A week on the Oregon Coast

(looking north from the tide pools on the beach where we stayed)

Last year my husband and I discovered Oregon.  We were so smitten with the beauty of this state, we decided to return this year with our kids and my sister-in-law and her family.  We found a cute little house online & booked it for a week in August.  Finally, that week came, & what an AMAZING week it was.  The couple of days we spent driving weren't too bad  either - the kids were troopers.

The house we rented was in an idyllic master planned community south of Lincoln City.  It could not have been more charming!  I kind of have a thing for houses with big front porches, so with every house in the entire neighborhood looking like this...

I was in beach house heaven!

 There was a central park with a playground, volleyball-pit, & fire-pit for roasting marshmallows.  We did it all.

We took many walks and my husband went jogging up these hills every morning.  It was just too beautiful to stay inside.

Now, let me show you our favorite thing about this neighborhood.  See that staircase on the left, in the picture below? 
Come with me, up those stairs, to the top of the cliff...

And then down this staircase...to the beach!
 (in real life we're land locked folk, so having access to the ocean was exciting)

Check out that view. We came to the beach at least once a day, sometimes twice.  We counted - it was 170 stairs each way (both sets of stairs).  340 round trip.  Our leg muscles were sore, but we didn't care.

Those rocks in the distance (above) were tide pools.

They were full of all sorts of fascinating creatures.  The kids checked the tide schedules regularly so we could be down when the tide was low.

They were also very dedicated beachcombers.  Here they are sorting through their loot on the first day we were there.

Their stash just kept on growing.  Most of their treasures came home with us in gallon sized zip-loc bags so they could show their friends.
(when they opened the bags up it was so stinky - I'm not a fan of eau-de-rotten-crab!)

We played on the beach, went crabbing - & then bought crab at the local crab stand when we didn't catch anything (still fun),  we had famous clam chowder from Mo's, met some of our cute cousins for ice-cream & cheese at Tillamook, visited the Sea Lion Caves, and went to the aquarium in Newport, spotting whales swimming off the coast along the drive. Every night we sat in the hot tub and showered in the outdoor shower - very condusive to good night's sleep.

And we loved watching the sun set over the ocean.

Are you ready to see more of the coast?
(I know - this post is already huge, but I just can't help myself)

 We went on little excursions almost everyday.  The following are just a few of the gorgeous places we saw.

South of the Sea Lion Caves near Florence.

Haceta Head just north of the Sea Lion Caves.

Devil's Churn.

South of Devil's Churn.

My husband took this picture at Cape Kiwandis. So pretty - one of my favorites from this trip.

Looking south from Cape Meares.

Looking north from Cape Meares.

This one's a drive-by shot of the view from Oceanside.

North Depoe Bay.

We saw three light houses.

 Yaquina Head in Newport.

Haceta Head down by the Sea Lions Caves near Florence.

And Cape Meares (just a little guy).

But of all the places we went, the beach where we were staying was my favorite.

Can you see why?

Did I mention the sunsets?

*UPDATED * Since so many people have asked where we stayed in Lincoln City, I

 thought I would share that information:

Olivia Beach

If you end up going, tell them I referred you...maybe they'll give us some kind of referral

 discount on a future stay. :) 

We would LOVE to go back!!!