The Oregon Coast

in #travelstory7 years ago (edited)

When I was in my teens, my family went on a road trip to the Oregon coast. We rented a vacation cabin on the beach in the town of Waldport, and spent a week exploring the neighboring towns.

We timed the trip before the main tourist season. Since we were a home-schooled family, we could schedule our vacations whenever we wanted without waiting for the official summer break! Rental rates for a full cabin were comparable to a motel room at that time of year, and we were able to live literally a stone's throw from the beach.

Day trips from that cabin HQ included lighthouse tours, the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, the Tillamook Cheese Factory tour, and visits to various beaches and rock formations. We gathered a lot of sea shells, watched the crabs skittering through the rocks along the piers, got soaked with cold seawater when we stopped paying enough attention to the waves, and generally had a blast. Somewhere around here there's probably still a box of seashells and driftwood.

The lighthouses were all interesting, and the stairs to the top of the Yaquina Head were a serious hike. It's the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast at 93 feet or 28 meters. The aquarium was fun. it's not especially huge, but it's big enough to be worth devoting most of a day to it. The puffins and otters were probably my favorite exhibits.

On our trip home, we visited the Evergreen Aviation Museum, which is packed with aircraft of all sorts including an SR-71 Blackbird spy plane and the infamous Spruce Goose transport.

I don't think we visited any of the Portland sights, but anyone considering a similar trip would doubtless find plenty to see and do in that city. Museums, cultural centers, and general Portland weirdness abound. I would definitely recommend that readers consider a visit to that area.

Unless passengers are prone to carsickness, I suggest anyone who plans to take a similar trip cross into Washington from Portland and driving along the north bank of the Columbia River on State Highway 14. Check out Beacon Rock, the Bonneville Dam, and the Maryville Stonehenge! On the Oregon side, check out the various waterfalls and hiking trails, especially Multnomah Falls. There's no shortage of things to see and do.

shadowbox
A seaside shadow box my sister made, mostly using souvenirs from Oregon coast trips.


map credit

Shadow box photo by the author

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Reviewing entries now, excellent story! It's been years since I was in Oregon (2001 or 2002?) We homeschool our @little-pepers!

I have no regrets about being homeschooled. I suggest Saxon Math for the Little Peppers, and frequent visits to the library to choose books on science and history!

Thanks for a lovely vacation recommendation with references! :) I love the Oregon coast. Another great draw are the sand dunes where you can rent dune buggies...

BTW, what are "lighhouses?" ;)

😄😇😄

@creatr

Typos. They are typos that will get fixed.

Sorry, it's my "editor's" eye... Just wanting to see your work be as good as it can be. ;)

Awesome, I have been to every location you mentioned.
We go to the Oregon coast a few times a year, it's only an hour and 45 minutes to Lincoln City for us. We were just there: https://steemit.com/travel/@gregm/visiting-the-beach-at-lincoln-city-oregon

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