Backing up just a tiny bit further - my last weekend started on Friday morning. After the kids were off to daycare I finished packing up and then got started off to the Oregon Coast with Matt. Our goal was to get to Seaside, OR, but we had no schedule or agenda....we just slowly made our way up the coast, enjoying the scenery and stopping when the mood struck.
Our first stop was in Newport at the Hatfield Marine Science Center...
While there we saw this....
and could have touched this (though we both chose not to!)....
We also saw the octopus come out to say hello, though I didn't get a picture of it, and I saw halibut alive for the first time (I'm used to only seeing it as my Friday night plate of fish-n-chips!).
We had lunch just down the road at the Rogue Brewery....
....where we had this lovely view while eating lunch.....
....and tasted some of their yummy beers (my favorite taste was the McRogue Scotch Ale).
Back in the car after lunch to keep making our way up the coast. Next stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory - can you believe I've never been?!
Of course I've been to a cheese factory before (I am from Wisconsin after all!) but this is a HUGE operation. We enjoyed some free cheese samples, looked around a little, and enjoyed some ice cream before getting back on the road.
We made it to our destination - Inn at the Shore - about mid-afternoon. Just in time to enjoy our view and rest a bit before dinner.
This was the view from our patio - it was nice enough to leave the patio open the whole time so we could hear/see the ocean. Sooooo peaceful and relaxing!
The hotel was great - friendly staff and the room was nice. They had videos in the lobby that we could have borrowed, and LOTS of cable channels! I will admit that I spent some time catching up on some HGTV watching.....
another favorite view from my hotel room....love, love, love Sarah's House!
We had dinner at the Shilo Inn - the restaurant is right on the beach and the view was incredible. We got there just in time to see the sun drop out of the clouds and over the water for the most beautiful sunset I've seen in a long time. I have no picture of it - I'm not sure I could have taken one that would have done it justice. The food was great too and it was a great way to wrap up our vacation day.
The hotel also has bicycles that you can take out for a ride, so Saturday morning we took them out and rode all the way down the promenade (about 1.5 miles each way I have since read)
We had some breakfast and a little walk out onto the beach before heading back down the coast. We stopped in Lincoln City so I could do a little shopping at the outlet mall, and at Mo's in Florence for dinner so Matt could have clam chowder in a bread bowl. It was another great day of just going with the flow and taking things as they come - not ruled by work or kid schedules. It was just the break I needed - a great get-away!
