Author Archives: amcandrew

Here in Seaside, the beaches are full of large driftwood that the kids enjoy scaling and jumping off. And, of course, they are great for after-dinner fires… We returned to Wheel Fun Rentals to try out their beach bikes… …and visited The Kite Factory in Cannon Beach to buy some kites. When I notified theContinue reading “Beach, Burgers, and Bikes”

We ventured about 16 miles south of Seaside to Oswald West State Park and hiked to Short Sand Beach, a protective cove popular with surfers. Here, Short Sand Creek spills out of the forest and across the beach, where it unites with the Pacific Ocean. There were several caves along the beach that were fullContinue reading “Where River Meets Sea”

Jim, Evie, Jack, and I hiked the first two miles of the Tillamook Head Trail, which still contains some old growth Douglas fir trees. The Elmer Feldheimer Forest Reserve is adjacent to Ecola State Park and has been set aside for “1000 years,” so that the forest can return to old growth. The trail wasContinue reading “Old Growth and Ship Wrecks”

Our second day in Seaside was a Lord’s Day (and also my Dad’s and two dear friends’ birthdays). The church we plan to attend in Cannon Beach has limits on attendance. Our need to get more information on how to RSVP, coupled with the fact that Jim’s back has been pretty flared up (he hasContinue reading “Everybody loves Nana”

I started our first full day in Seaside with a run along the beach. It was foggy and grey, but with all the exertion, I didn’t feel cold in my running clothes. Upon returning to the house, I threw on a sweatshirt and took the kids to the beach. We planned to walk to theContinue reading “Baby, it’s cold outside”

After a five hour drive, with a one hour lunch at Olive Garden (the kids loved it) in Salem, we arrived in Seaside! Our house was built by an English sea captain in the 1930s and is now owned by three families from Portland who love to surf. Two of the owners – Gabe andContinue reading “Seaside, at last”

We finally reached Oregon on July 13. After leaving Boise, we spent most of our drive meandering through a fairly ugly desert, stopping only in Burns, OR (a small town full of Trump flags) to eat at picnic tables. We made good time and arrived in Bend about two hours before check-in, so we stoppedContinue reading “Bend”

Although we were curious to see Boise, our main reason for spending two nights here was to have time to visit the Morley Nelson Bird of Prey Conservatory – the largest nesting ground for birds of prey in the entire world. Evelyn read the My Side of the Mountain trilogy this year and has beenContinue reading “Finding Raptors”

We were happy to roll into Park City, UT where we had a spacious condo for four nights. Park City is a large ski town with many urban conveniences (like a Whole Foods and Lululemon). It was also much greener and more humid (relatively) than we expected. Jim had conference calls for most of theContinue reading “Park City”

After our time in Durango, we spent the night in surprisingly interesting Moab, UT. Located on the Colorado River, Moab is an oasis in the stark Utah desert. It was filled with interesting shops and restaurants. We picked up delicious Thai food for dinner and the children swam in the pool of our hotel allContinue reading “Arches National Park and the Moab Valley”