Astoria Adventures

We have been doing so much this summer. Usually I feel that summer just kinda slips away and we don't get time to do much, so I made a plan this year. I stuck some goal-- some random adventure into every weekend. And we have been so busy doing, that we have hardly had time to do anything. We work all week, get everything put away from the weekends adventure, squeeze in reading and schooling with the boys, catching up on last weeks laundry, then packing again for this weekends trip. Exhausting. As we packed up for our camping trip to Astoria, Oregon, Kobe folded his arms and said "No more camping!" I don't blame him. We have already went camping once as a family and he had only just gotten back from a 5 day long trip with a friend. But the trip was planned and so we went.

I was a little late on the reserving, so everything on the north Oregon coast was booked up. I did a little bit of googling and found out about a tiny primitive campground just 17 miles out of Astoria. They don't take reservations, so we decided to try our luck. I had no idea what we would do if we couldn't get in here. Luckily it's only about a 2 hour drive from home, so I suppose we could have just come back home if worse came to worse. But as luck would have it, there was a spot! Even after not getting on the road as early as I had hoped, and this campground only had 3 sites! And it was only $5 per night. We arrived just after noon, pulled in, drove right past the campground down the logging road (there has to be more, right?) turned around and stopped at the one empty site. We snatched it up and began to erect our tents and cook lunch. It wasn't long before another family showed up, drove down that logging road, turned around. And another, and another. One couple in a small trailer chatted with us for a bit, decided to try their luck at another campground, but ended up back in the evening. They parked their trailer in the parking lot (which was a decent size considering the size of the campground) they said they were bummed about not having a fire pit to sit around, so they shared ours one night.

just behind our campsite

our weekend home

After setting up and lunch, we headed into Astoria to see what we could see. It was a beautiful day, a tad chilly (as it always is on the Oregon coast), and our first stop was to see the "Goonies house". This is the house they used in the movie. It's just a regular house and actually doesn't look much like it did in the movie. There are actually people living there, so all you can do is walk up the drive and take pictures of it. So we did.

View of the columbia fro Goonies driveway.

My little Goonies. 

Next we drove into Astoria to have a look. We stopped at the aquatic center which I had read about before we came. The person who had reviewed it online said it was pretty impressive and that it had waterslides and a "wave pool". It was only $15 for the whole family to have a swim so we couldn't pass it up. It did not end up having a wave pool. :( And it did have 2 waterslides, one large and one mini. The kids could use the mini slide but they didn't have the large one in operation because they said it wasn't busy enough to have the staff on duty needed to run it. This was a bummer for my boys. But they swam in the kid pool which was about 3 feet deep all over so Asher had no problems touching, there was also a lap pool which I and the older boys utilized, and a hot tub strategically placed where parents could sit in it and see the entire kids pool quite easily. There was also a small toddler pool, which we did not use.

After we had had enough of swimming for the day, we were headed back to camp, but Brandon decided he wanted to drive across the long bridge that went over the Columbia River into Washington. On the other side we saw signs for "Fort Columbia" so we went to check it out. It was an old military fort and it was nice that there was no one else around so my kids could explore the whole thing, running up and down the stairs and hollering to their hearts content without bothering anyone. Kobe was in heaven and asked if there were costumes somewhere so he could put them on to get the full effect. :)

 We were pretty exhausted after our long day so we headed back to camp.

We had a lovely time at the little campground that night. Marshmallows over the campfire, potato and ground beef foil dinners. It was so nice to not be packed into a huge campground (parkinglot?). We couldn't even see our closest camping neighbors.

Morning came and it was off again to more adventures. First stop was the Astoria Column. $1 annual parking pass. 164 step climb to the top. Gorgeous views. We really couldn't have gotten any luckier with the weather, I think Astoria gets about 4 sunny days a year and we were there for 3 of them. Asher was so proud of himself for making it all the way to the top!

Boat dedicated to an indian chief who was a friend to the lewis & Clark expedition.

View from the top.

Next was Fort Stevens State Park. We ate lunch next to a cute little lake, played on the windy beach, explored a 100 year old ship wreck that still sits on the beach and checked out 2 more military forts. 

After another exhausting day we rested at camp. Explored some trails and the Creek. Next morning it was time to pack up and be on our way. But this was not the end of the adventure. Instead of heading east (straight home) we went west to drive south on 101 for a bit before going home. We saw a little kite shop near cannon beach and nearly screeched our tires to stop and check it out. The owner was a very friendly old hippy who gave us some info on the local beaches (as we were looking for someplace to check out tide pools and climb on rocks). He told us about hug point which has some sea caves only accessible at low tide. He gave us a free tide table booklet and as it turned out we had perfect timing, low tide was about an hour away. We thanked him by purchasing 2 pirate flags, one for the garage or "man cave" and one for the boys' bedroom. 

Hug point at low tide was lovely. We explored the caves, the boys picked up about a dozen whole sand dollars. And we walked on an old wagon road that was carved out of the edge of the cliff. You can actually see the ruts from the wagons who made their way around the mountain to this otherwise inaccessible beach 100 years ago. 

This old wagon route was one of the last things we checked out while we were at Hug Point. The tide was starting to come in by then and we had to make a run for it as the waves were coming in, to get back to the beach and our van. 

Whew!! So that was our weekend, how was yours?? 

Camping at Nehalem Bay State Park

Our weekend trip began on Friday morning. It was nice and sunny when we left home, which made it hard to want to leave since this year has been mostly gloomy so far. It became overcast and drizzled a bit on the drive over and we got worried, but when we got to Nehalem Bay it was beautiful out.

The Campground is very nice, the spaces are not *too* close together and fit our 2 tents quite nicely. (Our hugemungous 10 person tent and the boys' smaller 4 person tent). We were camping with my parents who brought their small trailer, they got their own site next to ours, but we could have all fit in one site with no problems I'm sure. The bathrooms were clean and well kept, with private, free showers. There is a playground that the kids enjoyed and at one end of the campground is a horse camp. I took a walk with Kobe at one point through the horse camp, and I just have to say, horse people are so friendly! Every site we walked by where the people were out caring for their horses they called us over to chat and pet the horses. Kobe enjoyed this very much, and wanted to meet ALL of the horses, and began talking about having his own horses (I informed him we do not exactly have a big enough yard to have a horse) and we talked about looking into riding lessons near home.

walking down the beach trail

The water was freezing! (as it always is on the Oregon coast)

The beach was just a short trail away and after we set up our tents and had lunch we walked out there to spend the afternoon running in the waves, making sand castles, and digging holes. It was Cooper (the dog)'s first time at the ocean, and he had a blast too!

It was only in the 60's the whole time we were there, and at times it was very windy on the beach, but the sand was warm, and we love sitting by the camp fire. Each evening they have a show in their amphitheater and we attended the Saturday evening presentation about old shipwrecks around Nehalem Bay.


The campground also featured horse rentals. My mom, me, Kobe and Makai all went for a ride. We followed trails and rode them out on the beach and on the bay side. Asher was too young to ride one on his own, but they let him do a short pony ride around the stable area. It was a one hour long ride and pleasant. The kids very much enjoyed it.

Riding horses, for those not used to it, can be very hard on your legs! My knees were killing me afterwords. This is not a natural position for your legs to be in for an extended period of time. After we dismounted Kobe sat down on a step. He said he could not get up to walk back to camp because his hips hurt too much, but in the same breath talked about "next time" he gets to ride a horse, and what about those riding lessons?

On Sunday we packed up and headed down the coast a bit before heading back home. We made a short stop in Garibaldi to check out these trains.

You could go for a sightseeing ride on this one, but we opted against that. There was also a small playground close by that the boys played on for a bit.

After the long weekend we were all exhausted! The boys slept all the way home. I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend too!

Saying Goodbye to the Ducks

Our 2 month old ducks started learning to fly. They weren't great at it yet, and kept flying out of their fenced off part of the yard and into the main backyard or the front yard. We had to rescue them from the dog a few times, and place them back into their pen. Then one day, we went to the river to play all day, and when we came home one duck was gone. Then a couple days later, the second one was gone. They could have gotten into a neighbors yard, or, if they were lucky, they could have flown all the way down the hill to the creek. The only duck that was left was Ms. Quack (the one we were pretty sure was the only female). She cried and cried, wondering where her brothers went. So we walked her down to the park where we knew other ducks lived.

We only saw a bunch of males, we assume the females must have all been sitting on eggs. When we tried to release her near the other ducks one male duck attacked her. He flew at her and bit her and she was very scared and huddled near us. So we picked her up and took her further down the creek. There was no other ducks in this area, but we figured she would be safer here then in the other ducks territory. We left her in the water, and she stayed near the edge of the creek and looked scared and lost :(

I have a feeling we will never know what happened to all of our ducks. Maybe when they learn to fly better they will find their way back to our house to pay us a visit. I really hope they are still alive and OK.

Good-Bye Ms. Quack

Fun in Our Little Town and into the Big City

This weekends adventure started out with a walk down the street to our local farmers market. We explored all of the vendors, sampled all of the delicious recipes and purchased some locally grown, organic veggies and our favorite BBQ sauce. We then made our way over to Bella Cupcake, which is a new little cupcake shop we have been dying to try out. They absolutely have the tastiest, moistest cupcakes we have ever had, so I am going to have to put an order in for Asher's birthday next month.

After that we walked into the Gresham history museum which we have been meaning to check out. It is a tiny museum dedicated to the history of our little town (well not so so little, it's now the fourth largest city in Oregon). It was fun looking at the old pictures of places that we recognize. The boys go to a historic school that was built in 1923, so it was fun looking at the pictures of their school with all the kids standing in front of it from years long past. We talked about the way they dressed, and why they didn't smile in the pictures. One of the ladies that worked there was nice enough to speak to Makai and I at length about the history of the old school and how before that school was built there was another school in that place, and had been a school in that very spot since the first white people settled here. It was first a one room school house and for many years it was the only school in Gresham.

On the way walking back to our house we passed by the boys school, so we stopped there to take some pictures. There is a big, beautiful, old tree that has been overlooking that school since it was built. We have been admiring this tree since we moved to this neighborhood 2 and a half years ago.

The tree with the school behind it. 

we love our tree. 

taking a picture like the ones we saw in the history book at the museum.

They were not supposed to smile. To Asher this meant make a mean face. 

After going home for lunch it was time to go into downtown Portland to check out the festivities there. The Rose Festival is going on so there are a lot of things to see and a lot of people to watch. Portland is full of the most interesting people.

Since parking is often difficult to find and you must pay for it just about anywhere in the downtown area, we chose to park farther out and ride the Max train in. This is quite an adventure, especially when the weather is good and there are things going on downtown, it can be quite crowded! We had to all squish together for a bit, but we made it.

 The marines were there giving everyone a chance to show off how many pull ups they could do. Makai wanted to give it a shot. The guys were very nice and gave him a little extra help.

The fountain at waterfront park. Kids were running and playing in it. 

 And even after I told Makai he would be cold and miserable since we did not bring shorts or extra clothes,  and we had lots of walking and a train ride back to our car, he insisted that he just had to run through that fountain too. It was too much fun.

We got ice cream bars from a local vendor. 

 This train was set up on the side of the road. Yes my children unhooked the chain so they could get a little closer. I just took the picture and then ran off and pretended I did not know them. :)

We also toured a coast guard ship. The men who worked on the ship were very knowledgeable and explained the parts of the ship and how it runs. 

The boys were pretending to drive the ship. Even though there was not a steering wheel to be seen, apparently you can not drive something without turning a wheel. 

exhausted with a face covered in chocolate, Asher patiently rides back on the max.

As you can see from the pictures, Kobe was not with us this day. He had stayed the night at a friends and stayed over there all day. Just wanted to let you know, in case you were worried about him ;)

A day at the River

Me and Makai enjoying the sun

Saturday was a beautiful, warm, summery day. I wanted to take the boys somewhere nice where we could play in the sand where we haven't been before. After a little bit of driving around, we found this great park called Dodge Park, in Sandy, Or. Where the Bull Run River meets the Sandy River. The park was quite lovely, and did not have a day use fee. There was a playground, which we did not play on, but something to keep in mind for the future, as well as picnic tables where we made sandwiches for lunch. And a nice sandy beach area where the kids could play by the water.

 We all very much enjoyed the day wading in the (freezing cold!) water, making sand castles and feeling the warm sun on our backs.







Although we forgot to purchase sunscreen before our trip and poor Makai, Asher and Brandon ended up with a bit of a burn. Oopsie.

"Look at my sand castle, mom!" Asher loves making new friends
and has to ask everyone he meets what their name is and if they
want to play. He especially likes girls. :) 

 

Cooper enjoyed playing here, too. Another family brought their 2 dogs as well. They were very large and the owners let them run all over the place including on our blankets. And one went for a swim and came right over to me to shake off. Yeah, I really appreciated the shower, but I was a bit relieved when the park ranger came over and made this family leave due to lack of leashes. Luckily we brought our leash, and we are polite enough to keep our little hound at our side at all times. 

What a great way to spend a summer day. I am hoping for many more beautiful days this year.

The boys first campout of the summer

     We finally had a weekend without rain! It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The boys have been begging to camp out in the yard for weeks but I always have to tell them "no, it's going to rain tonight", but finally we get a nice day with no rain expected for at least 2 days. Awesome. We have a brand new tent that was still in the box. A gift from Grandma. It's a hugemungous 10 person tent from costco with a hinged door and self rolling windows, ooh la la :). So we broke into it. It took Brandon and I some time to figure out how the thing went together, the instructions weren't the best, but once we got it done it looked fantastic. And next time it will be easy since we know how to do it now.

     The boys were amazed at the size. It's a mansion of a tent!










     A couple of their friends were over playing, so the boys invited them to spend the night in the tent with them. After everyone got their stuff and they set up their beds in the tent we made a fire in our portable fire pit and roasted some marshmallows for s'mores. Yum yum. The boys told stories and we all laughed and had a great time.
   

  The boys stayed up very late talking, laughing and playing with flashlights. This is exactly what childhood is all about. I truly believe, as a parent, it is up to me to give my kids the best childhoods I possibly can. Full of happy memories and great times spent with friends and family.