Vacation Time

So, after two weeks, on Saturday, Briana and Eric's summer vacation 2007 just wrapped up. It was really awesome!

We left on Tuesday evening (July 3rd) for Vancouver, WA where we were going to spend the 4th with my Grandma. The drive was uneventful, but we ended up stopping at about 2 in the morning to sleep for a bit. We hit the road again around 4: 30a.m. and felt much better. We spent the 4th sleeping, eating, spending time with family, watching fireworks, looking at cool Oregon birds, and hot tubbing (don't worry the water was only about 70 degrees - preggo approved!)

The cutie carrying luggage out to the car.

Some 4th of July snacks. Yay for food!

The view from my Grandma's backyard.

A really cool sailboat.

On Thursday, we headed off to the Oregon Coast (a must see!) because Eric had never been there before. First, we went to Astoria, which is right on the border of Oregon and Washington. It is a neat little town that is actually on the harbor of an extremely wide point of the Columbia River right before it meets the Pacific Ocean. It was a very cute little town - hilly and rocky, with great views. We wanted to take advantage of the great seafood available on the coast and ate lunch at a restaurant right on the harbor called, Baked Alaskan. The views were gorgeous and the food was excellent. (Travel Tip #26: When looking for a good place to eat in an unfamiliar town - ask the locals!!!) After looking around the town for a little longer we started to make our way south down the coastline towards Seaside and Cannon Beach.

The harbor in Astoria.

A several mile long bridge, in Astoria, spanning the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington.




At Seaside, we got our first glimpse of the ocean. It is a busy little tourist town - mostly fun for little kids with all the carnival rides, arcades, and ice cream shops. While in Seaside, we visited the Seaside Aquarium. We saw Pacific Ocean fish, an octopus, starfish, anemones, and various other types of ocean life. It was a neat place to visit as we have been starting a salt water aquarium.

The Seaside Aquarium: Briana and some cool starfish. Below: Moon Jellyfish (I think that is what they were called.)

Eric in front of Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach.

After spending a couple of hours in Seaside, we got back in the car and headed about 20 miles south to Cannon Beach. If you only have time to go to one place on the Oregon Coast - GO TO CANNON BEACH! It is absolutely breathtaking. I think that every time I go there. While Seaside is fun in its own way, Cannon Beach was a breath of fresh air - literally. It is quiet, gorgeous, and peaceful. You can literally feel a difference in the air. Inland is mountainous and very lush and green. The coastline is rocky and rugged. The town is quiet, peaceful, and very charming. The views of the beach and coast were beautiful.

While walking back along the beach, towards the car, we saw quite a sight! Brown Pelicans (recently removed from the Endangered Species List) were skimming the water right along the beach for their dinner. They are huge birds and very fun to watch. It was especially humorous to watch the seagulls following close behind them trying to scavenge and copy what the pelicans were doing. I was amazed at the eyesight of these birds! I couldn't see anything but foam and waves and they spotted fish, crabs, and other tasty treats and then swooped down to go get them.

After walking along the beach for several hours, we ate dinner at a restaurant in Cannon Beach (again recommended by the locals). We had more seafood (yum yum). Then we walked back down to the beach and watched an incredible sunset. It is really amazing how much more of the sunset you can see when there are no mountains in your way and it is just flat horizon. It was really incredible! What a day!

On Friday, we lazed around a bit and then headed to a friend's wedding at the Oregon Gardens in Silverton, Oregon. Upon arriving, we had decided to make a night of it and got a hotel in a nearby town and then stopped for dinner at a little Mexican Restaurant. Then we headed to the wedding. The gardens were very beautiful and we had a fun time eating and dancing at the reception. Another fun night!!

On Saturday, we returned to the Portland/Vancouver area to go to the Antique Car Races with my grandma and two little cousins. There were tons of beautiful cars there - old porches, corvettes, etc. The races were exhilarating - I hadn't been to one in a while and I had forgotten how fun a good car race is. While there, we met up with my grandma's long time friend, George Follmer, a legend in car racing. He retired a few years ago, but was there to sign autographs and do promo work. I hadn't seen him since I was about 11 or 12. It was good to see him again. We were also able to see several of his cars that he had made famous in his racing days - now worth 1 or 2 million a piece!

I want this one!

One of George Follmer's old racing cars.

After the car races, Eric and I said goodbye to my grandma and headed down south to the camp I was teaching at. Eric spent Saturday night and a little of Sunday morning at camp and then had to take off for home. (Sad for me!) My week at camp was really great (other than missing Eric out of my mind). I love the people I work with and the things that we teach the kids. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be apart of it. Everyone treated me like a queen - I wasn't allowed to do or lift anything, people were always asking me if I needed anything, walking me around in the dark, so I wouldn't fall, telling me to sleep in and bringing me breakfast in bed, etc. It was really great. I decided that camp is a good place to be when you are pregnant :)

A view of the beautiful Oregon forest at camp.

On Saturday, I caught a plane home and my wonderful husband came and picked me up. He is amazing. He planned about a million and one wonderful surprises to greet me when I got home - made sure to have quarters so I could get a snack from the vending machine at the airport in case I was hungry, took me out to dinner, did laundry, had my favorite treat waiting for me at home, got a new plant for our kitchen (something we have been meaning to do for a while), gave me a foot rub (complete with candles, sparkling cider, and fresh berries!), fixed me breakfast and an incredible steak dinner on Sunday, and was just overall an absolutely unbelievably thoughtful, wonderful man! I am so blessed. He blows me away.

So there you have it. That is our trip in a nutshell. It was a great couple of weeks, but there truly is no place like home.

-Briana