I recently returned from a trip along the Oregon coast with my wife’s side of the family. I’d like to recount this trip along with some of the things we did as well as some neat things I learned.
Camping Sites
- Cape Lookout State Park
- Nehalem Bay State Park
- Valley of the Rogue
Places Visited
- Tillamook Cheese Factory
- Air Museum
- Oregon Coast Aquarium
- Oregon Vortex
- Crater Lake
- Beaches
Things Learned About Successful People
In talking with my brother in law, Jeff, we agreed that highly successful people are talented, smart, charismatic, and lucky. It takes a string of events favoring an individual to truly propel them into what is mainstream success for a profession. However, success can be garnered without a string of lucky events. Creating something of high quality and value for other people and being persistent and determined are the main ingredients for success.
Visiting Nature
Taking a break from sitting at my computer to visiting nature was a very good idea. I loved to sit in the forest and look at the trees, or sit around the campfire and stare into the flames. All of this was helpful in taking my mind of my busy life.
Quality Time With My Wife
This trip was a time to spend quality time with my wife and her family. We were able to make memories together through video and pictures. This is something that is very important to her. I’ve realized that I need to take more trips with my wife and family to further our relationship together.
Recap
The trip was wonderful and tiring. I learned that trips together with family are a good chance to make memories and help bring the family closer together. All in all, a good trip and I am glad to be back home and am ready to go to work :)
From My Wife’s Point of View
My wonderful wife and I have a family blog where she speaks from the perspective of our tiny toddler Ellie. I am posting what she wrote about the trip here as she does such a good job explaining things :)
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Hello hello! We are back in town from our family reunion on the Oregon coast! It was so much fun! But I am glad to be back in my own crib! My schedule got pretty whacked over the last ten days and the last three days I wasn’t feeling well. I cut a new tooth last week, too!
Here is what we did:
Day 1:
Flew to Seattle with my parents. We spent the night at Aunt Wendy and Uncle Jeff’s house.
Day 2:
Drove to Cape Lookout State Park with Aunt Sarah, Uncle Pat, Curtis, mom, dad, and Jager the Australian Shepherd puppy. Grandma Janice, Aunt Jennifer, Madison, and Katelyn drove to Seattle and then drove down with us as well. We were supposed to leave at 10:30am, but who leaves on time for a trip? We left my aunt’s house at 5:30pm and didn’t arrive to the campsite until 11:40pm. We met up with Uncle David, Aunt Vanessa, Courtney, Brandy, Jaden, and Uncle Danny.
Day 3:
What a beautiful day! We hung around our beautiful campsite and strolled along the beach. The sun was shining and the temperature was very nice. This was my first time to see the ocean! The beach was very cool feeling. Aunt Wendy, Uncle Jeff, Milo, and Hunter met us here in the late morning.
Day 4:
We drove into Tillamook and toured through the Tillamook Cheese Factory! We also went to the Air Museum, which is the largest wood hanger in the world! In the evening, mom played Fluffy Bunny with Hunter and Curtis. (The Fluffy Bunny game is where you are asked a series of questions and for each wrong answer you have to put a marshmallow in your mouth and say “I am a fluffy bunny.” You can’t chew until the game is over.) Mom asked questions about me–per Hunter’s suggestion; it was cool to see how much they knew about me! Mom asked questions like when was I born; what was my first Christmas present; what was my birth weight; when did I start to crawl, etc.
Day 5:
We drove to Newport and went through the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Mom and dad got to pet real sharks and stingrays!
Day 6:
We drove to our new campsite at Nehalem Bay State Park. This was also close to the beach. Mom and dad made Pork Stew for dinner in the dutch ovens. This is the day that my fourth bottom tooth broke through my gum!
Day 7:
Mom and dad put me in my swimsuit and headed for the beach. Ha! The wind was so strong that it was pushing us over! Needless to say, I stayed very close to mom and all bundled up. It was still cool to see the water, though. This is the first night that I didn’t sleep well.
Day 8:
We drove to our last destination, Valley of the Rogue State Park. We stopped at the Meares Lookout lighthouse and saw the rocks from the “Goonies” movie! That was pretty cool. We also saw Sealions basking in the sun. The drive took a long time, and so, once again, we had to set up our tent around midnight. I didn’t sleep very well again.
Day 9:
The temperature was so nice and warm! Aunt Wendy, Uncle Jeff, Milo, mom, and dad stayed with me at the campground while everyone else went to Crater Lake. We went to the store and bought some Tylenol and Orajel. I began feeling much better once I got some! Mom and I were able to take a two-hour nap!
Day 10:
Our last day. We went to the Oregon Vortex. This was pretty cool, too. It is an area of naturally occurring visual and perceptual phenomena. After going here, we said good-bye to everyone who wasn’t driving back up to Seattle. We drove to Seattle and then went to bed.
Day 11:
Today! My cousin, Drew, drove us to the airport and we flew home. Our neighbor, Curtis, picked us up and we arrived home at 7:30pm. I have never been so happy to fall asleep in my crib! :D
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