Life at a "Swell's" pace

Back on November 29th John came to Oregon for the first time. He and I took a six day journey up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. It was a great time to spend with him and I also got to tour and see sights that I hadn't seen since I have lived here. Here is a little recap of our first three days.

We took off on Highway 30 from Portland and headed toward Astoria, Oregon.

We then went out on Sauvie Island and explored the little bit of land along Sturgeon Lake.

This sign made me chuckle. Not quite the Cracker Barrel I am familiar with. Ha!

Osprey nest.

Homes along the lake on Sauvie Island.

Fort William along Sauvie Island.

Bybee-Howell House on Sauvie Island, built for James Bybee, who later became one of Multnomah County’s first Commissioners. Bybee sold the house in 1858.

Sauvie Island Lavender Farm. Of course this time of year it was closed, but I still loved it!

Logging is a large business in the Northwest and along Highway 30 there was a lot to see when it came to logging trucks and barges.

Barges hauling wood, wood pulp, and saw dust.

After leaving Sauvie Island we headed up to Astoria and hit a few places along the way. One of the places was this cute little shop along the road called the Black Buggy Furniture Company. We purchased a few things, mostly edible products. One of the items we bought was Yoder's Good Health and let me tell you, it was interesting. (More on that later, but you can get your own bottle HERE)

Once we hit Astoria, it was pretty dark, but we still made a point to swing by the house where Mike and Brandon lived in the movie "The Goonies." "Kindergarten Cop" was filmed here in Astoria too and we went by the school house, but due to it being too dark we didn't take any shots. And of course, THE RAIN! But Goonies Never Say Die, Right? :-)

After leaving Astoria we reached Seaside, Oregon that night and decided to stay the night at the GuestHouse Inn along Highway 101 (The Pacific Coast Highway)

Funny the things you find on a hotel mirror once the fog of the shower hits it. This one made us laugh.

From the time we left the Amish Furniture store till we hit the outskirts of Newport headed back toward the Cascade Mountain Range, my Four Square, Latitude on Google Maps and GPS Locator kept tagging me and checking me into the Goonies Surf Trip Party House. I liked the name so well I snagged it and kept locking my location in there. We kind of had some fun with it on Instagram too.

The inn was located next to Bigfoot's Steak House. We couldn't help but visit it.

We then headed into Seaside and walked along the boardwalk there along the Pacific.

The first place we saw was the Seaside Candyman. The sign alone spoke to me, he wanted us to come inside and eat candy.

I was a bit excited to serve my candy duties and snag me some taffy at Seaside. :-)

When you first get inside you get to spin the candy wheel of fortune and rack up on taffy, jelly beans, or other candies. John and I both lost. :-(

They had walls and walls of taffy, it was incredible!

All kind of strange flavors like jalapeno and cilantro.......

My favorite is the peppermint.

The wall of Jelly Beans was fun and colorful.

Peas and carrots Jelly Beans. And the Candyman Penny Smasher Machine. Skylar collects these so I was able to get him one in a few places we hit alone the Pacific Coast Highway.

John tried the new flavor the had called Maple Bacon.

He wasn't sure what to think about it, really. Ha!

We then headed across the street to Sam's Seaside Cafe. We had oyster shooters.

We walked along the bayfront and saw the marker for the end of the Lewis and Clark Trail.

Fed some seagulls. It was VERY windy! But at least there wasn't any rain.

I had crackers from the restaurant and the seagulls were stalking me the whole time, haha.

This guy decided to brave it and try to feed them from the top of his hat. Due to the wind it was hard for him to keep the crackers up there and the seagulls swooped down every chance they got, it was hilarious to watch though.

I was a pretty fun day, I just wish the sun had peeked at least once, but it never did. :-(

A pharmacy called the Aspirin Shop. It made me chuckle.

We left Seaside and headed toward Tillamook, Oregon.

We passed through Cannon Beach where Haystack Rock is. The same rock in this picture from The Goonies:

Along Cannon Beach.

Pacific Coast Highway tunnel along the beach front.

The sun finally decided to peek through the cloud cover. It was beautiful for about 15 minutes.

View of Manzanita, Oregon along the Pacific Coast Highway.

A natural falls that the road was built around. I thought it was amazing.

The road is where I am standing to take this picture and the falls ran right under the road to the ocean. It was fresh water running down toward the ocean, which is salt water of course. Nature is amazing!

After traveling some distance we decided to stop at Wanda's Cafe. I noticed it when we passed it and John turned around and went back. It reminded me of my Nana, so it seemed like a fitting place to grab some grub.

The menu had a picture of Wanda, and the entire inside of the cafe was so retro and vintage. I loved it!

John had the BLT with homemade potato chips.

I had the two egg special with roasted red potatoes.

The television fish tank was fantastic. I think it would look amazing in Skylar's room too! I found one HERE!

A few of the fun things we saw along our Pacific Coast Highway Journey headed toward the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Crab signs along the Pacific Coast crack me up. And a smoke stack wigwam; Not sure the history behind it, but it was neat how it stood alone in this large field.

More to come!

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Eco-Tip: If you hand-wash your car make sure you wash it on top of your lawn. Washing it over the lawn will help water the grass, but be sure to use earth-friendly, biodegradable soaps that won't harm your lawn or plants. For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

So it came that time of year when the pumpkins of fall and Halloween just don't fit in with the theme of Christmas decor. Unfortunately, most of them were about gone anyway due to the rain. The trusty house number pumpkin served us well this year and I can't wait to try the technique again next year with a larger pumpkin, perhaps. In the meantime, after sorting out the rotting and the good, we ended up with three lone pumpkins that just didn't want to say die quite yet. I racked my brain on what to do with them and I came up with a solution.

I decided to dress up the old radio at our entry way with a festive, yet fall-feel decor with the pumpkins.

I used pretty much anything I could find around our house to give it that fall feel.

From the pine-cones to the corn, the American Flag under it all, and even the leaf garland I made following THESE instructions from Running with Scissors. I did mine by hand though, because I like to hand-stitch.....I know, rare to find people like me anymore, it seems.

And if you are wondering about the "broom" believe it or not that is a sprig of Dill that was growing in our garden this year that I cut and dried. Maybe a project I will carry later on the blog.

My front entryway looks so barren now though. :-( It is in need of some serious Christmas decor soon!

The old radio never looked so good!

I think some pom poms and twinkle lights would look amazing with the decor as well.

What the radio and entryway looked like before. Meia seemed to be the only one that didn't think it was boring.

And now.......I love it!

Eco-Tip: Be sure and help control the mosquito population in your area by emptying standing water. Be sure to check drains, gutters, bird feeders, and flower pot tray. And to go green never use repellent and always check for larvae around your home, especially during the summer months For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.