Our Own Oregon Trail

After leaving Cannon Beach, we spent the next few days meandering through Oregon as we made our way down the state...

TILLAMOOK

Since it was right on the way to Portland, I thought a mini stop at the Tillamook factory would be the perfect place to stop for a tour and lunch on Day 4 of the trip. While the kids weren't nearly as stoked learning about the cheddaring process as I was, I still think they managed to have a good time, and after wandering around the building for a bit they were ready for some food and ice cream. The line for the ice cream was especially long, but -- since we slipped right in before the lunch crowd grew -- we zipped right through the food line while Ethan waited in the other. Divide and conquer is an effective strategy when you have a lot of people at your disposal. Hahaha. Once we finally sat down to eat, we had {Tillamook, obviously} grilled cheese sandwiches and a couple of orders of chicken fingers then finished off our lunch with the ice cream that we had finally managed to snag. And then it was time to hit the road once more.

Moo.

You can see on their faces just how enthused they were with the factory portion of our stop. Haha.

The eating area was outside and we were FREEZING even before we got to the ice cream!

PORTLAND {and Columbia River Gorge}

Upon arriving in Portland that afternoon, one of the first things we did was visiting the famous Powell's Bookstore. It was a dream. Hahaha. Seriously -- a book lover's heaven. We walked there from Pioneer Courthouse Square and on our way back, stopped to get some Wailua shaved ice. Not gonna lie -- my flavor combo was amazing. {Pina colada with a haupia foam and snow cap added on top.} Like, I kind of wanted to go back and get another one the next day before we hit the road again, but it was closed. Womp womp.

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Powell's!

I loved that this was the scene I walked in on when I finally made my way to the children's area -- all 6 of them at a little kiddie table looking at books (and their phones). Hahaha.

(Grace and Isaac making a fashion statement in the hotel lobby.)

LOL

Voodoo Donuts -- the line was so long that we decided to put an order in online then walked to the riverfront to let the kids run around for a bit before walking back to pick up our donuts.

We were all kind of intrigued by this drawbridge.

Take note of this "smile." It was Isaac's signature look for almost every picture we took on the trip. Hahahaha.

A voodoo donut.

With the shaved ice stand closed in the morning, we made do with donuts and walking around downtown instead, and then set out for the Columbia River Gorge. {Which is gorgeous. FYI.} It wasn't really on the way towards our next pit stop (Eugene), but the stunning view of the area made such an impression on Scott and I when we first moved out to Oregon almost 20 years ago that we HAD to go back and see it again. And it really is stunning. 10/10 recommend. My only regret is that we didn't have enough time to really stop and explore the different waterfall areas -- we were on too much of a time crunch and were scheduled to arrive in Eugene that afternoon/evening. {Single tear emoji.}

EUGENE

We finally reached the land of Ethan's birth for our pit stop on Day 5. We obviously couldn't travel along our own Oregon trail without showing Ethan some very important landmarks! Hahaha. Because we've never been back since we moved to Utah 3 months after he was born, we wanted to show him (and the rest of the kids) our very humble beginnings. With everyone tired and cranky at the end of the day and wanting to just crash at the hotel, however, we held off on the tour until the next morning.

This was fun to see at the hotel's front desk when we checked in. :)

After driving by our old apartment, showing them the preschool I taught at while I was pregnant with Ethan, pointing out Autzen stadium (and the building right next to it where Scott interned with the athletic media department), and stopping to walk around the newly revamped Hayward Field (where the track and field world championships will be hosted next year), we made one last stop at the Duck Store before eating lunch and getting back on the road.

While we managed to snap a pic of the hospital where Ethan was born, we somehow neglected to take pictures of our first apartment and the places we worked. 🤦

But we did get some pictures of Hayward Field. Hahaha.

Even though Ethan was very perturbed that we were buying University of Oregon merch when none of us went to school there (the fact that it's where Scott used to work clearly didn't "count" in his mind), it didn't stop anyone else from picking out some souvenirs. Jane had been rocking my old {vintage?} Oregon sweatshirt for most of the trip up to that point, and was especially excited to get one of her own. Hahaha.

That smile, though. 😂😂😂

HECETA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE

Our final destination before leaving the state was the Heceta Head Lighthouse. {A road trip down the coast wouldn't be complete without seeing a lighthouse, right?? Haha.} In all seriousness, though, I'm so glad we squeezed it into our itinerary! Everything was so lovely, from the beach to the trail to the view from the top, and it was the perfect place to let the kids ramble about before getting back in the car and driving a few more hours until we reached our final stop for the night in Fortuna {California}. Day 6 was a long day of driving, but it was a beautiful one. The Pacific Coast Scenic Byway is indeed VERY scenic. Hahaha.