Seaside, Part 4 of WA/OR trip, Oct. 2012

Well, our trip to WA/OR has been full of fun, new things to do. We hiked through the Ape Caves, visited Mount St. Helens, explored OMSI and enjoyed a potluck dinner with friends so far. Now onto more exciting adventure...the children's first time to the ocean!

Karen and Scott had the day off, so we packed up, stopped at Starbucks, then headed west. It was a wet day, but the drive was beautiful. After about an hour, we arrived at Camp 18, our breakfast stop before getting to see the ocean. Camp 18 is a logging museum. There were huge 2 man saws, enormous chain saws, boots with spikes for climbing trees, and all sorts of other logging equipment. A fascinating place. Check out the website. And their food was great too! Michael, Karen and I all enjoyed the Kielbalsa Skillet. Yummy...my tummy just growled thinking about it! And they have a cinnamon roll that is the size of a dinner plate...just mentioning it in case you want to try it sometime. We resisted...

From there, we traveled on to Seaside, OR, for the kids' first view of and play in the Pacific Ocean. They thought it was really cool...literally! They had to strip off their shoes and socks; luckily they had SmartWools so it was ok getting them back on when they were done. They truly had a blast. They didn't want to get soaked, so they'd watch the waves then run!

Then there's this last photo from Michael's iPhone. After I loaded it to my computer, I noticed this whole double/ghost image on everyone. Sort of cool, yet sort of spooky!

The kids' feet were frozen, so we washed them in the fountain and put their socks and shoes back on so we could go do more things. But first, we watched some people fly their kites, and went into an informational building to see a life-sized shark.

 Kites...

 Here's Jonathan, nonchalantly standing by the poster of the shark. Of course, Mommy thinks he ought to be a little more animated, like this...

 Aaak! A shark!

 

 Our little family standing by the statue of Lewis and Clark at the end of their exploratory trip west.

Then, on to the aquarium. We bought a little tub of fish pieces and fed the seals. Those seals have definite personalities. One would lay and slap his side, another would bark, another would wave his head back and forth, another would swim then jump up onto a rock to splash, another would slap the water to splash. What a hoot! We ventured further inside the aquarium where you can actually touch sea anemones, sandpaper-textured starfish and a prickly sea urchins in the "Touch Tank". 

Outside of the aquarium, you can view the 35-foot skeleton of a Gray Whale. I'd post a pic, but we didn't take one and do you think I can find one on any of Seaside's sites? argh

After the aquarium, we walked a little through the town looking for souvenirs. Annisia remembered from our planning that there was a carousel in town, so we found it and the kids got a ride. Can you see her peeking at you?!

After some Tillamook ice cream and a latte, that wasn't worth the price I paid for it...(wahh, spoiled by Starbucks!), oh, and the inevitable meltdown by one of the kids (I'll let you guess which one) we started for home. What a good time in Seaside!

 Scott, our faithful and fearless driver...oh, and Karen's boyfriend!

 Karen, Annisia, Jonathan, and I...enjoying the ride in our rented Acadia.

And the little girl who had the meltdown got a nap...yay!

After dinner at The Original Taco House in Portland, we crashed at Karen and Scott's. Check back later for details on our next fun day on our trip...