Pacific Northwest: Part 4

From Seattle, we headed down the Oregon coast. If someone asked me what my favorite part of our trip was, I would say Astoria without question. I am completely obsessed with this city now and would move there in a heartbeat. I was even looking at home prices before we left. It is absolutely beautiful.

The coolest thing about Astoria is that it's right on the mouth of the Columbia River, which feeds directly into the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1811 by the fur trapper John Jacob Astor (how cool is that?!?), so it has a rich history of shipping and commerce. Of course, it's probably best known for...

The Goonies! Of course we had to stop by the house from the movie (owned now by ordinary people who drive a yellow Ferrari) for a picture. It was seriously so thrilling to be driving through the streets where that movie was filmed. Can you tell we're big fans? :)

Astoria is also full of historic buildings, including this hotel from the turn of the century (now an antique store). And the only way to get to Astoria is by crossing the four-mile long Astoria-Megler Bridge, which connects Washington and Orgeon as well. I probably took 20 pictures of the bridge alone.

Just as we were leaving, a thick, chilly fog rolled in and blanketed Astoria. I was in heaven. I can't wait to go back sometime soon just to take pictures!

From Astoria, we headed down the coach to Seaside and Cannon Beach, where the pirate scenes from The Goonies were filmed. This beach was gorgeous, but it was FREEZING cold and the water was probably 40 degrees. Not sure how anyone swims in the ocean in Oregon!

The Oregon coast is also home to several lighthouses, and we loved visiting them. It is crazy to me that the west coast even has lighthouses, to be honest. The most well-known lighthouses are all on the east coast, especially in Maine. I thought these were adorable.

A quick note about this lighthouse, called Yaquina Head: The weather took a turn for the worse when we got here and was blowing gale-force winds — and the sky was completely white. You couldn't even see the ocean. I cannot imagine sailing a ship in weather like that and trying to steer it safely into shore.

Finally, no trip to Oregon is complete without a stop at the Tillamook cheese factory. We got giant ice cream cones and left with "squeaky cheese" (cheese curds) and smoked black pepper cheese. I wish we lived closer! I'd be there at least every few months just for the cheese curds.

Pictures from our final leg of the trip in Portland and central Oregon are up next!