Trip of All Trips

I don't know how many years it took D and me to get enough Skymiles each for a flight, but we've been sitting on them for a while waiting for the "right" time to use them. They were set to expire 3/2012 so with D in school, I knew we needed to take advantage sooner than later. Plus winter could be tricky so I took the reigns and said we're going on a trip. I originally was aching to get my boys' feet in the sand; a true summer beach vacation for the four of us. Plus Jig could fly free! But with a 3 and 1 year old we decided a recharge wouldn't be anywhere in sight; we'd come back better parents if we went alone. Lots of family vacations to come. So once again, my willing and awesome parents came to our rescue... watched our boys for a week! It worked perfectly schedule-wise... D's off week at work + a full week's Fall vacation at the U. This trip and time we had together was unforgettable and lovely! We couldn't have been happier/more fortunate to have enjoyed EVERYTHING... here come lots and lots of pictures!

The feeling I get holding hands with my husband on a plane knowing we are going somewhere together is like no other excitation; I love it! Rainbow out our plane window promising one happy trip.



We flew into Portland and were starving after picking up our car, so we ate at Nicholas downtown - INCREDIBLE food. Then we hit I-5 to head south to Coos Bay and the lodge. I had researched and booked this place months in advance and we were so looking forward to finally being there and having it to ourselves. When we turned out onto the highway for the little bit of drive along the coast, it was beyond gorgeous!



First glimpse of the forest



The little town of Coos Bay was the hub for our stay at the lodge. I was aware of how many miles the house was from Coos Bay, but not aware of how long the drive actually took... it was a 40 minute drive away from town... so we got there in the pitch dark. It was a small, kind of secluded road that wound and wound in the dark woods forever that night! Plus we had a little trouble locating the lodge. Once we found it we both hopped out of the car in a serious rush to decode the lockbox and get in the house. Except for a little motion light, it was black dark night and we were psyching ourselves out hearing the breeze and animals and being in the middle of an unfamiliar forest 40 minutes away from ANYTHING. We definitely hunkered down for the night, more than ready for some daylight!



And... no reception for MILES on end... it took the full 40-minute drive to even get reception. There was a landline there at the house though and I had given my mom that number so at least she could call us if she needed to. The no reception freaked me out at first but we got used to that in a heartbeat :)



We awoke to this -



While swinging from our bed of luxury :)



Surrounded by total beauty.



And GREEN



It was so incredible to take two steps off of the back deck and land in serenity!!



The man who owns this house seems like kind of a hippie; totally cool; built the house himself. Kind of designed it to blend into the environment. Every detail - though extremely masculine - was well-thought-out. Can't argue with some Walt Whitman.







The sauna



The hammock



Entry to the home



Our firewood box was outside, but we could access it from the inside of the house, right next to the wood-burning stove!



Den for cuddling and movie-watching (we watched Limitless, Hanna, and No Strings Attached - more movies than we've seen in MONTHS!)



Love this table. Exponentially more beautiful in person.



Beautiful granite all throughout the home... loved the colors that were caught in the light of this particular granite in the kitchen.



Staircase - as if it is part of a tree - myrtlewood from the area



This landing between the two upstairs rooms was really cool - huge window in the center where we stared at the landscape



There were tree steps to climb up to the lofts in both rooms; it was so much fun to have a whole house to ourselves!





Art all over the house... this was cool in one of the bathrooms to have the whales :)



The shower in this bathroom was the only one we used! It was WONDERFUL... crank open the window while you shower and take in that cool minty forest air. Heaven.



And really the swinging beds may sound hokey but they were amazing. Like a waterbed but not so cumbersome. Felt like being rocked like a baby. It was a beautiful thing I tell ya. The moon above at night and the glorious day in the morning.



I can't get over the beauty of the trees



D had to log homework time



And I brought our little DVD player to fit in a workout or two



Hammock snuggling



This slug was enormous... I was doing my workout on the deck but couldn't stomach the possibility of jumping on him



Cool though



Our drives up and down that road to town were such perfect conversation times, music time, taking in the gorgeousness.







We visited Sunset Bay...



I fell in love!! Beyonce's new song "Countdown" was playing as we pulled up to the ocean waves smashing and it was an awesome song for that moment



I about lost my mind with all of the art going on around us



I am endlessly inspired by the ocean and its scenes... I need to move closer to it!



Light house in the distance - Sunset Bay





Different outlook onto Sunset Bay



Sunset at Cape Arago



This is a horrific shot, but this was a group of seals far in the distance all huddled together at sunset, it was almost eery to hear them barking at dusk



I dragged D to Coos Bay's own Salvation Army and it was a trip but we found him two classic shirts and I found a hat. Then we found this -



Bug art. We need some OR plates!



It was all downhill after the Thrift Shop



But that full moon was a bonus



Thursday morn we drove the one huge mile where the road dead ends at Golden and Silver Falls State Park... it was so fantastic to be so close- set out on our forest hike



Honestly the Autumn/forest feel was intoxicating... we looked down into the gully and leaves were falling off trees, swirling into the abyss. It was too gorgeous!! I should have just done a video but kept trying to capture it in a snapshot and unfortunately this was my best.



I also fell in love with this tree.



Forest silhouettes



The moss is wildly beautiful too



We saw some amazing-looking caterpillars



There were hundreds of these fuzzy ones. When we were leaving Southern OR driving along D kept saying, "Oh there's one. There's another one... " On the road!! Just inching along, possibly getting run over.



Yes I am passionate about moss



Can't get enough of it!



Autumn's magic.



We made our way to the waterfall





Ma & Pa



After Silver Falls, we found our way to Golden Falls - lots of water and rocks to hop over. It was very fun but yes I slipped



Beauty.



I guess I'm on a forest kick but sure was enjoying being surrounded by it.



And rushing water.



We found a lobster-ish friend we wished we could have taken home for Croz & Jig!





Driving up and down our road, one of my favorite scenes



Slice of the coast - art in the home that I liked



We both wanted to stay so much



North Bend. Logging town-



Bye :(


Oregon is chock full of Dairy Queens. It rocks! We had to stop off in Florence to at least enjoy SOMETHING from DQ



Instead of doing I-5 again we chose the coast but got kind of a late start unfortunately. Had to kind of rush along but luckily lots of coast can be seen by strictly driving along...



So glad we chose the coast! Stopped off at Yachats at a lookout. Heard some barking, looked down, and what do you know? Those seals are so cute!



Heceta Head Lighthouse





Apparently they throw Mushroom festivals, hey hey!





Depoe Bay





Then Lincoln City. Our honeymoon spot! I have fond memories of this place not only from our honeymoon but also because during a small part of my childhood I grew up in Salem, OR and we would frequently visit the coast. Lincoln City with its windsocks, saltwater taffy, colorful kites, and I can still taste sand in my raspberry licorice.







I liked this saying.



And loved the merman.



Tillamook only got a drive-by this time



Island at dusk



As we approached Port of Garibaldi I was feeling so nervous. Our ultimate destination before making it to Portland that night was Cannon Beach. I was so sad because we weren't going to make it with enough light to see one of my favorite places-



We were almost there and the sunset was burning pink so I HAD to stop off at the lookout right before Cannon to try to capture any of it! The sky looked so amazing.



Well as we pulled up to the beach in the dark, we hastily found a parking spot at the edge of a little neighborhood and booked it out to the sand... looming Haystack rock and end of the sunset. Luckily I figured out some sort of setting on my camera to get a shot :)



Something about the beach at night... there were lots of people out... but still it is a little eery... maybe because of the chill in the air... but yet I like it



We were just kind of giddy!



After walking along the beach for a bit, we had to journey an hour and a half longer to get to Portland. We weren't keeping a good eye on our gas tank and realized in what we thought was the middle of nowhere that we were running on fumes. It was scary in the dark for a good 20 minutes but then just as we thought we were goners, I spotted a podunk gas station over to the side and we were thanking our lucky stars.

Once we figured out where in downtown Portland our Residence Inn was and checked in, it was about 11 pm. We were SOOOO hungry! So we set out driving in the pouring rain. It was a Friday night so you'd think things'd be rockin but we weren't noticing a single place to eat but McDonald's and I just outright refused. Hungry grumpiness had set in. GPS was going insane. Portland is a biker's city and apparently D was sagging in and out of bike lanes and getting confused with all of the one-ways because pretty soon sirens flash behind us and a cop pulls us over and says all stern-like, "Am I in your way???" He was a jerk for a minute but after he let us off the hook and confirmed we weren't drunk he helped us out. He told us where to find the famous Portland food carts and since that was on our list of culinary musts we were happy campers to find a pod of food carts with a warm fire blazing, lively people, and open 'til 2 am!

D got us some pulled pork fries from Potato Champion



Artisan pizza, fries, and a hot Whiffie Pie (coconut cream with chocolate chips melting in) A bon sante!



Rose City was beautiful in the morning!



It was a one-mile walk along the river from our hotel to get to the Saturday Market



It was a nice leisurely stroll that morning, taking in some sights



Had lots of fun browsing the market, found a few fun gifts



For Christmas... is Jig a tiger or a lion? And Croz?





Happened across a wedding brigade



Loved these!



Fall in Portland



Cityscape



Do I look like a Portlander??



For you, Mom - Bleeding Hearts



We were so excited to hit Saturday brunch at Screen Door!



My creme brulee French toast (I would say the bread was at least twice as thick as the picture depicts)



D's fried chicken on a waffle. A quick tidbit: I am NOT a fried chicken girl. It's just not my thing. However. This was the most amazing fried chicken I've ever tasted.



I was kind of melting at how D looked with the sunlight streaming in, eating his breakfast. Had to document ;)



After D studied some more, we decided to skip what Portland may have had to offer us for the afternoon and drove back out to Cannon Beach! It was a pretty drive with the sun out.



Ahh, back to the beach.





It was full of people as we were walking around. We found lots of ocean-smoothed rocks for Croz and some shells.



HAD to dig in!




A different angle of haystack rock



Check out what drifted in



My childhood!



The best memories.





October 2002



October 2011 - Ha, this is my thrift store hat :)



We browsed the town; it is so cute. Grabbed a drink and noticed EVERYONE was carrying a pink and white striped bag from a candy store. We found it right away and found one too many goodies to take home! It was an awesome store. Taffy and all kinds of unique sweets... got my dad a bag of Neapolitan whoppers and Crosby some gummy centipedes.



I love you, Cannon Beach



Later that night we set out on the streets in downtown Portland to check out the action... this drummer guy was impressive



I had promised myself I would try Bikram yoga in another city besides Salt Lake, so now was my chance! I left D zonked out and hauled myself to the 7 am class. It was a really pretty and clean studio. It was a good class, I was kind of rusty though. It was so great to be able to try it!

Later on after packing things up we made our way to the Japanese Garden...



I was so excited to visit here as it is where Pops loved to come (and Beth and my mom and uncles). I was in the zone to feel his presence and drink in the beauty of it!



Tea house top





Zen





My bench



D's bench



More moss please



Canopy



Each one is ocean-smoothed





Miss you so, Pops



We tagged along here and there with the tour... I was fascinated by all of the pins on these tourist hats



Koi



Tower



Texture



Breathtaking



Pink





Such a serene spot.



Texture



Color



Harmony. I thought it was neat how in the tour it was mentioned that the goal of a Japanese garden is not necessarily to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye but to create things at a human scale.



Falling in love with apricot-colored leaves



Hydrangea



Pretty enough to eat, I was tempted!



Sunday was our day to come home but we still had one thing left to do: find some food and head to Mt. Tabor park for a view of the city. We wandered in Chinatown area and found a lone Thai food cart open!



Had the most AMAZING potato and curry puffs, oh wow! We gobbled them in the car on the way to the park.



House on the way to Mt. Tabor-



Our food made fresh, so delicious!



We ate together as we checked out the awesome (picture doesn't do it ANY justice) high-up view of Portland before leaving



All I have to say is: Heaven. Every second of this trip was incredibly great. It will be in our memories forever! In our car I kept looking at this display on the screen where we had our iPod plugged in. "Connected." That says it all :) So very thankful for the opportunity we had to do this! Love to all!