Pacific Coast Highway 101

First, I have to confess that I've really let the blog down.  Fortunately my wonderful wife has carried the blog posting load that I've neglected but I bear a heavy dose of guilt for not doing my part.  This is my attempt to shake off my slovenly ways and contribute to our digital life.

Last week we jumped on a plane (if you can call it that, regional jet...seriously!?) and headed to Portland, Oregon.  My mom picked us up at the airport and we headed to the Oregon Coast for our annual Coast-cation.  We met up with my sister, her husband and 10 month old son in Rockaway Beach where we've stayed for the last four summers.  Having lived in Texas for almost a year we were in dire need of some cool Pacific Northwest air, mountains and forest and we were not disappointed.

View From Our Deck

Beach Behind Our House

I mentioned that our 10 month old nephew Marek made the trip and it was fun to spend a whole week with him.  He's old enough to be crawling, responds to his name and knows how to give a pretty strong glare.  It's tough being 1500 miles away from the cute little guy but we took advantage of our time with him.

Look at them thighs...super cute!

I'm sure we've blogged about it after prior Oregon trips but there is a 50's style bumper car arena in Seaside that brings out the child in everyone I've ever seen pony up the $2 to ride.  Something about a license to ram into people at full speed guarantees fun!

Heather & Brandon prepare to smash Sally

We always enjoy our time in Tillamook for several reasons.  First, Tillamook is home to Tillamook Dairy and anyone who has even glanced at our blog knows my wife would be hard pressed to choose between ice cream and oxygen if given an ultimatum.  Fortunately it's a no brainer (which is why we enjoyed at least three double scoop waffle cones in six days!).  Another appeal of Tillamook is a restaurant/country store called The Blue Heron.  The food is good and they sell a variety of fun home made country goods.  The highlight for Stacie is that they have some farm animals, not least of which are two llamas which she loves.

Llama Lovin'

This year our trip coincided with the Tillamook County Fair which proved to be lucrative.  The fair hosts horse races throughout the week so we all picked a horse and threw in  a few bucks.  I hedged my bet and put equal money on the favorite and long-shot.  What I didn't realize is that the odds constantly change depending on who's betting on which horse.  Suddenly my strategy was inverted which proved my hedging logic to be a smart play.  My mother had no such strategy.  She only overheard me place my bet on the favorite and decided to copy me, which meant her bet ended-up running as a 10:1 long-shot.  Silly Sally, should have hedged.  Not so fast, the long-shot won and since she didn't split her bet like I did she won twice as much.  On the bright side her winnings paid for a great crab dinner!

Cha-Ching!

Stacie and I enjoyed the chance to get out of the Texas heat (65 degrees and partly cloudy...yes please!). It's alway fun to visit family and the Oregon Coast provides and picturesque backdrop for enjoying a vacation.  It's crazy to think that our little guy will be 9 months old and crawling around next year when we come back!

28 Weeks and Looking Real Good

Garibaldi Harbor

Cheers to another relaxing, refreshing and fun filled trip to the Pacific Northwest.  Good bye for now old friend, until we breathe your cool mountain and ocean air again.

-Kyle