Wednesday, August 5, 2009

oregon bound

This past holiday long weekend we headed down to Portland, Oregon for a road trip... here are some of our pics from our first day, which actually was the drive and stopping in cities along the way. OK, so I guess, technically the Portland pics will be up tomorrow... but nevertheless... some of our interesting pics below.
This is a pic from the car bypassing Seattle on the express way (sorry, Seattle). We've been there quite a few times, so decided to keep on driving in order to have time in some of the other places along the way... Olympia, being one of the short stops. I think were were really focussed on eating in Olympia, so I have no pics of this city... oops.
These fat blubbery guys were one of the highlights of the day. We stopped in Astoria to get some fresh air on the docks and were rewarded with this group of sea lions basking in the sun. We have never seen them in the wild before, so were really excited to see so many just lazying about.
This chubby guy (or girl, not sure) was one of the loudest ones... perhaps it was yelling at us "Wwaaarrrghch!" - translation "Welcome to Oregon!"
Stopped in Seaside to walk on the beach and take in the views of the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, the area was a bit in its own weather system and it was a bit chilly and cloudy... so we did not get to use our bathing suits. Sorry that you do not get to see slow motion Baywatch-like photos of us running on the beach... maybe next time, haha.

We were trying to decide on where to eat dinner, and side by side (no joke) were three restaurants called "Pig'n Pancake" "Pudgy's" and "Girdle's"... hmmm, with the tubby sea lions still in my head, we decided to wait until our next stop to grab a lighter bite to eat. (Perhaps I am thinking way to much about it, but is it not weird that the mascoton that sign is inviting people to eat him?... he must be a very naive pig indeed, if he thinks he gets to eat the pancakes).
Along the boardwalk of Seaside, there were carnival rides, arcades, as well as tons of candy and souvenir shops. I tried to get into the spirit and eat a piece of saltwater taffy... only to realize, I'm not a fan of taffy... blech. Anyways, after some good times in the arcade and boardwalk, we headed off to find dinner.
Which leads to our last stop before getting to Portland that night... Cannon Beach. Again, it was a bit cloudy and cold, but still super pretty. Ok... can't let this side show scroll on forever, so I will post some of our Portland photos tomorrow!

28 comments:

Samantha said...

Have a great trip! Those sea lion shots are AWESOME, I've never seen em in the wild before either. :)

2ndComing is an Illustrator said...

Lucky! I went to portland in April and loved every moment of my trip.

Unknown said...

I lived in Oregon for 4 years. (Southern Oregon.) But we made trips up north several times and loved it. Cannon Beach is beautiful and Astoria is a personal fave if you have time to stop!

Unknown said...

I agree. Astoria is beautiful. My family lives in the Dalles/southern Washington area. I love visiting them.

Anonymous said...

Awesome!! You stayed at such a wonderful place...ace is so great. Yes, there is so much inspiring talent here. You'll just have to come back! Can't wait to see more pics.

Anna said...

AWESOME! Those sea lion shots make me soooo happy!

Bonzai Beadwear said...

very cool pics, looks like a great trip!

Jillian Frances said...

I love Piggy Pancake! I made a point of stopping there every time I went to Canon Beach or Astoria.

farouche said...

Ah, road trips!

Rich Trawick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
our little love nest said...

Don and I are talking of moving to Oregon or Washington and we aren't sure which yet, that is if we can find jobs, etc. May have to take a trip there too over the next few months. Looks like so much fun! xo

Kylie Bowers said...

Looks like you had a fantastic Road Trip!

M.M.E. said...

Those sea lions were awesome! I've never seen that many before. I can't even imagine how noisy they were. If you're interested, I'd love to feature you on my blog some Wednesday of this month. Let me know! You can email me at studiomme@gmail.com.

Rainy Day Gardener said...

I'm just up the road and around the bend from Seaside! The Oregon Coast is divine....and no stopping at the Pig'n Pancake?? :) Cheers!

TMCPhoto said...

One of my favourite places on earth is the Oregon coast, it was the last place we vacationed to with my Dad and the first time I ever say the ocean's crashing waves, Have fun!

Kate8085 said...

Anyone else notice that the pig is wielding a pitchfork? Makes it all the more creepier! haha
Looks like a fab time! Did you get any heavy metal mirrors at the dart balloon toss on the boardwalk?
I'll take a Judas Priest one, thanks.

StarsandRobots said...

I absolutely adore your wooden squirrel banner/avatar. So cute. Love these pics, almost moved to Portland last month with husband's job, but alas, we got the job in Birmingham instead! It's nicer here than you think, but those pictures make me a little jealous! :) Enjoy your trip!

Rosy Revolver said...

those sea lions are SO cute!! makes me want one to play with in the bathtub! : ) thanks for putting a big smile on my face!

Linda E. Pruitt said...

I live in Portland. There sure is a lot of wonderful things to see and do very close to here!

Holly said...

Beautiful pictures! I've never been to that part of the country before, and I desperately want to go. Even more so now that I know there are big, chubby seals just laying around!

Jenn said...

Love the pictures so far! Let me know how you like it, we are thinking of relocating, but can't decide on which area of Oregon!

Aly said...

Wow, those sea lions are amazing! They look so friendly, too.

Sandrine said...

Nice to see some pics of parts of unseen part of the world for me! The Sea lions are amazing, I have never seen so many together...Thanks for the e- travel!;)

saintNICHOLAStoo said...

Great pics! Love the sea lions.

Anonymous said...

Oh, the lovely beach.

belinda marshall said...

beautiful photos, looks like such a fun trip!

Je said...

nice posting :)
cheers!
Je

jdavissquared said...

looks like so much fun! the pig'n pancake cracked me up!