Oregon Coast trip - part 5 (the final chapter)

I don't care how many pictures I post this time, I'm going to finish our Oregon trip so that I can post about other things! So, the last 2 days of our trip consisted of a trip to Tillamook to visit the cheese factory and the nearby lighthouse on Friday. We saw some beautiful scenery on the drive over!  We spent that evening in the pool and then playing more games.

Then on Saturday we crossed the 4 mile bridge from Astoria into Washington state to go visit 2 more lighthouses on Cape Disappointment. Saturday was the only day that it actually rained on us. After visiting the lighthouses we ate dinner in Astoria at the Pig N Pancake restaurant. We also went to a beach that had an old shipwreck. I wasn't able to get any pictures there since kids had to go potty as soon as we walked down the beach to see it and since the bathrooms were closed it forced us to leave. This is where I was also hoping to get some beach sand but that didn't happen. When we returned I had to do some last minute souvenir shopping because I hadn't really bought anything other than a jacket for Nikki and myself and the souvenir pennies for the kids. So I picked up a jacket for Charlotte and matching shark pullover sweatshirts for Curtis and the boys. I also bought some decorative shells, rocks, dolphins, etc.  

That evening we relaxed a bit and then got busy cleaning and packing because it was our last night and we were leaving in the morning. After finishing what we wanted to and getting the kids cleaned up and in bed Curtis and I excused ourselves to go out to collect some beach sand to go along with my new souvenir decor since I wasn't able to get it earlier that day. It was probably around 11:00 at night. There were still groups of people out on the beach and security guards roaming around to keep the peace. But it was a gorgeous clear night and we stood watching the waves roll in and the sparkling stars. After taking that in for a little while we got down to business digging up sand into an empty milk jug. We had to dig down a little bit to get to some clean sand because so many people do campfires on this beach. When we got back to where we could clean our feet off we read a sign about not taking the sand off the beach but it had showed a picture of a truck and man with a shovel. The security guards were standing nearby and we decided that we would feel better if we asked if it was okay rather than try to sneak it into the condo. The guard told us that it wasn't really his call because he didn't work for the city but that he thought the rule was to take no more than 5 gallons of sand. Whew! We only had one gallon so we were safe! Back upstairs we went to wash up and get in bed. Our vacation was officially over!

On our way to Tillamook we saw some breath taking views and had to stop for some pictures!

At the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

Watching the cheese get cut and packaged.

Charlotte wanted down but I wanted a picture with her. 

Enjoying some Tillamook ice cream outside on their picnic tables. We were also able to have some cheese samples inside. So yummy!

She's finishing either mommy's or daddy's cone. I can't remember.

This is the park where the lighthouse near Tillamook is, Cape Meares.

This view is deceiving. Looks like it would be real tall poking out of the trees like that.

And this is how tall is really was, pretty short for a lighthouse.

Looking through the lenses at the top. 

This is on Saturday and this fort was near the first light house on Cape Disappointment in Washington.

Running around inside the fort. I think we found the cell for prisoners.

Exploring the fort.

We had to hike up a ways to the first lighthouse. They had this cool tree on the trail that the kids climbed inside.

This lighthouse is still in operation and was not open to go inside.

Inside the next light house that was not too far from the other. For some reason I did not get an outside picture of this one.

We had to pay to go up inside this one and you had to be at least 7 or 8 yrs old.

Looking at the view.

Can you tell she's tired?

Going down. All finished.

Well, that's all of the pictures I'm going to share from this trip. It was the best trip ever and we're so glad we went. Thank you Dad and Mom for the fun and memories!