For Chuck and my annual anniversary adventure this year, we decided on a road trip to the Oregon Coast and Crater Lake. Last year’s adventure to Kaua’i and the Kalalau Trail would be hard to top but this trip was close!

Through the years… our wedding, Yellowstone, Kaua’i/Kalalau, and Crater Lake

May 24, 2012 – North Coast

Astoria –

Astoria from above

Astoria Column – 164 steps to the top

The best $1 that I’ve ever spent – a (biodegradable) balsawood plane to throw off the top of the Column; My plane aflyin’ (if you can find it)

Self-guided ‘Goonies’ tour

Chuck casually inserting himself in my shot, Abbey Road style

Astoria waterfront

On the boardwalk

Fort Stevens State Park –

The ‘Peter Iredale’ schooner (or sailboat). Slowly decaying since running aground in 1906.

Rusted glory

Ecola State Park –

Off the hiking trail to Indian Beach

Pacific Northwest jungle

Haystack Rock in the distance

Cannon Beach (which was named after a cannon found on the beach in the 1800s – just a little bit of trivia for you…) –

Haystack Rock (because it’s shaped like a haystack)

Tillamook: home of the famous Cheese Factory –

The factory full of dairy goodness; The Baby Loaf bus

Three Capes Scenic Loop –

Cape Meares Lighthouse; Oregon coastal beauty

The ‘Octopus Tree’

Cape Lookout beach

Token sunset photo

Our beachside camp spot

May 25, 2012 – Down the coast

Beverly Beach – Can you find the surfer?

Seal Rock State Park –

Colorful tidepools

Chuck reflecting

Sealife

Oregon Dunes National Park –

Number of times that Chuck mentioned how much he wished he had his dirtbike? About 20

Shore Acres State Park –

Rugged coastline

Red Hot Poker Plant

Simpson Beach – excellent…

Don’t be fooled by Chuck’s casual posture – he was quite nervous about standing on this point for the sake of the photo

May 26, 2012 – Bandon

Coquille Point – Elephant Rock is on the far right (it’s peeking its head and ears out of the water)

Cow parsnip

Beachy self-timer

Bandon collage – Seastar; Man on Fire; Rhody; Cribbage; Lovers; Dog poo; Cheers; Lily

Beach at night

May 27, 2012 – Our anniversary! Inland to Crater Lake

The Sandy Creek Covered Bridge

Umpqua River –

Chuck wishin’ he was fishin’

Crater Lake National Park –

The Lake – so gorgeous!

3 wonderful years! Anniversary self-timer at Crater Lake

Crater Lake, Crater Colada, and Cribbage

May 28, 2012 – Homeward bound

Shoe tree

Horsetail Falls (named after its shape)

Happy trees

Multnomah Falls – Oregon’s tallest waterfall

There you have it – 1,400 miles of roadtrip fun! The past 3 years of wedded bliss have been fantastic and I’m so excited for the adventures to come!

Trip details –

Where we stayed:

Lincoln Inn, Astoria – Nothing fancy but it had a nice view of the Columbia River. We enjoyed watching the season finales of ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Revenge’ here.

Cape Lookout State Park, outside Tillamook – Awesome beachside camping spot. What could be better than having the ocean lulling you to sleep?

Sunset Bay State Park, outside Coos Bay – Another great camping spot

Bandon Beach Motel, Bandon – Cute little family-owned motel with an amazing view. Literally steps from the beach.

Crater Lake Lodge, Crater Lake – We decided to splurge for our anniversary and stay at ‘the Lodge’. Beautiful place with an amazing view, although, I was a little disappointed that the old lodge wasn’t more like the one in ‘The Shining’…

Where we ate (restaurant highlights):

Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe, Astoria – Great coffee and the best scone that I’ve ever tasted

Fort George Brewery, Astoria – Tasty pub food and the best IPA that I’ve ever tasted

Mojo Coffee, Lincoln City – The best mocha that I had on our trip. And I just saw on their website that they donate 10% of their profits to the children of Lincoln county and Ethiopia – gotta love socially responsible companies!

Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room, Crater Lake – Ooh, la la – the tastiest (and most expensive dinner) of our trip

10 Barrel Brewing Co, Bend –  I loved everything about this place – the atmosphere (great patio seating), the beers (I loved the ISA – Indian Session Ale), and the food (steak gorgonzola nachos and buffalo chicken pizza)

What we listened to:

LOTS of music, particularly my ‘Favorites’ iTunes playlist which included Eddie Vedder, M83,  Blink 182, Florence + The Machine, Rihanna, and R Kelly’s ‘Ignition‘ (as a joke, since Dave Chappelle’s version is so hilariously similar)

Audiobook ‘Bloodman‘ by Robert Pobi – We tried our first audiobook (‘Shutter Island’ by Dennis Lehane) on our 1st anniversary roadtrip to Yellowstone and loved it – there were so many amazing sights to stop and see but it was hard to stop listening. ‘Bloodman’ was no different – we were so intrigued that we didn’t talk for several hours straight.

What we read:

The Rough Guide to Oregon and Washington – I love guidebooks and this one did a pretty good job of providing little bits of trivia and keeping us from getting lost

How Well Do You Know Your Boyfriend? – This was a book that I picked up for a buck a few years ago. Did you know that Chuck used to collect stamps?

Some images available for purchase here.

Bandon on Dwellable

South on Dwellable