Our Summer Family Vacation - Oregon Coast

It has been a long time since I've been on a vacation where I didn't feel ready to head home once it was over.  I think that is a sign that we had a very good time.

Saturday morning, bright and early, we headed out for the Oregon Coast.  Newport, Oregon to be precise.  There is nothing quite like the feeling that comes over you when you get your first glimpse of that beautiful ocean.  There are no words that can do it justice.  Simply breathtaking.

Our first day was spent at the ocean.  After breakfast we walked down to South Beach State Park.  The walk itself, just a mile, was nice as we had plenty of pretty flowers and birds to enjoy along the way.  The park is lovely, but the beach is magnificent.

We pulled off our shoes and stood in the water, collected shells and pretty stones that washed up and walked along the surf.  We had sunshine and a light breeze, it was spectacular.

We walked back to the hotel, stopping first to check out a cute little antique and collectibles shop.  Then it was time for a late lunch of fish & chips at the really cute cafe located behind our hotel.  The food was really good and the service too, really sweet waitresses.

The next day we went to the aquarium.  It was located only a block from our hotel.  We walked over and spent several hours there, taking our time, going through all of exhibits.  We enjoyed it so much we went back through most of the aquarium twice.

The girls and I got to touch some sea urchins and star fish.

We watched them feed the otters, that was a lot of fun.

Tuesday we were off to Yaquina Bay, just across the bridge from where we were staying.  We spent a good portion of the day there.  We walked the entire length of it on both sides of the street.

We went to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, which completely freaked the girls out, the Undersea Gardens and Ripley's Waxworks.  We also went into a candy shop for saltwater taffy.  After that we headed into town for lunch and then to Nye Beach to finish off our day.

We walked a ton, saw more than we could've imagined and had so much fun.  We ended every day with a swim in the hotel's saltwater pool and a sock in the heated saltwater jacuzzi.

Wednesday we reluctantly packed up our things, climbed in the car and headed for home.  We headed down toward Florence, which provided us with scenic views of the ocean and a few neat places to stop off.  We even got in a short hike at the Devils Churn.

By noon it was time to get serious about heading for home.  We were blessed with safe travel coming and going as well as perfect weather.  Not to mention how much we enjoyed each other's company and all of the fun things we got to see and do.  Definitely ranks as one of our best family vacations to date.