Anniversary Trip

Well, we did it! We managed to get away for the first time without our boys to celebrate our 10th anniversary (which is officially on Sept 1). We had a great time! After spending a fast and furious couple of hours with Grandmanette, imparting to her all of our parental wisdom, tips, and tricks pertaining to Jacoby and Morgan, Justin and I headed to the Oregon Coast on Saturday morning. We stayed at the same bed and breakfast where we honeymooned almost 10 years ago. It was a wonderful, restful, relaxing time for us and I'm so glad we were able to get away. It was even more special to go after Justin completed his third and final exam just a few days before our departure.

Here is a run-down of our trip with a few pictures (they're small, click on them to enlarge):

Day 1 -- Travel

We flew to lovely Portland, OR, rented a car, and headed out to the coast which is almost 3 hours away. The drive is beautiful and winds through wine country and some of their huge forests. We arrived at Ocean House in Newport, OR safe and sound, checked in, and then headed to dinner. We ate at a great pizza place and I had what probably was the best margarita I have ever had! (:

The Great Room

I love how cozy and warm this room is

One of the dining areas for breakfast

Day 2 -- A drive south to Florence

Breakfast is served at 9 am. And on a typical day in the real world, I've gotten up, gone for a run, made up the boys' food for the day, gotten them ready for school, dropped them off, and put in an hour or so of work by this time. On vacation, I used the time to read my book and drink coffee by the ocean. And Justin and I would take walks down to the beach. When it was time for breakfast, we would put on our extrovert hats and dine with all sorts of interesting people over a very yummy meal. We met folks from Canada, England, Ireland, and all over the States. They were great company, and we'd compare notes on restaurants and things to do.

Justin and I headed south from Newport towards Florence about 50 miles. We stopped at several scenic areas along the way including Hecenta Head Lighthouse, Cape Perpetua, and the Sea Lion Cave. It is truly a beautiful drive, and we enjoyed meandering along, taking in the lovely coastline. We were back in Newport for dinner and ate at a great steak/seafood place that had the most scrumptious brownie sundae! (:

Tide pool

View from Cape Perpetua...about 800 ft above the coast

More of the coastline

A stone lookout built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1920s

Handsome guy on top of the lookout

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Sea Lions

Oregon has many beautiful bridges. This was near Heceta Head.

Heceta Head Light House

Day 3 -- A day in Newport

We spent a day wandering the historic bay front in Newport. It's a large fishing community, so there are many boats to see. Sea lions take up residence on one of the docks, so they're always fun to watch. We decided to take a boat tour in the afternoon. The tour went around Yaquina Bay and then out onto the ocean. We were lucky enough to see a whale before heading into the harbor. We ate fresh fish and chips at a local seafood restaurant that evening.

Newport harbor

Sea lions on the dock

Newport Bridge

Sea lions on the buoy

A couple of land lovers trying to keep our sea legs on the boat

Day #4 -- Drift Creek Falls and Yaquina Head Lighthouse

We headed to Yaquina Head Lighthouse for a look at the tide pools and lighthouse, and then we were off for a hike to Drift Creek Falls. Drift Creek is in the midst of some of Oregon’s huge forests, and they’ve received plenty of rain this spring so everything was overgrown and very lush. To get to the falls you have to cross the suspension bridge which is about 75 - 80 feet above the creek. We ate at a nice restaurant overlooking the ocean and then treated ourselves to one last brownie sundae. (:

The view from our room

Some of the beautiful gardens at the bed and breakfast

A sizable stream runs along the beach since the tsunami hit Japan a few months ago. To actually get to the beach you have to wade across the stream or sacrifice your shoes. This is Justin trying to build a driftwood bridge to cross over to the beach.

Tide pool at Yaquina Head

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Suspension bridge

Drift Creek Falls

Day #5 -- Travel

We headed back to Portland right after breakfast and caught our afternoon flight back to Denver. It was great to see our little boys again and hear about all of their adventures. They did so well while we were away and we were very proud of them!