It's amazing to watch the changing landscape when driving into Oregon from east to west. Crispy sage brush laden landscapes begin to dot with a bit more green, until you seem to turn a corner and everything is lush and blooming. Blackberries grow wild on the sides of the roads. They are literally everywhere. Rose bushes and vine maples and gigantic pine trees so large they touch the sky. What a beautiful, magical place northern Oregon was. We just couldn't get over it. As we drove towards the coast it just got better and better. Small little farms littered the sides of the roads with signs like, "Organic Blueberry patches this way!" and "Apples and pumpkins over here!" On and on. Sigh. So much goodness in such a small little area. Its like sensory overload.
The coasts of Oregon (and Northern California for that matter) were absolutely magical. Never did we ever consider ourselves a beach loving family, but we realized after a day in the sand that we could all (especially the baby) be beach bums, no problem! At first glance of the ocean for the first time, Logan took off inn a sprint right to the waves. He scared us, of course, but I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. They were all SO so happy to be there. We collected sea shells and sand dollars and driftwood and vowed to make a mobile when we got home (still a work in progress). We visited as many beaches as possible during our trip. So, so beautiful.
We really did try to make the trip as fun for the kids as possible. On top of beaches we went to a waterfall, an awesome toy store, a rose garden, and to the biggest bookstore in the world (I think? It had an AWESOME kids section). We climbed on redwoods and swam in lakes and played with cousins and great grandparents . And it must also be noted that we ate... A LOT! Oh man, we ate so much junk, seriously, it was terrible, but also so liberating for a little while (we did a 2 day vegan detox when we got home, which NOBODY was super enthusiastic about but was totally necessary).
It was our first family vacation planned out completely by us - for us. No other agendas than to do whatever we wanted. To be spontaneous and get lost and enjoy each other's company. At the end, Josh and I looked at each other and said, "We need to do this every year!" Best. Time. Ever.
