Oregon Trip 2011!

This is the great things about blogs- I can post all of these pictures of my trip, and you don't have to look at them if you don't want to!  Anyway, these billion pictures are of my solo trip to the Oregon coast.  I flew to Portland, and met up with all of my siblings, my parents, and a few in-laws (oh, and one baby for a few days!).    Our goal for the trip was to hike the first section of the Oregon Coast Trail- from the mouth of the Columbia River south as far as we could get.  I think it ended up being around 40 miles.  Being 6 months pregnant, I didn't hike the whole way, but I did the majority of it, and was pretty impressed with myself.
We rented a house that was central to this section of the hike, and had a great time talking and eating!  The picture above is my brother Peter, Mom and sister Marian.  Below is Edward (BIL), brothers Matt and Ben, and sister Amy.  All together, we had 13, I think- plus baby Tommy.

Our first night- we couldn't wait to get to Mo's for clam chowder!  Our saltine consumption was nowhere near what it used to be when we were kids, though!

It was great to have Tommy there for a few days- he definitely added an element of cuteness to our trip!  That's his mom Jenni behind him.

The start of our hike- that's the jetty that reaches out into the ocean on the south side of the Columbia.

The farthest land you can see is Washington!

Edward- the official photographer of the trip.  If you want to see good pictures from the trip, ask him!

Starting out...

The first day was all beach- 10 miles of it.  It was great for most of the time.  There were whole sand dollars everywhere, and I was able to collect one for each kid.  By the end of the first day, though, beach was getting a little old, and I was feeling a little old- major aches and pains!

Matt, Jenni and Tommy

Rest break!

Bald eagle on the beach.  He waited until we were really close to fly away.  It was great to start out at one end of the beach and just keep walking- never having to go back!  It was fun to have the beach mostly to ourselves.  There were really only people at the established beaches.

At the shipwreck- our lunch spot.

On the second day, I skipped out of the morning hike- my hips and knees were too sore.  Mary and I (the pregnant women) hung out and went grocery shopping, and then met everyone when they got to Seaside (where our house was), and walked through town on the boardwalk.  

We stopped for Tillamook ice cream here.

This is a recreation of the saltworks that Lewis and Clark built to evaporate salt from the sea water.

Our house.  Actually, it was two houses- the other one is behind me.  We had the perfect amount of room, and the kitchen was very well supplied.  It was gourmet week!

On Sunday we went to church in the Seaside ward, and then I drove with Mom and Dad to visit her brother Gerry and his family in Hillsboro.  We stopped in Forest Grove on our way back- this is the house we lived in when I was 5 until I was 11.

Day 3 of hiking.  This day was a hike up an over a mountain- Tillamook Head.  It was raining, obviously, and very muddy and slippery.  I wasn't sure how wise it was for me to attempt the hike, but it was so tempting I gave in.  I am so glad I did- it was messy and somewhat ridiculous, but so amazingly gorgeous!

Our lunch stop- a hiker's camp.

Finally done for the day!  That's Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach you can see in the distance.

Muddy, wet shoes.  I gave up on my poncho after the first mile or so- it was as wet on the inside as it was on the outside. Yuck!

Day 4 of hiking- Cannon Beach.  Mary and I sat out this morning, too- but I joined the group for the last hurrah before we finished.

Haystack Rock

The one sea lion we saw on the trip- unfortunately he was sick.  There was a sign posted saying that the authorities knew about him, and not to disturb him.

Mussels and barnacles.

Tide pool!

The end of the hike was around 3 small heads that are only passable that the guidebook said was only passable at low tide.  They weren't kidding.  It was a little scary, a little adventurous, and extremely fun.  

I believe this picture was taken right before we got really soaked.  It was a good thing this was the end of the trip- I don't think anyone had dry shoes after the last head.  So fun, though- and we just about died laughing.

The next day, I headed home.  The kids had been at home the whole week- Tim was around at night and for the weekend, but they were alone all day by themselves.  They were awesome- did their chores and took care of each other.  Still, though, it was hard on them to have me gone for so long, and I had mixed feelings about the trip that way.  I'll have to work through those feelings and make a decision, though, since the plan is to do the whole Oregon coast eventually (going every 2 years).  It doesn't help matters that in 2 years we'll have an almost 2 year old!