Sightseeing in the PNW

Driving North

The floating bridge is pretty awesome. I love how low it is to the water. 

I honestly can't get over at how beautiful Seattle is. Especially near lakes, parks and the Puget Sound. This bridge crosses over Lake Washington. I mean, I know I've mentioned this before and probably sound like a broken record, but I have a great love for nature, all that God created. It's just all so beautiful to me that I can't keep from marveling about it.

Beautiful pine trees.

First, we came across Crescent Lake. It's a deep lake and it's known for it's crystal clear water due to low levels of nitrogen that inhibit the growth of algae. I read that there are leeches in this lake. I don't think I would want to go swimming in it, but I most definitely would like to kayak here. It looks quite big and wraps around the mountain. That would be such an awesome experience.

We drove about 54 more minutes to Rialto Beach in Forks.

The parking lot at Rialto Beach is very small so the overflow had to park along the road. We ended up parking a ways away. It was quite the distance to walk to the beach, but it was worth it. 

This is one of the beaches that has a lot of driftwood. 

It was a little humid but a bit chilly at the same time. 

So pretty!

I did find the coolest smoothest looking rocks. I didn't take a picture but they were different shades of blue and green. I have them on my bookshelf in my study.

There are areas where there's too much driftwood. It definitely makes it challenging to walk. Plus, given that this beach has a lot of small rocks especially away from the water didn't help with walking either. You had to be careful were you walked to avoid spraining an ankle or falling flat on your face.

After spending some time at the beach we drove to Port Angeles and had dinner at Barhop Brewery. They use a 115 year old Alaskan sourdough starter for their pizza. That's quite neat right?!

We spent the night in Port Angeles and had breakfast at Chestnut Cottage. I remember that their coffee was good. I wrote in my agenda that they use Boyd Coffee. Jacob and I get so excited whenever a restaurant serves good quality coffee and this place had it. 

Riley always enjoying something extra sweet.

We got home around 1:30-ish. It felt warmer back home. According to my journaling it got up to 90 degrees.

We had BBQ for dinner then drove to Ruston Way in Tacoma for an evening ice cream treat.

Strawberry ice cream on top of a brownie. I couldn't finish it. It was very filling. 

Mt. Rainier was visible and when that happens you have to photograph it. It's definitely a prettier picture with it in it.

This is a great spot to hang out and spend an evening by the water. I miss it!

There are concerts during the summer. It's very nice and relaxing.

Beauty in nature draws us to the creator's 

glory and fills our hearts with wonder and worship.

Summer 2018 Road Trip - Day 2

June 30, 18
Had a good night's sleep. Usually the mattresses at hotels aren't all that comfortable but the ones at the Salishan are very comfortable. I even had Jacob check the mattress brand, lol.  Woke up with achy feet probably from all the pedaling we did on the sand bikes the day before. Jacob laughs and gives me a hard time about how quickly I get sore from activity.

Our first stop on day 2 was Depoe Bay.
The way the town hugs the bay is so appealing to me.

This time around we got the chance to see grey whales. We saw five of them! Jacob was so excited he was jumping up and down like a kid. I should have taken video of him. Unfortunately, non of the pictures I took had a whale spouting water, lame I know. I was enjoying the moment I guess.

Pretty!

Seven minutes later we took the Cape Foulweather exit. Another must stop for us. When the little shop is open you get to use one of their binoculars to look for whales.

The view from inside the gift shop is breathtaking. I would love to have this view from my bedroom window. No need for window coverings. A sunroom would be lovely too. I can just picture myself sitting down on a cozy couch reading in the sunroom, even if it's cloudy and stormy ... this view is extraordinary.

Outside the gift shop you'll come across more gorgeous scenery.

I hope you've enjoyed the beautiful scenery I've shared so far. These are all of my favorite spots and every time we drive down the Northern Oregon Coast we stop at these locations.

For breakfast we stopped at Nye Beach Cafe in Newport. I usually get bacon, eggs and hash browns. Jacob gets something different every time and he leaves unsatisfied usually about half the time. I like to play it safe when it comes to what I eat especially when we're on the road because I can't afford to have stomach issues during a road trip. I don't even want to imagine.

This next one is Devil's Churn. It's a 50 minute drive from Cape Foulweather. It is so relaxing hearing the sound of the water gushing into the underneath cove. There are a few trails but I prefer to just stay up here and take in the view and sounds.

Devil's Churn, Thor's Well and Sprouting Horn are all in the Cape Perpetua Marine Garden area.

And just around the corner from Devil's Churn you'll come across Thor's Well. Not a very good idea to wear sandals/flip flops if you plan on walking on these rocky tide pools. You better hope you don't trip and end up scraping your toes. Thankfully these two were fine.
The weather was windy and cool, so nice!

Eventually you'll come across the Sea Lion Caves attraction as you continue to drive down Hwy 101. We went inside and Jacob asked if we were going to actually see any sea lions and the worker told us that there were no sea lions in the caves at that time. Geez, good thing Jacob asked before buying the tickets or else we would have wasted close to $40 to just walk around. So deceitful!

Anyway, we continued driving down to Florence where the sand dunes are. Jacob and Riley went sand sledding. They had such a fun time. I enjoyed walking on the sand dunes and feeling the soft sand between my toes.

It was very windy so sand was getting into our eyes.

Here's a video of them sledding down. So funny!

Sledding can be dangerous tough. There was a family next to us and a girl about 12 years old was sledding down standing up and fell and she banged her head on the sand and got knocked out for a few seconds. That was scary to see.

We left Florence and made our way to Bandon. On our way to the beach we came across a gaggle of Embden geese. They were crossing the street and taking their sweet old time. We had to come to a complete stop until they were safe on the side of the road.

We eventually made it to Face Rock. Isn't it cool?! I mean, it's a bit creepy. Can't help but imagine this giant moving or standing up. Yikes! There's a local Indian legend about Face Rock. I read it but all I can say is that all those legends are extremely bizarre.

For dinner we stopped at Tony's Crab Shack. How could we not when the Oregon coast is known for having the best dungeness crab. I totally enjoyed my crab, savoring each bite. Every time I eat crab it takes me a long time to eat it. I'm usually the last one to finish my food, lol..

The owner of the place takes his cat to work, lol. It was a friendly cat. I can't remember his name but Riley's certain that his name was meatball 😆

We were one of the last ones to leave the restaurant and afterwards we walked over to the pier but it had gotten quite cold so we briskly walked back to the car.

So thankful we were able to get a hotel room in Bandon since it was 7:20 pm by the time we were done eating. Sometimes I do wish we had an RV that way we could just stop at RV parks and enjoy the outdoors a little longer. We got some (decaf) coffee and called it a night.

Summer 2018 Road Trip - Day 1

June 29, 18
I just love road trips and I especially love heading down Hwy 101 into the 1 ... overlooking the Pacific.
We do visit the Northern Oregon coast often, it is truly my favorite!!! I am aware that because of this fact I tend to make posts about these adventures. Can't help but to want to bring you along to the places that are dear to my heart.

Can't go on a road trip without spotting semis carrying logs. When we head over to the Oregon coast we usually take the Longview way into Oregon. There's a big logging company right on the border and sometimes it smells funky in that town. Kinda makes me nauseous so I have to breathe through my mouth until we drive across the bridge.

We are always on the lookout for wildlife. It's quite fun, it helps with staying alert cause it's always fun being the first one to spot an animal. Once we reached Astoria we came across three deer making their way down an alley.

We stopped at Seaside and rented fun cycles. It was our fist time using one so it was a little bit of a struggle at first. We had to make sure we were on super hard sand or else you'll go nowhere if you try to pedal on semi hard sand. Once we were on hard sand it was easy to get going. Pedaling and maneuvering it is easy and you'll glide smoothly. I was ahead of the boys and it was easy to leave them behind so I had to turn back around. Riley was loving it. He was trying to race his dad. Riley always makes his dad laugh with all the silly faces he makes when he concentrates.

There were dead dungeness crabs along the water. I wonder how it happened. Do they swim out of the ocean and get eaten or do seagulls fish them out of the water and eat them??? Hm.

We didn't stop at Cannon Beach during this trip given we had just been there twice in the past few months.
I am so thankful for Jacob driving because that gives me the opportunity to take pictures and document our trip.

But when we come across a pullout with breathtaking views then we pull over so Jacob can experience it too. Like this right here! Gorgeous!!!! This pullout spot is called Tolovana Park.

Stopping at Tillamook Cheese Factory is a MUST!!! So we make sure to time things right. They close at 6 pm during the week and 8 pm on the weekend.

Cheese Factory ... pretty cool!

Jacob sampling cheese. I'll pass, not really a fan of cheese unless it's mozzarella or nacho cheese.

It's so difficult to choose what flavor ice cream to get since there's so many good ones.

Once we were done with our ice cream we then walked over to the retail shop. I tend to get myself a canvas tote as a souvenir whenever we visit some place fun. Or if they happen to have really nice cups then I'll get one of those too.

After Tillamook we drove to Cape Lookout State Park. This was our very first time here. They have cabins and yurts for rent, RV and tent camping.

As soon as we got to the beach I immediately felt the humidity. My hair was beginning to get frizzy and puffy.

I really liked this place. The vibe was comfortable, there's a lot of trees at the camp sites that provide ample shade, it smelled piney ... and the beach was secluded with pretty views ... low clouds had descended upon the hills giving it an eerie look, straight out of a suspenseful thriller. Sort of reminded me of the movie The Fog (the remake).

We came across this huge opening. If I remember correctly it wasn't a cave and it wasn't really that deep in. I was a little nervous because the earth could topple down at any moment so I told them to step away from there.

What I like about traveling on Hwy 101 during the summer months are all the pretty wildflowers growing along the road. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of any wildflowers on this trip. It's such a pretty sight though.

We stopped in Lincoln City for dinner. Lincoln City is the last place where you can get food or stop at a grocery store before stopping for the night at the Salishan resort in Gleneden Beach.

It felt good to stop for the night and relax. Although I always bring a few books with me I can't seem to get a good amount of reading done. By the time we stop at a hotel I'm tired and just want to shower and go to sleep.
Riley gets homesick fast, by nighttime on our first day of our trip he'll say that his belly hurts or that he wants to go home. This kid doesn't like the in-between stuff one goes through on road trips. All he wants is to get from point A to point B in like ten minutes, lol. I tell him that he needs to learn to enjoy the journey. That's my favorite part of road trips. And it doesn't matter how many things we pack for him to keep him from getting bored, he just doesn't care for them. So I tell him to admire nature and behave himself.

I think being in love with life is a key to eternal youth.