{ Oregon Coast }

We just got home from a fantastic vacation to the Oregon Coast.  Casey and I hadn't been to the coast since our first anniversary so when my mom and Todd invited us to come and hang out with them and Ben and Kim for a long weekend we jumped at the chance.



Four years ago celebrating our first anniversary in Newport, OR

 We decided to fly over to Portland then drive to the coast since an eight hour drive with a two month old sounded a little less than appealing.  Especially since our two month old is, um, spirited and uh, doesn't hesitate to make his every need known in a rather loud and persistent manner.

So we packed our bags and headed to the airport for Lincoln's first flight.  I was nervous and really hoped he would do well but decided that the worst case scenario was that he would scream and cry nonstop for the entire one hour flight, we would be exhausted, and we would receive more dirty looks than a line jumper at the DMV.  Everything stared out great - we flew through security and Lincoln fell asleep about 10 minutes into the flight.  I was secretly gloating to myself about what a great baby we had and how he was such a wonderful little traveller.  Then, right as I was about to take a picture of my angelic child, he woke up.

Uh oh.

He proceeded to cry and wail for the duration of the flight.  He refused to nurse, resisted his bink, and scoffed at all of our attempts to calm him.  Finally, mercifully, we touched down at PDX.  As soon as I walked off the plane with him in the front pack he settled right down and was as happy as can be.  Silly boy.

On our way to the coast we stopped by my old college friend Jeana's house for a quick hello.  It was great to see her after all these years and I'm glad she got to meet Lincoln.  The rest of the drive went well and we finally got to Neskowin late in the evening.  Although it was late and we were tired we headed down to the beach to take in the ocean.  Oh, it was divine.  We could hardly see it, but the sound of the waves crashing and the distinct salty scent were incredible.  We were too excited to go to bed so Todd build a fire and we sat around it taking everything in.  It wasn't Lincoln's first campfire but it was his first campfire on the beach!  Oooh, and we had s'mores.  They were s'awesome.



Lincoln enjoying the beach campfire with Grandma



Snuggling with Grandpa and Grandma

Thursday morning our little family of three took a walk on the beach.  It was so beautiful and picturesque.  Lincoln was a good boy and slept the whole time so Mommy and Daddy took their sweet time exploring the beach and Proposal Rock.

Just off our back deck



We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day

After enjoying a tasty lunch at the Otis Cafe (awesome chowder and delightful molasses bread), we hit the road and headed up to Tillamook.  We visited the Air Museum, Blue Heron, and of course, the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  It was a super fun day.



Casey and a cool old plane that he can identify but I sure can't



There are no words...



Grandma was SO excited to tote Lincoln around the cheese factory in the front pack



Mama Molly the dairy cow



"If I look cute and open my mouth maybe they'll throw some cheese up here"



We had planned on going out to dinner after our adventure but that evening Lincoln developed a severe case of the fussies so we stayed in and enjoyed some homemade tacos instead.  Eventually Lincoln went to sleep so we decided to attempt a game of Pinochle.  Casey was the only one who had ever played but by the time he taught us all the rules and we had played a few learning hands we were all tired and decided to turn in for the night.

It's a good thing we went to bed early because we had to get up bright and early Friday morning to catch our boat for deep sea fishing.  Casey had a blast fishing; I enjoyed myself but not nearly as much as he did (a part of me felt bad for the little fishies).  In five hours we caught one blue ling cod, one sea bass and two sea trout and learned that we should not quit our day jobs.  Oh, we also caught two crabs.  We got to keep our catch plus the sympathetic deckhand's contribution to our underwhelming bounty - two tiger rockfish, more ling cod, and more sea trout.  We're excited to try them all!

We stopped for a baby-free lunch on our way home (yay for babysitting grandparents!) and enjoyed more tasty seafood.  With our fishing adventure behind us and our bellies full we both took a much needed nap when we got home.  Even Lincoln joined in the family fun and slept with us.  (Good boy, Lincoln!)

What could possibly lure us from our dozing to the soothing sound of the ocean?  More seafood of course!  We all went out for a fantastic dinner at Black Fish Cafe in Lincoln City.  I had my favorite - scallops.  Mmmmm.  Ben and Kim got in late that evening - it was so great to see them.

Saturday morning we all went for a long walk on the beach and had a ball.  We admired the scenery, poked at sea anemone, let the freezing waves creep up around our ankles, dreamed about buying a cute little beachfront place, and found sand dollars and starfish.



Our home for the weekend in the background



Mr. B

Kim and Paris

 

Our little family =)

Mom/Grandma

The whole gang



Lincoln loved the beach so much he grew a claw.  No wonder he's crabby sometimes!



Starfish!

Sea anemone!



The house Casey and I are going to buy to retire here some day...

 

The Todd and Miss Paris



All that walking made us hungry for more seafood, of course, so we headed down to Lincoln City for some grub at Mo's.  Vince, Crystal, and Kaydence were there and so we made it a party and all ate together.  It was great to see the Moores and to finally meet Little Miss Kaydence.  She and Lincoln are just three days apart so it was fun to see them together.  The weather was gorgeous so we snapped some pictures out on a pier.

There is an outlet mall in Lincoln City so after lunch and pictures on the pier the girls (plus Lincoln) shopped while the boys headed back home to watch baseball and hang out.  I found some great winter clothes for Lincoln and a few gifts for all the new babies that are coming in the next few months.

We made sure to stop at this sign on our way home :-)

Later that night we encountered some sealife on our evening walk.

We had another campfire on the beach our last night in Neskowin.  All weekend it had been cloudy in the evenings so we hadn't been able to see the stars but Saturday night they were gloriously bright.  The fire glowing, the stars gleaming, the ocean waves crashing - it was a magnificent night.

Sunday morning came all too soon but we were determined to make the most of our last few hours at the coast.  Case, Link, and I went walking early in the morning.  It was a typically beautiful, foggy, crisp Oregon coast morning.  We breathed the salty air into our lungs, dug our toes into the sand, and listened to the comfortingly consistent sound of the waves.

Baby, Mommy & Daddy footprints

Lincoln was still in his jammers but we made sure he was able to put his toes in the sand, too.

Later that morning we headed for the airport and flew home.  Lincoln slept 99% of the way to the airport and did so much better on the return flight.  He followed the same pattern as the last flight at first which made me a little nervous that he would have another meltdown halfway through the flight, but after quickly falling asleep, he woke up about 20 minutes later and was happy as can be.

See?

What a wonderful vacation.  We had a blast!  Here's hoping we can do it again next year :-)