Rockaway Beach and Tillamook

Maybe the 3rd weekend we were here we heard the temperature was supposed to be in the 90s.  That's not common for Portland in June, or July for that matter. We decided it would be a great Saturday to get away to the beach, since it is always at least 10 degrees cooler there. We went to Rockaway Beach, a quaint little beach town and to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

Logan LOVED the sand.  He couldn't get enough of how it felt, even in his mouth.  We think maybe he ate more sand than lunch that day :) It may have been one of the first times he was more interested in something other than food during meal time. Here he is holding a roll in one hand while feeling the sand with the other.

Sand all over his mouth!

We had a picnic on the sand when we first got there.

Right as we arrived at the beach.  It was perfect weather, although a little chilly with the wind right next to the water.

Logan also loved walking on the sand.  He couldn't quite get the hang of it when the sand was dry and squishy, but where the water and salt had hardened it from high tide, he was a pro.

Here Darrin and Logan are at a junk shop by the beach. Really, it was full of absolute junk. I don't know how that store survived.

After the beach, we headed about 20 minutes inland to Tillamook city where the cheese factory resides. they let you walk through a self-guided tour, sample cheese, and read things about cows.

Logan as we wait in line for Tillamook's famous ice cream. Do you think he knows what he is about to get a taste of?

Still in line...

This is how excited Darrin was to get cheese curds. One of his favorite things in life.

It was a long but perfect day. I could spend a lot of time on the Oregon coast.

Portlandia

Portland has been an adventure. Darrin and I have gotten the chance to explore a lot while we have been here. To think that we have less than 2 weeks left here is an odd thought. It went by very quickly and soon we'll be off to our next adventure. I've been bad about posting while we've been here and The Work and the  Glory series is mostly to blame for that. I have engrossed myself in those books so that I can finally finish the series and move on to my endless "books to read" list.

But...here are a few things we documented since being here. Some of them are a little odd, like this one:

While walking through one of the many many parks here this lady bug landed on Darrin.  If the saying about dots and their age is true, this one would be really old!

Portland seems to have an endless amount of flowers. Darrin especially loves these:

A hike that is in Payson Canyon is called the Grotto, so we couldn't pass up this opportunity to go to "The Grotto" in Portland, which happens to be a monastery :) It had beautiful grounds and gave us another thing on our "free things to do in Portland" list (which is mainly where we've been finding activities from).

A copy of Pieta --one of my very favorites, one I actually got to see the real thing while in Italy.

One of the main buildings of The Grotto.

To keep Logan and I busy, we go to the nearby park at least two times a week. He would sit in the swing for hours if I let him.  Usually I'm the one that calls it quits so we can leave.

Logan can't get enough daddy time lately. He's always begging to play with daddy or read with daddy. I don't think Darrin minds too much :)

Logan is obsessed with hats lately and will ask you to put one on if he sees it. This was one of those times.  I just thought these pictures were funny...

This last one reminds me of when I got my wisdom teeth out...ha!