Our last morning at Bella Beach, the little cafe on the corner that had been eyeing was finally open and I, along with a whole bunch of kids, went and ordered Tilamook ice cream.
All the families parted ways at that point. Some went north, some went south and some headed home. We were part of the northern crew. Our goals for the day were Tilamook and Cannon Beach.
We were aware that the Tilamook factory was under construction and the visitor's center was a large, temporary structure but we wanted to go just the same. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures while we were there. It was absolutely packed! Merill and Nancy had arrived just ahead of us but since traffic had been so bad on the way up they had to turn right around and head to the airport for their flight home. I filled a basket full of yummy goodies and we contemplated getting lunch there but found out how long the wait would be and ended up getting some fast food on our way out of town.
The drive up to Cannon Beach was absolutely gorgeous! We had never been there before and were enchanted by the scenery. We found a place to park and ran out onto the beach.
Ben was in heaven! He could run as far and as fast as he wanted and we didn't stop him.
The water was cold but that didn't stop the kids from enjoying it.
Ben and I ended up sitting on the beach and throwing a tube of sunscreen back and forth between us.
It kept him pretty happy.
In this picture I am recording the sand on my phone. As soon as we stepped onto the beach we noticed the funny sound the sand made. It squeaked! We have no idea what caused this phenomenon but we were fascinated by it.
Jenny and Mike's family ended up catching up to us and we were able to hang out for a bit together...
It was hard to leave Cannon Beach...a new favorite!
We drove around in the quaint, nearby communities for a bit so Jenny and I could look for souvenirs. We didn't have much luck so we reluctantly said goodbye to the area and headed east toward Portland.
We ended up spending the night in a higher-end-than-we-are-used to hotel along with the Andrus and Callister clans. Andy risked his life walking around downtown to find dinner for us...bless his heart!
The next morning we enjoyed a fabulous buffet breakfast at the hotel. Then I went way out of my comfort zone and walked a couple of blocks to Voodoo Donuts for a box of delectables. They were delicious but I don't think I'll be frequenting that establishment anymore :)
The final thing I wanted to make sure we did while in Portland was go to Powell's. I had been there as a child but had no real recollection of the famous and gargantuan book store. Parking was a bit of a problem. We finally found a 15 minute spot on the side of the street. We decided to all go in and then Andy would bring Ben back out at our time limit and just start driving around town while the rest of us browsed. Ben was a handful inside and Andy graciously took him to the car. Matt followed since he was not too interested in the store. Abby and Josh both found a book and I had an armful of things to purchase. We ended up only spending about 1/2 an hour inside. I wish we could have all enjoyed several hours in the building, but maybe it was for the best. I would have spent way too much money :) Our plan was to take two days driving home but once we got on our way Andy decided to just push through. We made it home late that night exhausted but happy and full of fun memories of the beautiful Oregon coast!
