The Keyes!: Oregon Coast Family Vacation 2024: Week 1

We took a family vacation along the Oregon coast for two weeks. We began in Astoria and worked our way down the whole coast of Oregon then down into Northern California to the redwoods. Here are some numbers of interest from the trip:

1924.8 miles

14 nights

6 yurts

3 hotels

3 swimming pools

1 birthday

lots of light houses

and

countless beaches

We did a lot and it is going to take a couple of posts to get through it. This post is WEEK 1.

We got up early on a Sunday morning and packed the van as full as it could go, strapped our bedding to the roof, and then the bikes to the back.

There were lots of pee breaks on the side of the road during our two weeks of adventure

Our first major stop was in Tri-Cities to play at a playground

This spinning swing was a lot of fun

Next we stopped to look at Multnomah Falls outside of Oregon. Unfortunately we only saw it from the road because we didn't know you had to purchase a permit in advance to go any closer.

We then stopped in Portland at the International Rose Test Gardens. We started by playing at the playground.

Then we went for a little walk together

This was a big tree with some exposed roots

What a pose

Then stopped to enjoy the roses in the rose gardens

These fat squirrels were way to friendly, which means they must have thought we were going to feed them

We saw a Cyber Truck in the parking lot there

We made it to our final destination, Fort Stevens, at 6:45 pm (we started the day at 8:40 am)

This deer was right outside the office where we checked in

This is our first yurt

Take a tour with me

We were happy to be out of the van

We cooked up some burgers for dinner

Kim and Nixon played a game before bed

Some hot chocolate the next morning

I sent up the drone to see what was around us. We were right next to a river on one side and the ocean on another

This was our world for three nights

We left camp to go see the Peter Iredale shipwreck

It was pretty cool

Mason found a dead crab that brought joy to his face

Lyza found a beetle

One of Lyza's YA obsessions...

Beached jelly fish

A shell Henry found

From there it was a short drive with beautiful scenery

We then visited an old battery, Battery Russell

It was fun to explore in there

It was cool that this three story structure was completely level with the ground on the ocean side

Our next stop was the Oregon Film Museum, which is the old jail featured in the Goonies movie

We got our mug shots taken

Hung out in the jail cells

Met Sloth

Got locked up

We also got to make a movie with some props and cameras they have in the museum

Here is the final result (we need some acting lessons, a better plot, and lots more time on set)

Scary

We then headed to the actual home that was used in the Goonies

The home is currently privately owned so it is not open to tour or view inside

We then went to Gizmo's Arcade to play some video games before lunch

We ate gourmet hot dogs, pizza, and chicken strips at the arcade

We then checked out a marina near a maritime museum. Look how big that propeller is!

And that anchor!

We also looked at some of the ships. We wanted to ride the trolley through town but it was not running because of some road construction

Next we went to the Astoria Column.

After climbing 164 steps up a windy spiral staircase (Mason did this 5 times!), we were treated to some beautiful views

The kids also got to throw wooden airplanes off the top

This is the roof

It is a cool sight

We then drove into Washington to visit Cape Disappointment State Park and see a lighthouse

The views of the ocean here (and everywhere on this trip) were beautiful

We then did a little grocery shopping, made tacos for dinner, and watched Angels in the Outfield in the yurt before bed

We had a pancake breakfast with sausages the next morning.

We had a deer walk right next to our campsite

We packed up our campsite by 10 and left to see new sights. We visited another battery.

We got to check out a cannon and other heavy artillery

And an army Jeep

We then drove to Cannon Beach

Part of the Goonies was filmed here and it has this very famous haystack rock

We packed a lunch and ate on the beach

Next we went to Hug State Park Beach

There were some cool cave-like parts of the rock

We found some waterfalls

And had to hike up to the top of them (not very far)

This is up on top

The tide was low enough that we found some cool areas to explore

This area was really neat with the low tide

Nixon had to climb everything

Of course we had to hug at Hug Point Beach

I think this is a part of a jelly fish

The next stop was the Tillamook cheese factory

There was lots to see and do there

We got to sample cheeses

We got to see the actual process of making cheese with explanations of what we were seeing

There was a full restaurant there where we ordered deep fried cheese curds

But the best part of the trip was the icecream!

With our stomachs filled with cheese and ice cream we left for Cape Lookout State Park where we spent the next two nights in a yurt.

We were really close to the ocean and it didn't take long for us to get our feet wet

Mason and Nixon couldn't resist getting right in there (despite it only being about 19 degrees Celsius)

They had lots of fun in the water

The rest of us were happy to stay dry

We explored that beach for a while

The boys got to digging

We had spaghetti for dinner and after we got the little boys to bed we returned to the beach for a beautiful sun set

A view of our yurt the next morning

We had cereal and bagels for breakfast

I know seagulls are everywhere but they can be quite photogenic

Next we went to Oceanside Beach

There were lots of these pelicans diving and flying all over

These rocks were really cool

So I took the drone up to get a better look of the area

There was a tunnel from the main beach to go through to the other side

We had fun exploring that side

This rock was covered in sand dollars (I think someone put them there)

View of the tunnel

The kids all loved exploring the little tide pools for creatures

Here is some drone video from the area

We eventually got hungry so we went to a cafe nearby and got some fish and chips to share

Next we went to Cape Meares lighthouse. This was an overlook where we could see seals and lots of birds

These are the same rock formations we were looking at from Oceanside Beach

The lighthouse light

This is called the Octopus Tree, it is a Sitka spruce with lots of trunks

We then went back to camp and all the boys got in the ocean

Then there was much digging

And riding bikes on the beach

Nixon found a huge crab that was being attacked by seagulls

We made a fire to warm up and ate hot dogs and s'mores

We slept really well that night

Lyza found a big beetle she wanted to bring home and pin

We had pancakes for breakfast and packed up and left camp at 10:30

Our first stop was Cape Kiwanda to play at a giant sand dune

It was a workout hiking up that thing. Each step would end out sliding halfway back.

The boys loved playing on the sand

I am glad they had fun ;)

After we all climbed down we explored a few tide pools

We then went to Fogarty Beach to look for agates but didn't have any luck hunting for agates

We did find a star fish

Mason even found a tiny star fish

We then checked into our hotel in Lincoln City. We were all excited to have a night in a hotel room. The mattresses in the yurts were not the most comfortable. The kids chilled out and watched TV while we got settled and Kim did laundry. We ordered in dinner and then checked out the swimming pool. It was much warmer than the ocean :)

There was a breakfast in the hotel the next morning

Then we did some more swimming before checkout

Our first stop was Depoe Bay. We say lots of seals.

The area is famous for whale watching but we didn't see anything

After we went to Devil's Punch Bowl but we didn't stay long because it was cold and windy

Henry harassing the gulls

The next stop was another beach to look for agates. We could see this lighthouse in the distance

It was really cold and windy and we didn't see any agates

We decided to head into Newport to go to a museum. It was right across from the main marina.

Henry really enjoyed running his own store

We looked at some of the commercial fishing boats in the marina

We then stopped by a glass blowing shop and watched them hand make glass

Our next campsite was a yurt at South Beach State Park

We had pulled pork sandwiches, salad, and chips for dinner

After dinner we walked around the large campsite and the kids played at the playground.

The beach was a 1/2 mile walk from our campsite

There was a constant repeating loud beep that we could hear from everywhere at the campground (even the inside of our yurt). I decided to investigate and found its source the end of the jetty (which I learned is a long, narrow structure that protects a coastline from current and tides). The noise must have been a warning for ships?

The views out there were pretty though

The next morning we had hash browns, eggs, and hot chocolate for breakfast. We made sandwiches for lunch and started off our day at Moolack Beach

We explored tide pools

Saw the Yaquina light house in the distance

Lots of sea anemones

Our boys love to dig

We then went to the Yaquina light house. We could see lots of birds out on big rocks

This is the biggest light house in Oregon

More of those birds

And a BEAUTIFUL sea gull :)

We saw lots more seals

The beach near the light house has these awesome Great Blue Heron

We explored that area for quite a while. This beach is called cobblestone beach. The rocks are all very smooth and rounded on the beach.

We found some little crabs

And got some different views of the light house

We saw seals in the water

Mason getting right in there

My heron friend again

We then found a spot with a bench overlooking the ocean and had lunch then explored another beautiful spot

Next was the Hatfield Maritime Science Center. The kids loved the touch pools.

There was a giant octopus that decided to put on a show for us

There were lots of other interactive things to do there

After that we went back to the campsite. We played at the park, ate dinner, played some card games, then watched Up in the yurt.

The next morning we got up early, ate, and packed up to make it to church for 9:30 am. Here is Henry while we are packing up.

We were packed to the brim the whole trip.

The chapel in Waldport was really small. We were arrived only a few minutes before the service started so we had to sit in the front row. There were 2 kids in primary other than ours and one young woman other than Lyza.

After church we went to Cape Perpetua and made sandwiches for lunch.