Mini vacation to Seaside & Cannon Beach

This year for a mini vacation during Spring Break week we chose Cannon Beach and Seaside, Oregon. Our boys had never been to the area before. We made our plans at the last minute since we had been waiting to hear what days my father in law would be visiting us and if J could take some time off from work. For last minute trips, Priceline and BiddingforTravel (which helps you know what to bid) are the best. We used Priceline and stayed at The Holiday Inn in Seaside for two nights. The customer service was poor but we liked the indoor pool and the hot breakfast which was included in the room rate.

On Monday morning, our first destination (after the requisite stop for strong coffee for J at Sleepy Monk Coffee) was Cannon Beach, the beach. Yes, it was windy and not too balmy but my boys had a great time, running away from waves,jumping into a sand pit, and drawing faces in the sand.

I went on a little detour to explore some of the little shops. For lunch we went to Pig n Pancake which had reasonable prices - a rare commodity in a tourist town like Cannon Beach.

In the afternoon, we hit the ice cream and candy store (The Picnic Basket) where we discovered the owner was a Christian and had Answers in Genesis magazines on the counter.

Next on the agenda was go karts and mini golf at Seaside Family Fun Center (along Highway 101) followed by bumper cars in downtown Seaside. The bumper cars actually went pretty fast.Since I have a bad back, I just watched. I did ride the carousel in Seaside.

I bought J a new hat from the hat store nearby.

We spent some time in the hotel pool and hot tub and then went for supper at Mo's in Cannon Beach. We couldn't believe the location - right on the beach with a view of Haystack Rock. Their prices were very reasonable, too. J and I shared some clams as an appetizer. C fell in love with their clam chowder.

Tuesday started off rainy so we went searching for antique stores. I found a fun little pink side table and J found an interesting book. The next place we explored was the Seaside Aquarium. It is small but has enough to keep kids interested and the entry fee was reasonable.

We liked the giant Pacific octopus. You can pay a dollar for some small fish and feed the cute seals. I wished it was easier to take photos of the seals but they are well protected by a high fence.

For lunch we had hotdogs, soup and sandwiches at the Tsunami Sandwich Company in Seaside. We checked out the Lewis and Clark statue,

took some photos on the beach, (note J's new hat) and said goodbye to Seaside. A took this photo!

Our next stop was Astoria which is only 20 miles northeast of Seaside. The sun came out so we had a fantastic view of the Columbia River from the famous Astoria column. It has 164 steps and yes, we all climbed to the top.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving back home and listening to Alice in Wonderland audiobook on CD. On our way we saw rainbow after rainbow!

We stopped for supper in Tukwila and checked out the Rain Forest Cafe. The food prices were NOT reasonable but you are paying for the experience here. It would be a fun place for a birthday dinner.

A very successful mini-vacation. We had hardly any rain! Now if only we could've stayed one more day. :)

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