Sarah Too

I wanted to write this post for the last month! Life way got in the way of those plans, however, and I'm hoping this Labor Day Weekend I can play catch up.

At the end of July, The Mister and I joined the Mister’s clan for a family reunion on the Oregon Coast, and it was a week filled with family, fun, and adventure. Our trip started on a Saturday with a drive up to St. Paul, MN. The Mister flew stand-by, so in our planning it made more sense to fly out of St. Paul – that way he would have more options for getting out to Portland during these busy summer vacation months. I had a paid ticket with Southwest. More on that situation, later.

We arrived in St. Paul around dinner time, and I tell ya, St. Paul is a fun place. There are lots of shops and restaurants on the main drag of Grand Ave. and stately old homes lining Summit Ave. St. Paul is also 1920s bungalow HEAVEN. I want to own just about every house on every block. For dinner and brewskies, The Mister and I went to Sweeney’s Saloon. We split the walleye sandwich and the buffalo chicken wrap. I ended up liking the walleye more than the chicken, and The Mister liked the chicken better…and that’s what makes us work so well as a couple. Sweeney’s is a little off the main drag, and it has a great backyard patio lined with large painted murals of beer labels. The deck is built around the trees that shade the whole backyard. The place has a ton of brews on tap – local and beyond – including a slew of IPAs, much to The Mister’s pleasure. I do not enjoy IPAs. They taste like bitter soap. Ick. Give me a stout or a wheat, and I’m a happy girl.

After dinner, we took a stroll down Summit and Grand Aves, picking up a little Starbucks treat for dessert. The temperature in St. Paul was much more pleasant than the searing temperatures in Muscatine. Good Lord, most of July was too, too hot, so a trip out West was just the relief we wanted.

My flight out of St. Paul on Sunday morning went off without a hitch, and I was in Oregon by 10 AM Sunday. My father-in-law picked me up in Portland, and we drove South to Lincoln City, OR – about a 2-and-half hour drive. En route, we waited anxiously for The Mister’s confirmation that he got on a flight. All morning things did not look good for his stand-by plans.

The drive South from Portland is always pretty – it’s filled with farmland and rolling hills. We arrived at the beach house around 12:30 or so, and most of the family was out and about. By then, it became apparent that my Mister would not make it West on this day, and he would try again the next morning. In the meantime, my father-in-law, sister-in-law, and I decided on an afternoon hike at Cascade Head. I hiked this trail once before, during my first ever visit to the Oregon Coast, and it is beautiful (and STEEP). Take a look:

Looking south from Cascade Head trail.

Looking east

The weather could not have been more wonderful for this hike. We worked up a little sweat in the sun, but the breeze kept us comfortable, and the shade of the forest at the lower elevations was cool and crisp. (I always feel like I am walking through a prehistoric landscape in the forest because of the massive old-growth trees and the MANY ferns lining the forest floor.) The hike up gets you huffing and puffing a bit, and the view is completely worth the effort. The trip up and back down took about an hour, and the way back down is a concentrated effort on the steep portions. You must watch every step or risk a tumble.

Family dinner capped off the late afternoon with fresh salmon from Seattle, thanks to Jacob's cousin. I always know we'll eat well at family functions because there are so many foodies in the family. Plus, almost everyone hit up the Sunday farmer's market in Lincoln City, so fresh produce abounded. After dinner, my father-in-law, sister-in-law, and I went to see "The Dark Knight Rises" - the latest Batman movie. I fell asleep during one of the action sequences, and I fought so hard not to doze off. I woke up just in time to learn some important plot points and see the end of the movie. I slept like a rock that night after such a long day (I had been up since 2:30 AM West Coast time), and especially with the sound of crashing waves lulling me asleep through the open bedroom window.

The next morning, the wonderful news of Jacob getting on a flight West greeted me. Finally he would join the party! He made it into Lincoln City around noon, just as my sister-in-law and I finally got our act together after a slow morning start. The three of us met up at McMenamins Light House Brew Pub for a light afternoon snack and a brewski. My sister-in-law and I then indulged in pedicures before heading up to Pacific City where we met the rest of the crew.

Pacific City is a must any time we go out to Oregon. It is tradition to climb the sand dune located a short walk from The Pelican Pub. Every year the sand dune looks bigger, which may or may not be true. Climbing the dune takes me about 5 minutes without taking a break -- and I REALLY want a break during that 5 minutes. The strategy involves finding existing footprints, to minimize the slide factor. The first third of the climb feels doable, then your breathing gets screwed. You end up using all 4 limbs to get you up the steep, steep, slide-y sand pile. When you reach the top, however, you're treated to an amazing view.

My brother-in-law leads the pack up the Pacific City Dune.

Now, you might think we are crazy for climbing this dune. Well, hold on a second because The Mister and his Dad are even crazier. They set a target of seeing how many times they could go up and down the dune in 45 minute. Going down, obviously, is A LOT more fun than climbing up because you basically can hop, skip, jump, and roll your way down the soft, sandy dune. I already described what a lung suck it is to climb this dune once. Imagine 9 times! That's maintaining an average pace of 5 minutes per roundtrip! Here's what they each had to say about the experience.

Our reward for all of our escapades at the sand dune is amazing food and drink at The Pelican Pub, which features (1) amazing views of the ocean and sunset; (2) a huge selection of award-winning microbrews on tap, including the ever-delcious Tsunami Stout; (3) crunchy, not greasy, and tasty melt-in-your mouth onion rings (!!); and (4) enough variety on the menu to keep 21 clan members satisfied.

The end of dinner was not the end of the party. Back at the beach houses, it was family variety night. Among all the talented members of the clan, a few chose to share their special talents with the rest of us. The Mister and his Uncle treated us all to such a rousing rendition of "God Bless America"that everyone joined in by singing along. Several of the kids showed us their singing chops, my mother-in-law sand and danced, and The Mister's Uncle shared his poetry. It was an entertaining night to be sure, and it capped off a beautiful day on the coast.

The best thing about vacation is the long, slow mornings. Whether an early or late riser, it is the same - one gets to ease into one's day without alarm or agenda. On Tuesday, we did not really get going until lunchtime, when it was time to send off part of our group. The Mister's two Uncles flew out that day, officially starting the breaking up of the group. More members would leave the following day. We had a sendoff lunch in Newport at a great Asian fusion restaurant called Noodle Cafe on the north side of the inlet to Yaquina Bay. The food was so fresh and light tasting, and the setting was perfect. We saw the fishing boats coming back in from their morning's efforts, and we saw Rogue Brewery across the inlet.

After the sendoff, The Mister, my sister-in-law, and I went in search of kayak rentals in Newport, or on the south side of Lincoln City. The only place we knew of that rented was an hour north, back on the north side of Lincoln City. Even with iPhones and the help of locals -- NOTHING. There are places from which you can rent; however, you need to strap the kayak to the top of your car or pay extra for transport to a drop-in location. Because our Chevy Cruz rental car had no roof rack, and we had no tie-down straps, AND it was mid-afternoon...we decided to drive north to the original location where we knew we could rent and drop-in at the same location. We had a nice paddle around Devil's Lake, which features some nice vacation homes along its shores.

The next day began another wave of departures, so The Mister and I decided on a hike at Drift Creek Falls while the rest of the family went to the Newport Aquarium (or drove/flew back home). Drift Creek Falls is a gorgeous out-and-back hike through old-growth forest (all those FERNS again!) with a suspension bridge and a waterfall to keep you captive at the end of the trail. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.




What a beautiful day for a hike! It was foggy and cool down on the coast, but as we went up in elevation into the forest lands, the sun began peeking through until we saw blue skies all around. The air was cool, but the sun was warm. It was again, perfect weather for a hike. We capped off our efforts with oh-so-yummy burgers from 101 Burgers.

That evening, the family gathered on the beach for a campfire and s'mores. We played frisbee, climbed the rocks, and enjoyed the last night that everyone would be together at the beach. The Mister and I took off the next day, midday, for Portland, where we spent our last night in Oregon before we flew out early on Friday morning. Before we truly said goodbye to the coast, though, we ate at the infamous Otis Cafe. This old school cafe serves up a kick ass breakfast and homebaked goods. The Mister and I split one breakfast entree and that was more than enough to see us through to dinner, hours later.

When we reached Portland, we hit up the arts district, which has an art walk every Thursday night in the summer. Street vendors, food carts, and the local shops line the streets. We caught the beginning, then made our way toward the airport to drop off the rental car. Our hotel for the night had an airport shuttle that would take us back in the morning.

It is so sad when a vacation comes to an end, especially when you know it was too short. The Mister and I made it back to St. Paul within an hour of each other (thank you Standby Gods!) on Friday afternoon, and we drove home that day. The heat finally broke in Iowa; however, I missed the sound of the waves lulling me to sleep and the lazy, relaxed days of vacation. Until the next time, I'll relive the experience through this blog post, and my past posts: West Coast Recap and Sand, Cheese, and Beer.