Seaside Vacation
This summer our family vacationed in Oregon where we enjoyed a week-long reprieve from the hot Arizona sun. We flew to Portland where we first visited my relatives. It was nice to see my parents and to share my hometown with Kory, Katie and Lauren. We were warmly welcomed by my aunt and uncle who prepared a nice BBQ for us on their back patio. The girls learned how to play a game called “Banana”. That evening we enjoyed dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory.
The next morning we drove to McMinnville where we toured the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. The girls enjoyed the “Fighter Pilot” movie the most, and Kory and I were awed by the massive Spruce Goose airplane that Howard Hughes designed and built and is now completely housed in this museum.
This giant plane made only one flight on November 2, 1947 and flew just over one mile at an altitude of 70 feet for one minute. The short hop proved to skeptics that the gigantic machine could fly, but that was it’s only flight. It was quite a site to see the original airplane and hear the fascinating stories behind it. We were also captivated by the Titan II Missile and were able to explore this large booster rocket from underneath its missile silo and then watch a simulated launch sequence. Other planes of interest were the SR-71 Blackbird and the Ford Tri-Motor. The girls were planning on going to the Wings and Waves Waterpark next to the museum, but they were too excited to check into our beach house and head out on the sand. So, that’s just what we did.
We arrived in Seaside late afternoon on the second day of our trip and were thrilled when we opened the front door to our deluxe beach house. The views of the ocean were spectacular, the home was cozy and warm, and the location was prime. We were literally 50 feet from the sand. Katie and Lauren put their suitcases in their room and were immediately clamoring to head to the beach.
Lauren and Katie were pleasantly surprised to find a swing set beside a path to the ocean. They spent quite a few hours over the course of our vacation swinging and laughing and meeting other beach-going kids. Kory was the designated swing pusher and made quite a good impression on the other young children around. He said, “kids like me”, to which Katie and Lauren laughed, but I nodded in agreement.
The fine, and ultra soft sand proved to be great for sandcastle building. Lauren built two fortresses, with a moat, castles, and pyramids over the course of our vacation, but the tide washed them away by morning. I think she was sad at the disappearance of her first great work of art, but understood the inevitable when she proceeded to build the next day.
Both Katie and Lauren did endless cartwheels and gymnastics tricks in the sand as well, although Katie was most interested in trying out the skimboard.
Two really good skimboarders were showing off their skills when we first arrived at the ocean’s edge and asked if we would like to try. Lauren and Katie first declined, so I decided to have my hand at it. What a mistake that was. Not only did I fall on my backside one time (fully clothed, I might add), but I fell a second time really hard. I thought for sure I’d get the hang of it, but it took me down and I accept my defeat. Katie, on the other hand, mastered the skimboard. She bravely got out there and started skimming the water like she’d done it before. The owners of the rental home had a skimboard in their garage, so Katie was able to take it to the beach on another occasion and really get into the hang of it.
A couple of mornings we got up at the break of dawn and walked along the misty beach collecting seashells. Lauren came home with quite an array including two slugs, or as she referred to them, “sluggards”!
The Seaside Promenade is an 8,000-foot long concrete boardwalk between central Seaside and its spectacular beach. The bike ride along the prom and through town was a highlight for Lauren, and Kory and I enjoyed seeing the Lewis and Clark Saltworks that was set up in 1805 and still remains.
We also spent quite a few hours in the local arcade playing a gamed called “Fascination”. This became a favorite memory of all of ours. The Fascination Parlor in Seaside dates back to the 1950’s. It’s a game that used to be common in amusement parks, boardwalks, and arcades mostly in oceanside resort towns.
Our favorite restaurant was Pig ‘N Pancake where Lauren savored steak and eggs two days in a row and Kory had one of the best jalapeno jack cheeseburgers he’s had in a while. Katie wasn’t too thrilled eating at the restaurant two meals in a row, so Kory surprised her by bringing in a small pizza from the pizza place down the street. The Pig ‘N Pancake restaurant has a fascinating story. It all began in May 1961, when the Poole couple opened the restaurant with only $100 cash and $2000 worth of borrowed equipment. Today there are six locations in Oregon. Other eating spots included Dooger’s Seafood & Grill, Mo’s, BeeBop Burgers, Fultano’s Pizza, and McDonald’s.
Another great memory was kite flying. One of our kites was pretty traditional and easy to get in the air. The other was more tricky to maneuver, requiring at least 7mph winds. This beauty was called the “Skydog Squadron”. On a couple of rainy days, Kory went to the beach briefly to get the kite in the air as high as he could, then he’d tie it to a beached log, and head back to the cozy beach house where he’d back and watch the Skydog Squadron fly from a cozy window seat.
One of the days of our trip we drove down Highway 101 along the coastline to tour the Tillamook Cheese Factory. It wasn’t what I remembered growing up. They used to allow hands-on tours, but now you just view a portion of the cheese-making process from an observation deck. I think the triple scoops of ice cream that we each purchased and took with us on our way out of the factory was the best part. The girls slept most of the drive back to Seaside, and we decided to stay at the beach the rest of the vacation instead of making any more day trips.
My mom drove down and stayed with us one evening. We spent time at the beach and mom got to fly a kite and enjoy the sand. It was a little cool the afternoon she came, so we spent most of the time inside. We ordered in pizza for dinner, played games, and went to bed early. The next morning mom joined us for church services at Cannon Beach Bible Church. It was a great time of worship for the whole family and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting the people at this small congregation. We all enjoyed sandwiches, fruit, and chips back at the house for lunch and then mom headed home. That evening, we watched the movie, “That Darn Cat” for about the fourth time over the course of our vacation.
There were many other great moments, but the time spent with the family relaxing and loving one another was the best part. We all rated this vacation about a 7 on a scale of 10, but looking back now, I wouldn’t change a thing.
