We did a little thing and traveled part of the Pacific Northwest. I love to plan our trips, but I have to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed when it came to planning this trip. There is SO much to see and do in this area! I quickly realized that we would see some of the things, but not all of the things. We would simply have to come back another time to see the rest. There is just no way to cover it all, unless you have months to spend in the area.
Three words: Pacific Northwest & August. We had read that this was the best time of year to visit, and we were not disappointed. The weather was beautiful, and we didn’t get any rain the entire time!
This part of the country is other worldly! The sites stretched from rain forests, beaches, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, to the Redwoods. There was so much beauty and wonder! I absolutely love this part of the country.
So, what did we cover exactly? Let’s get to those details.
We flew into Seattle and spent 1.5 days exploring the city. In that time, we were able to hit the popular tourist spots. Our favorites included a tour of the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and strolling around Lake Union in the Fremont Neighborhood.
I have always been obsessed with house boats, maybe since my “Sleepless in Seattle” fan days, but either way, it was fun to be by the water watching the houseboats. We even got to chat with a local elderly man who lived on a boat with his wife. Fascinating lifestyle!
On day 3 we ferried over to Bainbridge Island, and made it onto the ferry with only minutes to spare! It was our first time taking a vehicle on a boat and the thrill of making it on board before it set off, made for a fun experience.
From Bainbridge Island, we traveled into Olympic National Park and saw the Salmon Cascades where the Salmon come up river to lay their eggs. We were too early in the season to see any salmon actively jumping but it was still a beautiful spot to stop along the river.
We continued on to Lake Crescent and had a picnic lunch on the edge of the bright, blue lake. The Lake was so calm and serene.
We wanted to stay for the day, but eventually we pulled the kids away to move on to our final stop: Sol Duc Falls. It was worth the effort to coax our now tired kids up the one mile hike to reach the falls. The hike through the forest was exquisite. Ferns lined the forest floor, while moss covered trees created a green canopy for us to walk under. The air was dense with mist and my humidity gauge, my hair, which grows from straight to curly in moisture, was registering off the charts. No wonder everything was green here! Yet again, worth the frizzy hair for the majesty that greeted us at the waterfall.
Finally, we made it back to our car and continued driving around the peninsula to the thriving town of Forks, WA, where we would be staying for the night. This is the perfect time to address the lodging situation in this area of the USA. Lodging on the coast is lacking in quality. The hotels you will find are older and run down and surprisingly still expensive in peak season. You just have to accept this and move on. We weren’t there for the great hotels, we were there for the natural wonders.
In the morning on day 4, we woke up early and headed back into the Olympic National Park to the Hoh Rain Forest. We hiked around and again found it to be magical, especially since we were the first people on the trails, enjoying the early morning peace and quiet. Wait… who am I kidding? Our kids don’t do peace and quiet! I think we actually woke-up the rain forest with their yells and chattered, but either way, we enjoyed it!
After the rain forest we drove to Ruby beach and spent a few hours climbing rocks, skipping stones, and running in the sand. This spot is beautiful! The pictures cannot capture the beauty. We had a little hiccup when Doug helped the kids climb a rock that was way too high off the ground for my comfort level. I threatened kindly asked him to never again do that to our children, but we left the frustrations on the beach and headed down the coast on the 101 into Oregon.
We made a stop on the Columbia River to visit the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. We didn’t spend a ton of time here, since it was already 3 pm and the beaches were beckoning us to return to them. By dinner, we were checked into another moderate hotel in Seaside, Oregon. But the hotel was soon forgotten as we strolled the boardwalk and walked the beach exploring the tide pools after dinner. Cue all of the happy tunes because we love the ocean.
Day 5- Cannon Beach Day. This may have been my favorite day of the trip, but it is hard to say because all of our days were pretty amazing. We woke up early and went to Cannon Beach at low tide to explore the tide pools. We stayed until we were sunburned, hungry, and had full hearts. We found an outdoor taco stand for lunch and ate at a picnic table in our bathing suits. Is anything better than eating tacos in your bathing suit? I think not! After our fill of tacos, we spent the afternoon playing at Seaside beach. To conclude our perfect day, we enjoyed a seafood dinner, ice cream on the boardwalk, and bumper cars in the town.
The next day we continued our drive on the 101 down the coast of Oregon. I didn’t realize how windy the highway was until our kids quickly became carsick. We had one toss his cookies on the side of the road, and we really felt like we were living our best lives as we handed out ziplock bags to the nauseated little passengers in the backseat. This is not how I pictured our six hour drive down the famous 101, but alas, real life follows you wherever you go.
Thankfully, we found some scenic stops along the way to get some fresh air and reset their tummies. We were thankful to arrive in Brookings, Oregon that evening and get off the lovely 101 scenic byway. I was thrilled to discover our hotel was up from a 2 star to a 3 star and overlooking the ocean. It sat on a perfect Oregon beach covered in driftwood with rocks jetting out in the tide. We played on the beach and watched the sunset over the horizon. A lovely end to an eventful day.
Day 7 was spent exploring the beaches of southern Oregon. More rock climbing and tide pooling filled our hearts, again. We crossed the border into California in the evening to see some sea lions in the harbor and enjoy a yummy dinner in Crescent City.
The next day concluded the southern most part of our PNW tour. We traveled to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park to see the Redwoods. I’m not going to lie, after traveling seven hours across the state of Oregon, I was wondering if the Redwoods would be worth it. We drove into the park and it seemed pretty normal— tall trees and what not, until… oh my glory! Literally, everyone in our car, including the kids gasped as our breath was taken away from the site of this enchanted place. The sun was peeking through the trees and twinkling down onto the damp forest floor. The expanse of the timber stretched for what seemed like miles into the air. You need to put this on your bucket list. It is a wonder of wonders that must encompass some beauty from the original Garden of Eden. I could have stayed for hours. We strolled, explored, climbed, and sat in wonder. Eventually, we pulled ourselves away. The car was calling with a 5 1/2 hour trip to Portland awaiting us.
We drove north a bit to fly out of Portland, but made the most of our time there with an afternoon at Washington Park. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! The rose garden was delightful and reminded me of my Grandmother’s rose garden as a child.
My children were too cranky to enjoy it, so I sent them to the park with their father, while I sat on a bench and took in the beauty. Children get cranky, even in the most lovely of places on the planet. It is just in their nature. Like a rose needs careful pruning before it blooms, so too our children are a garden in need of attention and care. There is no vacation from that work, but for this I am thankful.
Please know that my kids get cranky, they struggle, and they fight while we travel. But, we choose to go anyways. We choose to push through and make memories and have new experiences in spite of those hard moments. If we waited for the hard to pass before we ever took them on adventures, we would never leave the house.
I have learned that it is okay to be beautiful and prickly. It is okay to need pruning in order to bloom. Life is filled with both the good and the hard. We experience this and so do our children. This was my take away lesson from the Portland rose garden. Now back to the end of our trip.
Finally, we made it to our last day, but before we flew out, we made a stop at one more waterfall. Multnomah Falls is a tourist spot near Portland, but if you go early enough, you can enjoy a truly beautiful waterfall and hike. Again, I was surprised at how magnificent it was! This was the central theme of the Pacific Northwest… surprise and beauty!
I hope you too can enjoy this wonderful part of our country.
Happy travels friends!