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Published: July 27th 2018
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There's just something about the beach that sets your soul alive, and being on a beach in a faraway land is something else altogether. The first time I saw the Pacific Ocean, I was 25 and my husband and I were on our first big road trip. We had settled on traveling down Highway 101 in Oregon, then catching Highway 1 all along the coast of California. For two kids from North Carolina who had never ventured west of the Mississippi River, this was a life-changing trip of a lifetime. While I adored the rugged cliffs of California and had my breath absolutely taken away as we crossed along Big Sur near sunset, my favorite part of the journey actually happened during the first few days of the trip, before we even crossed over the Oregon/California border.
As a part of our Oregon leg of the trip, we made a point to stop in Cannon Beach to visit Haystack Rock. We had read about it online and we had a few friends who went, but we had only been to local Myrtle Beach our entire lives. We had no idea what to expect or if it would look anything like
the East Coast beaches we were so familiar with. That morning was overly foggy and we warmed our hands around big mugs of coffee from the local bakery along the main road. We sat on old driftwood and I was wearing a long, white quilted jacket I had picked up a few days earlier from the thrift store. I remember looking out across the haze and thinking how vast this world was, and how beautiful. We made that trip in 2010, but it just wasn't enough. We needed to go again.
As soon as we got back home, we realized how much we adored our Oregon trek, specifically the area in and around Cannon Beach. We'd had the best shrimp burger of our entire lives at a little hole-in-the-wall diner called Mitch's, where you can come in at almost any time of the night and find kind, enthusiastic servers just waiting to tell you about the catch of the day or serve you a fantastic appetizer. We'd loved exploring the breweries and local shops around nearby Astoria, Oregon as well. It was all so quaint and colorful and serene, like a page pulled right from a picture book.
So, four years ago, when it was time to plan our last little getaway before putting down roots and starting a family of our own, we decided to head back to that familiar, beloved territory. This time, instead of going south down the coast of California, we started in Seattle, Washington and made a loop north into Canada. We stayed at the gorgeous, clean-as-a-whistle town of Victoria BC while we were there, at a little bed and breakfast that served poached eggs and biscuits and gravy and was utterly delightful. We also dined at a local favorite called Red Fish, Blue Fish, taking our flounder sandwiches onto the pier to nibble while we watched the ships come into the harbor. We were only in Victoria for two days, but it was spectacular and again, a place I would love to bring my kids back to and hopefully visit one day.
It was so interesting, being in a different country. We hadn't been out of the continental United States since our honeymoon at Montego Bay, Jamaica back in 2008. While Victoria was still very close to home and didn't feel too far away, there were some customs, such as the currency, that we had to get used to. Thankfully, in my work as a communications manager back home, I had spent a little bit of time researching travel customs and how to navigate a vacation in an unfamiliar land. From what to do and how to interact when you
visit Chiang Mai to how to honeymoon in Paris and find the best coffee in Spain, I researched it all so I was prepared to help us get around both physically and socially during our time away from home.
We had ridden the ferry to Victoria so when it was time to depart, we came right back to where we started, in Port Angeles, Washington. You may have heard of this destination, as it was featured in the hit movie saga, "Twilight." While we were in the area, we also made it a point to visit nearby Forks, Washington, which was set as the homeplace of fictional characters Bella and Edward. I'm not sure what we expected, but save for a few movie displays that cropped up in random local areas, the town of Forks was still very normal in appearance and, as the movie was actually filmed on a sound stage in California, we didn't see any places that looked too familiar.
After our Washington journey was over, it was time to head back south to Oregon again. I had been anticipating this return trip since we had left the first time. Just like a few years ago, we ducked under the sea brush to get to the sandy shore. We walked a few yards, willing ourselves not to look up at Haystack Rock just yet. I wanted it to knock my socks off like it did the first time, and boy it did not disappoint. There it stood, still as majestic and massive and awe-inspiring as ever before. We spent one night at a beachside inn, then departed for Seattle again the next day, where we would complete the final leg of our trip. That night, we were sure to hit up all our local favorites, including grabbing a shrimp burger from Mitch's!
In Seattle, we took one last spin around Pike's Place Market in the morning before catching an afternoon flight back home to North Carolina. We grabbed our java from the first original Starbucks and got a few warm cinnamon rolls to eat and watch the vendors set up shop. The air was cool and the company was fantastic and it was a great way to bid farewell to our adventorous country-trotting days. Since then, we've introduced two babies into the mix and while we aren't quite ready to take them on a cross-country adventure, I know the time will come. Until then, we have plenty of adventure and excitement right where we are!
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