Oregon....

For our family vacation this year we rented a beach house in Rockaway Beach, Oregon. There were 10 of us so it was crowded but quite fun. We went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and ate delicious cheese and ice cream. Went on a few hikes, saw a few waterfalls. We saw the tide pools at Haystack Rock and walked down the Promenade in Seaside. We went crabbing and consequently ate the most delectable crab I have ever tasted. A great big thanks to Suzette for cleaning them!! I loved Oregon. It's just so beautiful and there's so much to do. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it.

Here are some highlights in no particular order since I can't figure out how to get the pictures in the order I want them to go!!

Below is Multnomah Falls. It's a just a bit outside of Portland. Apparently it's the second-highest year-round waterfall in the US.

The house we rented had a hot tub... here are the guys drinking Margaritas, non-alcoholic of course.. although looking at my dad, I think someone might have slipped some tequila in his!

The Octopus Tree. The legend is that ancient indians bent the tree that way to make canoes out of it's limbs. Way cool.

On our way to visit a lighthouse, I missed the turn and had to turn around. While turning around we saw this incredible view and had to investigate. We found a trail and it was so beautiful we decided to go for an impromptu hike. The trail actually led to the Octopus Tree and later on, the lighthouse. The hike was so beautiful... I couldn't believe how green everything was. Below are a few pics from the trail...

Yummy! That's a huge slug my dad is snacking on.

The coastline looking south towards Manzanita.

The carousel in Seaside.

Walking back from the tide pools at Haystack Rock.

My cute grandma at the tide pools. The wind was furious that day!

Bonfire on the beach... if you look in the background you can see Ben flying a kite.

Sunset on our beach. Every morning and night a huge line of clouds would roll in obscuring the sunset.

Part of our beach was covered in driftwood. I've never seen anything like it. It sure helped with our bonfire though!

Munson Falls trail. Munson Falls is the highest waterfall in the Costal Range. I wanted to hike up to the bottom of the falls but there was a sign saying it was dangerous.... too bad. The picture of the actual waterfall is at the end... I told you I can't figure out how to make the pictures go in the order I want them to. Grrrr....

We went to the Tillamook Air museum one day. They had the cockpits of a few planes for the kids to play in. Logan thought it was a blast. He's asked me every day since then if we can go back to the "airport".