head lighthouse. If they have the staff they do tours and you can climb the spiral staircase all the way up to the top. My second favorite is Yaquina Bay. This one is supposed to be haunted. They do tours there and they will tell you the story....some tell it better than others....
- The tidepools. While you're up at the Yaquina Head you have to go down to the tidepools while the tide is low and have a look around. And get some great pictures!
- The boardwalk. Not your Cailfornia boardwalk, but a boardwalk all the same.
- Eat at Izzy's Pizza. I don't know if it's really good pizza or just really good memories....but it's a really good place. Give it a try and let me know which.
- Sea Lion Caves in Florence. You go down an elevator into a cave down into the ocean to look at sea lions. The lady who sold us the tickets said she has seen anywhere from just one to 600 sea lions down there. When we went there were about 250. I just feel bad for whoever has the task of counting the sea lions....
Yaquina Head lighthouse...this is where I want to live. Don't tell me I can't, it only makes me more determined.
That was our last stop before we started to head to Elko for Easter with my family. We got caught in snow up in the mountains before Bend and everyone knows how much Kelsie and I hate snow. I threw a little fit and yelled at the snow and it still didn't stop but we made it to Sisters for the night and the weather was much better in the morning.
We drove from Bend to Elko in one straight shot. It's about 8 hours, in case you were wondering. We ate a lot of salt water taffy, played 20 questions, finished off our case of diet coke and sang quite loudly. Shout out to the best copilot, Kelsie. She refilled my diet coke, kept me awake, navigated and pointed out every cow we passed. Just in case I missed them.
Moral of the story is: roadtrips are good for the soul. And Oregon is the greenest, happiest, rainiest place you will ever see. And that's why I love it.
