Category Archives: Roadtrips

We stopped at Muriel Ponsler Memorial Beach, to do a little beach-combing. We had heard that this was a good beach for that, as lots of things wash up there but it isn't a very popular spot for other activities, because it's pretty rocky. We found a bunch of potential jaspers and agates (we'll need to run them through the rock tumbler to be sure). We also found some cool junks of driftwood. All in all, a nice spot.

Next along the coast after Cape Kiwanda was Cape Perpetua. This was probably the most scenic stretch of the coast, and that's saying a lot - as every inch of the coast is gorgeous. I'd love to get back here sometime and try some of the hiking in the area. We were just passing through, but still made time for a couple of quick stops.

Next stop along the coast was Cape Kiwanda. There were a bunch of folks surfing there - in full wetsuits, as the water was freezing! At the north end of the beach was a giant sand dune (you can barely see it behind the big log on the beach). Lots of people were climbing the dune, then 'sandboarding' down it (picture snowboarding, but on sand). And it's hard to get a sense of scale on Haystack Rock in the ocean, but it was enormous - Wikipedia tells me it is 235 feet tall.

We visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon on day three of our road trip. This is basically the only photo we got. I never bother to take any in aquariums - it's usually pretty dark, and the reflections off of the glass make sure that nothing ever comes out. But this one was pretty neat - some of the tanks had spots where kids could crawl underneath, then pop up in a bubble 'inside' the tank. This aquarium also had a really good tunnel through their big tanks - it had glass not only overhead, but part of the floor was glass as well. Carter really dug the touch-tank here - she learned that if you carefully slide a finger between the spines of a sea urchin, they will squeeze you finger and give you a little 'hug' (to figure out if you are food!).

One thing we saw in Astoria was wild seals and sea lions. They appear to have taken over this dock in the harbor. They were pig-piled on top of each and covered every square inch - in some places they were three deep. It was pretty loud (and smelly) right down at the pier - our hotel was fairly close to this spot, and we could hear them barking all night long. But between closing the window and the heavy curtains it blocked out enough of the noise for it be distant and fun, rather than keeping us up all night.

Near Astoria is Cannon Beach, which is pretty famous for the view. (And as another side note for Goonies fans, this is the beach where Mikey finds the stones that match the dubloon!) This was our first real taste of what the next three days along the Oregon coast were going to be like. Almost the whole coast of Oregon looks like this - it's ridiculous. Every time you think that must be it, another view comes along and knocks the wind out of you again.

Our first major stop of the trip was in Astoria, Oregon. Astoria is right at the mouth of the Columbia River, and across the river from Washington state. There were lots of giant container ships in the port - it's really hard to get a sense of just how big they were from the photos.

Walking along the riverfront pathway in Astoria, we walked by this picturesque abandoned building. Not sure what it used to be - maybe some sort of fish processing station? I loved the look of it, and the light was just right.

For those who don't know, one of my favorite childhood movies - The Goonies - was filmed in Astoria. For fellow fans, the house right in the middle of the next photo is Mikey's house from the movie, and the one directly to the right of it (all you can see is the roof) is Data's house. They're privately owned now and you can't really go see them, but I thought it was cool to catch sight of them from the river walk.

This year's road trip with Carter started in Portland, Oregon. We dipped just into Washington state to get credit for the state (although we'll be back to explore it more thoroughly in the future). This was the view from the Washington side of the Columbia River, just a few miles from where it meets the ocean.

On the last full day of the trip, we went to the Kansas City Zoo in Kansas City, Missouri. Their polar bears had just had twin cubs, and we they also had a wonderful new penguin exhibit. We also got to ride in a ski-lift style sky ride over the zebras, giraffes, ostriches, and springboks. By this point in the trip we were burning out a bit on taking pictures, so the only photo I have is of this penguin. All of the other penguins were swimming around and socializing, but this little guy was hanging out directly under the shoot of the ice machine - the newly made ice kept bouncing off his head, but he seemed to like it just fine.

Day five took us to St. Louis, Missouri - and the City Museum of St. Louis. The City Museum is really hard to explain if you haven't seen it yourself. It's a like a combination of a playground, sculpture, and junkyard all rolled up into one. They essentially took a ten-story building downtown, and told a bunch of artists to go crazy in there. The whole place is riddled with tunnels, slides, secret passages, and other sorts of craziness. They recommend kneepads and flashlights. Just a few highlights include a ten-story spiral slide made out of industrial laundry chutes, a three-story staircase made to look like a brontosaurus, and a cave system full of dragons, balconies, and fountains. It's a strange and wonderful place. Everyone should see it sometime in the lifetime.