Going to the Coast

Ed took a week of vacation time which we mostly spent workng on the yard and house, but we did take a day and go to the Oregon Coast. We started our day off by having breakfast at an old logging camp called
Camp 18. They serve enormous pancakes called Flatcars, which the kids devoured. The entire building is made out of huge logs, and Abby even had her picture taken with Sasquatch, our local legend.

After breakfast we went to Ft. Clatsop near Astoria, Oregon. It's where Lewis & Clark spent the winter of 1805-06. They built a replica of the original fort (which no longer exists) using their journals and drawings and descriptions of the fort. During their stay it rained 106 days and there were only 12 days without rain and only six of those days were sunny. They didn't get much of a good first impression of the Oregon Coast, I'm afraid!

Fortunately for us when we visited it was a gorgeous day, and since school was back in session, we almost had the place all to ourselves! We watched a slide presentation on Lewis and Clark and looked around the museum. We visited the fort and the kids got to try out some rustic bunk beds. There's also a short trail that leads to the boat landing, and the kids had fun climbing in the replica dugout canoes.

Lastly we spent some time in Astoria. We climbed the 164-step spiral staircase of the Astoria Column which commemorates the historical events of this area. I was kind of nervous about Abby climbing up so many stairs since she really struggles on stairs, but she did very well (though I chickened out and carried her down!). The view was breathtaking, and Abby liked being able to see all the ocean and mountains from the top!