Friday, April 22, 2016

Time on the Oregon Coast, from Rockaway to Otter Bay

The drive between Cannon Beach and Rockaway Beach, Oregon is phenomenal. We have driven along the coast in California which is always fun, but Oregon takes things to the next level with the variety and decreased level of traffic. I read on a travel website that we should be sure to stop at all of the scenic pull-outs, which takes longer but is well worth it. 
We rented a room in Rockaway for a steal, $75/night, because we timed this trip perfectly for the week between spring break in Washington, and spring break in Oregon. The hotel was right on the beach! We arrived a bit too early to check-in so we headed to Tillamook which was about twenty minutes away for some cheese tasting.
And of course some ice cream!
Then we stopped by the grocery store to buy some dinner to eat on the beach. We passed this cute little antique store in Rockaway, really the whole town is full of antique shops and a really good hot dog food truck (or so my husband says, I had already eaten so I didn't try any.)

I am through and through a beach person and I would never leave it if I could. Sand, salt, sun, and waves, love it all! My girls and I went down to the beach to wait for the sunset and they created their own slide and some Indiana Jones treasure pits. We've been watching the Young Adventures of Indiana Jones so they are a little obsessed with pretending they are Indiana.



When it was closer to sunset, my husband came down and we walked toward the Twin Rocks to see the sun set. It was gorgeous and well worth the wait!

I stayed up way too late reading The Lake House, which was made even better by the sound of the waves crashing against the beach outside our open window.

The next morning we went swimming in the pool and then headed back to the beach to hunt for seashells. I don't know how I was so lucky, but I found a nearly perfect sand dollar!
We took a drive towards Cape Meares to see the light house.
Afterwards our girls fell asleep in the car so we decided to keep driving south towards Otter Bay to see the Devil's Punchbowl. It was pretty but would have been much better if we had come on a low-tide.
The girls loved the Tillamook Factory so much that we took them again.

On the drive back to Rockaway some fog rolled in so we bundled up and headed back to the beach to hang out for a little bit until my family went into the hotel and I continued on towards the Twin Rocks again on a little walk. While on my walk I found a rather large agate!
I finished out the evening with some Martinelli's, apples with cheese (try it, it is amazing! Kerrygold Cheese especially)
Here's a little video of the fun that we had while on the coast. We had such a lovely time that we will certainly be back.