We arrived at Pacific City on Monday afternoon, an hour before check-in, which gave us the perfect chance to go explore the beach! But, we didn't realize that later in the day meant stronger winds. We got a little sand-blasted, but the kids still thought it was pretty cool. And the water was frigid! (Hadley got her feet pulled from under her when a wave came up farther than expected, and she fell on her butt in the cold water. She was not a fan after that!)
Afterwards, we checked into our cute little house for the next three nights and got some dinner from the local pizza place. The house was great: 5-minute walk to the beach, 3 bedrooms so we could all have our own schedules, laundry facilities, and it was full of little-kid toys and gear that made life easier.
The next morning we decided to try the beach again, since winds were calm, and although it was a little cool at first, it was perfect Oregon beach weather!
We loaded up shovels, pails, and trucks from the house's stash and headed to the beach right after breakfast. It was so peaceful, and our little stretch barely had anyone on it.
The kids absolutely loved digging in the sand.
Owen was excited about building a sandcastle, so I helped him out a little. I think we built a little too close to the water, so we needed a trench.
And a generous beachcomber gave us a nearly intact sand dollar, which we used to decorate the top tier. Ta da!
Even the biggest kid had fun building a super-duper sand castle in to the tide cliff.
The water was still a little intimidating for the kids after Hadley's fall the previous day, so we ventured down to a big sand bar where the waves met at all angles, and it was shallow enough to splash in. Big hit! Owen ran through it enough that he was starting to turn blue.
Even Hadley had a blast. It's short, but hear her beckoning us to join? "C'mon, Mom!"
And by mid-morning, the sand was starting to feel nice and warm on our feet. Hadley was getting loopy, pretending to be a dog for a long time and refusing to look at the camera! She put her face directly in the sand several times.
I'm pretty sure this is Owen's little slice of heaven. He even made sand angels! :)
It was hard to leave the beach that morning, but our snacks were depleted, and it was getting to be time for lunch and naps. The wind had picked up again that afternoon, so we headed for Cape Kiwanda a mile up the road in search of tide pools. We did find a few tide pools, but we just barely caught a glimpse of a starfish as the tide was coming back in.
However, the Cape did provide some wind protection, and the boys saw a mountain to climb. Hadley desperately wanted to join them, but I had to let common sense rule when the steep path turned gravelly, so we turned around and waited for them at the bottom.
We ended the excursion with an early dinner at the local micro-brew, The Pelican. If you are curious, we thought it was overpriced and the beers were just meh, although I have to admit that neither of us tried one of their 'award-winning' beers.
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