If you have a baby, you know that leaving the house is no longer a quick thing. At the crack of 9:15 we finally made it out of the house. We were hoping for much earlier. We stopped for breakfast, and then took highway 6 out to Tillamook. About 30 miles from Beaverton the crying started, and we began to wonder why we tore a happy toddler from the house.

The weather was beautiful as we parked and headed inside. I thought Mackenzie would be so thrilled to see plates of different types of cheese to try and an abundance of flavors of ice cream. I guess I don’t think like a toddler! The blue ropes on the line for the cheese samples were way more exciting! The photo op cow with a farmer cut outs was quite a hit too. We had fun, and it was a good excuse to eat ice cream for lunch!

Here’s a quick cell phone photo.

I have only once before driven up highway 101 from Tillamook to Seaside. In my head, it was about 15 miles. Perhaps I should have checked the gps. After driving 20 miles we saw a sign “Seaside 26″. Luckily at the same time the little one’s eyes were closing in the car seat, so my mom and I enjoyed a scenic trip up the coast.

We pulled into the parking garage at Seaside, and Mackenzie woke up as we were putting her shoes back on. She must have smelled the ocean air because we had instant smiles. After layering up, we walked to the beach to find the swings were gone for the winter. I think I was more disappointed than Mackenzie. She just toddled about in the sand holding our hands.

Eventually we heard “I’m cold”, which is not something she ever admits to. We made our way back to the boardwalk, and to find some food. Some dancing in the Beebop burger place, and a couple rides on the carousel wrapped up our day. As we walked to the car, she said “stay beach stay”.

We started in Seaside, which was a tad crowded, due to the Miss Oregon Pageant.  We love playing on the swings while looking at the waves crash.  While walking towards a set of swings, I noticed white chairs with little red bows being placed on the sand.  I asked the guy putting them out, and it turned out to be a wedding, hosted by the Best Western Oceanview Resort.  It looked so lovely! 

Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach was our next stop.  This was my first trip there, and I am already planning my return.  After being out for hours already I couldn’t really throw my toddler in a backpack and start hiking like I was tempted to.  Instead we had a picnic and ran around the lawn overlooking the ocean.  The views were amazing.  We could see Haystack Rock, plus lots others, the rugged coast, and even a lighthouse in the distance.  Looking the other direction the fog was still hovering at the top of the treeline.

It was a wonderful chilly gray northwest day.