Oregon Coast family trip: Part 2

Day 4: Tillamook, Cape Lookout hike, Cannon Beach

We started the next day bright and early and drove up the coast to Tillamook to tour the cheese factory. We'd been told by the locals to go early. I have wanted to do this ever since I found out about it years ago. We love Tillamook cheese and ice cream! We got a kick out of the high school mascot.

The cheese factory tour was a lot of fun and we got there early enough that it wasn't very crowded yet. There were a lot of interactive things for the kids, and it was a lot of fun to see the factory floor and watch the process of the giant 40 lb. blocks of cheese getting cut into the small "loafs" and seeing them zipping around the conveyor belts. At the end of the tour you go in a big room where you can sample a few different cheeses. Our family obviously loved this part. The kids' favorite were the cheese curds and they definitely ate a lot of them! After the tour we visited the shop downstairs. It was fun to see "small batch" flavors they don't sell in the stores. We had to make a trip to the ice cream counter and we all enjoyed our ice cream cones very much!

After the factory tour, we decided to take the Cape lookout hike that was nearby. We were laughing because we heard some people at Tillamook remarking how they weren't sure they could hike that day because it was so hot. The high temperature for that day was about 75 degrees I think-- something we considered perfect hiking weather! I guess when you aren't used to the temperature getting much warmer than the 70s, 75 feels too hot!

The hike was a lot of fun, though a bit longer than we anticipated. There were beautiful views of the coast, as well as some long drop offs where we had to keep a close eye on the kids. The kids were champs and hiked the entire thing (Molly excluded, though she did hike a fair amount on her own). The last mile or so had lots of tree roots to climb over and we distracted the kids by singing songs and playing "would you rather." I enjoy hiking as a family and I am glad our kids like it too.

Since we had already traveled so far up the coast, we continued north and visited Canon Beach. I was really hoping we would have time to make it there, and I am so glad it worked out because it was awesome. Seeing Haystack Rock in person was really cool. It was striking when it first came into view. The tide pools here were also awesome and we happened to hit it at low tide. It wasn't very busy, which was nice. The scenery was so beautiful!

We stopped for dinner in the city of Canon Beach and enjoyed seeing the city. It was so quaint and such a fun atmosphere. Unfortunately on our drive back to Newport that night Molly got sick and threw up. It was a long drive back, but it was worth it.

Day 5: Our beach

We decided to spend our final day in Oregon at "our beach." We really lucked out with weather the entire week and we got in a lot of beach time. The water was freezing, but the kids liked splashing around and the boys and Sean all jumped in this final day. Sean, Jackson, and Bode all took their time mustering up the courage to do it, but we were all laughing because Davis just ran and jumped in! 

We walked to another nearby restaurant for dinner and walked home along the beach looking for whales.

It was so nice having so much uninterrupted time together as a family. I love watching our kids play together, and overall, it was just such a great trip. So many new, good memories. We have spoken often about it since returning home. I'm grateful we were able to have this experience together.

The next morning it was overcast and started to rain, so we took it as our sign that it was time to head home. Not too far into the drive, Davis threw up, so whatever Molly had had been passed along. It wasn't too bad though, and Davis was a champ. We made a pit stop outside of Portland at Multnomah Falls. It was beautiful and a fun way to conclude an awesome trip!