Cannon Beach

Due to the ongoing global pandemic we have had to adjust our travel plans for the year. In the grand scheme of things it is a small thing, but it is disappointing. Mentally, not being able to travel has been the most difficult aspect of the global pandemic for us. We have postponed some trips, and cancelled others. As we considered travel opportunities this year we weighed the risks and looked for destinations where we will be able to social distance and spend time outdoors. We ended up talking about places that have been our our list for a while, but never been our top priority to visit. That is how we ended up visiting the Oregon coast this weekend. It was somewhere we wanted to go, but it was never high enough on our list for us to plan a trip. Now that we are limited on places we can safely travel, Oregon become an appealing option. 

Things started off on the wrong foot on Friday morning. Alison and I were up early Friday to catch an early morning flight to Oregon. We woke up to an unpleasant message from Delta informing us our flight was cancelled and we had been moved to a later flight. I wasn’t so much annoyed they cancelled our flight, we do live in unprecedented times. I was more annoyed they didn’t do it earlier so we could have slept in. By the time we processed what had happened we were not going to be able to go back to sleep. We got up and going. We used the extra time to workout and take Tex for a walk. While we were disappointed to lose a few hours of our day, we intentionally planned this trip to be flexible. While we had things planned out so we knew what we could do in each area we don't have to do any of those things. We were able to easily adjust to this change in plans. 

Flying during the pandemic is a little different. The airport and the plane both felt very clean. There were hand sanitizer stations everywhere and everyone was wearing masks. The plane was also only ~60% full. Given the situation, it felt relatively safe. 

Dan and Kristin sat with Holly and we sat a couple of rows back with Skylee. She is a champ. She has flown many times and knows the drill. We got her headphones and she watched Inside Out for most of the flight. She did say a couple of memorable things. First, she was really concerned I wasn’t paying attention during the safety video. She kept telling me to watch the screen. I finally told her I had seen the video many times - her response, “me too.” Then later she paused her movie to watch out the plane window during take off. After we were in the air she turned to me and with a voice of awe said, “we are in the sky.” Even after many flights she still has a sense of wonder. After a uneventful flight we landed in Portland. 

Skylee takes funny bunny with her wherever she goes

We grabbed our bags and picked up a rental car and we were on our way. Before we left Portland we made one stop at Voodoo Doughnuts. This was a must do on our trip to Oregon. We were not disappointed. We ordered the Voodoo dozen - a bakers dozen of this most popular doughnuts. They were delicious!

We hit the road heading for the ocean. This was one of the longer stretches of driving on the trip. We planned to break up the drive by stopping to pick berries at a local farm on the way. We were all hungry, so we found a local restaurant near the berry picking location. The restaurant was aptly named Hits the Spot. It did in fact hit the spot. The owner was this really nice guy who was so friendly. We were among some of the only customers at the restaurant. 

We felt better now that we had some food in our bellies. We had a short drive to the Muir Blueberry Farm. They had u-pick blueberries for $2 a pound. We grabbed a couple of buckets and headed out into the fields of blueberry bushes. The girls especially had a blast picking blueberries. Holly loved it, many of the berries she picked ended up on the ground or in her mouth. Eventually she started to understand we wanted to put the blueberries in the bucket. Skylee and Dan had a contest to see who could find the biggest blueberry - Skylee won. Picking blueberries was well worth the stop. The Muir's were kind and gracious. We ended up with 2 pounds of  blueberries for $4, plus some great memories. It was a bargain. 

From the blueberry farm to our accommodations in Seaside, Oregon was ~60 minutes. The drive was beautiful. The highway is lined with huge, vibrant, green trees, many of which are covered in moss. It made for an enjoyable drive. We stopped briefly to drop off our belongings. We are staying at the Coast River Inn. Our accommodations here are a spacious, albeit eclectic two bedroom townhome. 

After we dropped our stuff we drove to Cannon Beach. The moment Skylee saw the ocean she was in heaven. She took off in a dead run across the sand toward the water. Cannon Beach is great. The sand is soft and there are beautiful vistas with Haystack rock in the background. Before we arrived we had talked to Skylee about Haystack rock. When she saw it her reactions was, "that doesn't look like a haystack." That girl cracks us up. Skylee and Dan played in the water and before long Holly wanted to get in too. She loved the ocean. She got soaked playing in the water. The beach and the water aren't particularly warm. She kept wanting to get back into the water, even when her little teeth were chattering from the cold. After playing in the water for a bit we decided to start heading back. Holly would have none of it. Kristin set her down when we were a ways up on the beach and she immediately started running toward the water as fast as her little legs would carry her. 

Skylee made her own Haystack rock out of sand

Back at our accommodations we ordered pizza and watched The Goonies. I love the Goonies and was excited to watch this movie where it takes place. It was surreal to watch scenes at Cannon Beach, when we were just there. It was a fun way to end the evening. After the movie we took the mattress off the bed downstairs and moved it into the walk-in closet in Kristin and Dan's room. Skylee and Holly got to share a bed in the closet this night. Like I said, the place we stayed this night was a little different, but it worked. We had a fun first day in Oregon and we are excited for the upcoming adventures.