Our first stop on Day 3 was Devil’s Punch Bowl.  

We went over to the Inn at Otter Crest and went down to Otter Crest Beach to be able to get inside the punch bowl.  It was SO cool!  Alli and I had never done it before!

Lots of Lighthouses!

Next up was another childhood memory, the Sea Lion Caves.

I loved it as a kid and so did my kids!

Below is me (on the right), Dad, Alli and Derek on the same statue 30 years ago when I was almost the same age as Liberty!

Some gnarly trees on the way to another beach.

Then it was back to the hotel.  We were totally wiped out but we’d had a great day and an amazing trip. 

We drove all the way home in one day.  Thank you, Alli for going with us and making it a much more fun trip than it would have been.  We should do it again in 30 years!

Can you find Levi?

Can you spot Levi?

Happy Anniversary to Me….

We kept driving south looking for a good place to eat but the pickings were slim and by 7:00 we were all getting hangry.  I wanted ice cream so we finally stopped at a Dairy Queen.  This was by far the worst restaurant I have ever been in, in my life.  Every surface was sticky, the floor, the counters, the soda fountain, the tables.  Even the air was sticky.  It was so gross that we decided to order our food and go eat outside on a blanket. We found a small patch of grass across the parking lot, (right next to a condemned building) and sat down to eat our food only to find that the food was of the same caliber as the restaurant.  I usually don’t mind DQ burgers, but these were drenched in so much sauce they were swimming in it and the meat tasted awful.  I couldn’t even finish mine.  It was right at that moment that Alli remembered what Rock had told me earlier that day when I’d sent him his Anniversary card/picture from the beach.  He’d said, “Treat yourselves to a nice restaurant in honor of our anniversary.”  

Fanciest Anniversary Dinner Ever

Sorry these are blurry.  Alli and I were laughing so hard she couldn’t hold the camera still.

We got back on the road only to pass the Tillamook Factory Restaurant a few miles down the road….and it was still open. 

Not to be outdone by Dairy Queen, our hotel made its best effort to make this a memorable anniversary.  I had reserved the hotel at a steal of a deal-$79.00 in Lincoln City.  Unheard of, right?!

As soon as we pulled up, we knew why.  It was almost completely under construction.  The entire entrance was blocked off with caution tape, there was a massive construction waste dumpster parked in front, the front doors wouldn’t even open and I had to walk around to the back of the building to get in.  This was the sign that met me at the door.  

 A little nervous, but not too worried yet, I walked in.

The lobby was a large empty white room, a canvas that I’m sure would be carpeted, painted nicely and furnished warmly at some future date.  I could see where the breakfast area would be, I could imagine where couches and chairs and tables would be, but it was all left to my imagination.  There was not even a front desk.  There was a small rickety wooden end table/desk standing in front of an empty doorway.  There was not a soul in sight, only a letter on the table apologizing for the inconvenience and assuring any customers brave enough to walk in that they could either stay (and risk life and limb) or they would be happy to cancel our reservation and help us find a new hotel.  Oh, and the wifi password too…on a crumpled sticky note.

At this point I was a little more than worried, but it was 9:00 at night and I knew we wouldn’t be able to find anything else.  I called out a hello and a women poked her head out of the doorway. She was on the phone and told me she’d be with me in a minute.  So I stood there, awkwardly waiting, wondering if this was some kind of joke. Candid Camera, maybe?  When she finally got off the phone she explained that the top two floors were completed and that our room was “mostly finished”.  I asked what “mostly” meant and she said it was just missing a few things.  She was not going to make this easy.  So I pressed harder, “WHAT things are missing?” the bed? the toilet? what?! She informed me that it was missing a coffee maker, but assured me everything else was finished.  I decided we would have to risk life and limb.  I got the key card and headed back out to the car to unload our stuff.  As we were unloading the car, Alli and I overheard some X-rated sounds coming from an open upstairs window. We looked at each other trying to decide if we should make a run for it and just sleep in the car for the night.  We just laughed nervously at each other and kept walking to our possible doom.  

After riding up an old smelly elevator we arrived on our floor and stepped into a hallway that was indeed finished-mostly.  Our room was also finished and we slept there two nights none the worse for wear.  McDonald’s did make more money off of us than it would have had we been able to eat our continental hotel breakfast.  And I would be remiss if I did not mention that they did have a basket of apples and some complimentary bottles of water on that little rickety table in the “lobby”.  

We opted for Egg McMuffins.

Stay tuned for Day 3 of the Oregon Coast.

Families ARE forever.

Dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  

Day 2: Cannon Beach

I have spent a lot of time on the OR coast and it is ALWAYS cloudy and windy.  This day was no different-or so we thought.

Haystack Rock

Sea Anemones were not exciting enough for Levi, he wanted to find a star fish.

He froze his legs, but he did finally find one back inside this crevice.  I was not about to freeze my legs just to get a picture of it.

More beautiful blue sky

Alli and I could not believe our luck.  We have never seen the OR coast with blue water!  Only gray.  It turned into a gorgeous day.  Stay tuned for the more of Day 2 as we head down the coast.