Oregon | Manzanita to Hood River - Day 4

Before leaving Manazanita, I took an early solo coffee walk down to the beach. I loved walking past the cute homes on the quiet streets along the way. This place is so peaceful.

Our rental house was the perfect fit for our family. 

We packed up and headed north along the coast for a stop in Astoria on our way to Hood River.



We spent a little time waking along the waterfront and saw a couple big cargo ships.







Then stopped at Fort George Brewing for lunch.





As we continued on our route to Hood River, we passed Multnomah Falls and were hoping to get the kids out on the bridge to see it. Unfortunately, they still had Covid protocols in place and you had to book tickets in advance with only a few people allowed on the trail at a time. Thankfully, we could still see the falls from the parking lot :)

The kids all napped on the remainder of the drive along the Columbia River on our way to the hotel. 

Our hotel was in an incredible location with a view of the Columbia River and all of the kite action!

For the remainder of the evening, we walked along the waterfront, watched the kite and wing boarders, hung out at the playground and had dinner and drinks at Ferment Brewing. 

Oregon | Manzanita - Day 3

After sleeping in a bit, coffee, breakfast, drawing and ping pong at the house this morning, we headed north to Cannon Beach for a little more wandering.

We walked down the main street / shops area to Kiki’s Tacos for lunch and then continued on to Public Coast for a few beers and board games (we packed Uno and LRC). Nice to hang out and not have to rush off anywhere.

We went in a few shops on the return walk, including an ice cream shop.

After that, we rented some three wheel bikes to ride on the beach! We went north to a creek and then south past Haystack Rock. Such a fun way to see the coast again. The kids absolutely loved it. Breck did great, too. So many silly moves and giggles!!

We worked up enough of an appetite to grab a snack at the local Screw and Brew (hardware store / beer stop). Ryder and Logan had their first oyster shooter! Pretty adventurous in my opinion.

Our last tourist stop on the way home was at Arcadia Beach. We didn’t see any definite tide pools but did see lots of little snails, clams and barnacles growing on the rocks. And it was just a beautiful shoreline.

We had a simple dinner back at the house, more ping pong and a hot tub session to close the night.

Tomorrow we’re checking out of Manzanita and heading inland to Hood River! Going to be hard to leave this amazing house and cute little town!!

Oregon | Manzanita - Day 2

Day 2 in Manzanita was slightly less ambitious, but still packed with fun.

We started the morning with coffee on the porch (drawing and Legos for the kids).





Around 10am, we biked into town and wandered a few of the shops. Most were not open yet but it was still nice to get a feel for the main street.

I was excited to find Cala Lillies growing in a few spots! I keep thinking this place reminds me of Costa Rica (ocean, hilly mountains, surfing, small town, wet / humid / lush) and these were the local flowers in my wedding bouquet. :)

And we of course hit the beach while we were there. Lots of jumping and running by all the boys, and front flips from Logan.





Then the boys headed back to the house while I grabbed some coffee and a birthday massage! Something I’ve only done on vacation on our honeymoon. Such a treat!



We all ate lunch and ventured a little north for a hike at Short Sands Beach. 



We have seen so much old growth, hollowed trees, and lush forests!

The hike was within Oswald West State Park, just a few miles north of Manzanita.

 

Logan loves flying our kite!



The temps have been in the 50’s and can feel cold or hot depending on the breeze, sunshine and rain.



After our hike, we continued north to Cannon Beach. Our first stop here was at Pelican Brewing for dinner.



Great food, cool atmosphere. Expensive (of course).



We followed that with a stop at Cleanlines Surf Shop and Haystack Rock.



When it came into view, Brecken stopped and eventually uttered: “Oh.my.gosh.” It was way bigger than he expected! So cute. 



It was pretty close to low tide, so we were able to walk a ways out. 









So pretty. I’m excited we’ll be up there again tomorrow.





Our last stop was at The Winery at Manzanita. I ordered a tasting flight, Shawn ordered a local microbrew and the boys ordered s’mores :)







We capped off the evening with one more hot tub soak to recharge for tomorrow!