PNW Road Trip

So I have decided to post about my road trip, because I can. Do I need a better reason? And I have a plethora of pictures....and when I put them on my phone from my camera, they turned into really crappy pictures, so bear with me ;)

A little history: We spontaneously decided to go on a road trip to the grand pacific northwest. We would be gone for like 5 days, which is mostly driving, ew, and we would go to Oregon, and Washington. And that was the plan.

Basically there were 5 girls on this road trip, and no men or parental supervision. GIRL POWER Y'ALL. It was myself, two of my older sisters (they're adopted, I swear), and one of my sister's friend, and my sister's friend's friend. And we were squished like peas into my older sisters Pontiac G6 named Saphira.

I started off by getting like 30 minutes of sleep because I went to bed super late because I was too lazy to pack and that plus a whirlwind of panic and anxiety attacks and longing and nostalgia for my ocean. Therefore I did not sleep, and was singing Fun like a madman. IT WAS GREAT YA KNOW.

After we all got tightly squeezed into the car it was like 4:30/5 and we decided to make a run to Walmart, the only open store in Cache Valley to get some technology to play our music. DO YOU REALIZE HOW HARD IT IS TO GET SOME ASSISTANCE AT A WALMART AT 4:30 AM. SO HARD. Once we got our techno we ran out to our car. As I was running to my car, I heard some laughing and I was like...."Um creepy" so I looked back to the Walmart and to my surprise there were like 15 Walmart employees sitting on that patio furniture stuff that they display at the front of the store drinking sodas. The heck. THAT was why it was so hard to get some assistance guys.

Anyways. So we started rollin' and THE SUNRISE WAS PERFECT. Although I was driving so I couldn't fully enjoy it.

The drive was beautiful. From the construction worker that picked up that fallen over cone so gracefully at like 6am, to the beautiful things like this waterfall. 

And this super rainy windy river gorge. So perfect, so intense. Especially when the winds are extremely high and you have a flat tire.....and you are trying to drive while trying to talk to the auto store on the phone but you can't hear them because of the wind and the car noises and yeaaaaah. SO FUN. 

And can we just acknowledge how super attractive everyone was when they slept? ;) I am adorable when I sleep, too bad I don't sleep in the car ;) And no, I'm no posting a picture. I value my life. 

Yeah so the drive was good and all. Until we got a flat tire and had to have 2 tires changed which took like 1 and 1/2 hours and our life savings. Actually I didn't pay anything, make that THEIR life savings.

So after eating Chipotle for the first time and being totally incapable of pronouncing it, and charging our phones at Starbucks, we got rolling to the OCEAN, with a quick whirl through Portland. Like literally we got of on the wrong exit and we ended up driving through the part of Portland by the university. I LIKE PORTLAND. It was cool. Lots of hippies, and all the wild roses, I approve so good. 

After all that ish, we made our way to the coast for reals. THIS IS MY FAVORITE DRIVE EVER OKAY. Through the walls of the Oregon rain forest, with the smell the Ocean lingering in the air. PERFECTION. 

*hyperventilates* 

Basically we got to Cape Lookout State Park at like....10pm. A massive storm was blowing through and it was SO windy, and SO cold, and SO rainy, and we were like, "No. Let's go home" Because we are from hot dry Utah, and I was wearing shorts. Pretty much. Not to mention, the first thing the ranger told us was, "Oh, you are way out in the open, so make sure your tent is staked in really well and you have a good rain fly so you don't get rained on." But he was bearded and super cheerful about it all, so that was great. When we were driving to our tent site, literally everyone was in long pants and down coats....I felt sorta unprepared. ;) And some chick in the bathroom (which was super warm btw) was like, "I REALLY hope tomorrow is better, because last night was a nightmare." Thanks. Thanks a lot. ;) But we got in our warm tent and only two of us got rained on (myself and my sister ;) ). 

I think God must love us a lot, because the next morning we woke up to partly cloudy skies, and a light drizzle, which cleared up to be a sunny, 60 degree day. :) I WAS SO EXCITED TO SEE THE OCEAN I WAS LIKE JUMPING UP AND DOWN. Because we got to our ten tsite so late, we actually couldn't SEE our surroundings, or the ocean, because the view was blocked by a dune. But we woke up and the campground was beautiful. Truly. 

And then I ran/skipped to the ocean waves and danced through the foamy fingers and laughed and cried and yes that happened and oh man, it felt so good to be home. HAPPY HEART Y'ALL.

LOOK. OCEAN WE LOVE YOU. 

AND LOOK HOW GORGEOUS IT WAS. IS. IT IS. 

And there were waterfalls on the beach, and it was pretty magical.

Speaking of magical. THIS.

And the clouds were reflecting on the wet beach and yeah, I was sorta in heaven.

Anyways. My heart was super happy and content. And it felt so good. Next stop, The Oregon Coast Aquarium. HOLLA. 

Let's flashback. Left: fashionable childhood me, (honestly I don't know why those were ever in style) in total awe of the magical sea life, Right: me still in awe of the magical sea life. 

See? Nothing has changed there. I love love the marine life, and I could spend HOURS at the aquarium. I always have, I always will.

After the aquarium, as we were driving back to our campsite, we saw the results of a really really bad car wreck. One mini van was crashed into the side of the forest, and one van was flipped over on it's head. I kept expecting to see someone seriously injured but all I saw were there suitcases and souvenirs thrown out of the car, they had tow trucks there to move the cars, so ambulances were loooong gone. Oregon's windy roads make accidents lots more likely. It was tragic and I couldn't help but wondering if the people were okay. I'm so grateful we stayed safe, it's crazy to think that at any moment that can happen to any of us. Anyways. 

After we got back, we packed up and went to Oceanside Beach. Brace yourself for a looooot of pictures because this is my home. Basically the 19 minute drive was me dying of feels. Like. Just look at how freaking cute all the houses are. Can I just live there please? 

We also went and stalked the house my family used to rent. SO MANY FEELS. I just wanted to be in the house eating granola and drinking blackberry tea with my family. :( BUT. The people staying in the house definitely noticed us stalking, and the waved. I wonder if they would have given us a tour, I would have asked ;) 

Literally the view from the house is perfect and I want to buy it and live there. Blackberry blossoms, just yes.

Anyways. So after a good dose of stalking, we went down to Oceanside Beach to roast hot dogs and eat sauerkraut and explore the beach.  I was literally so happy to be there. Tears might have been shed people. But a major plus to just being on the beach, is being there during sunset, and it was AMAZING.

Climbing rocks + the ocean = happy happy happy. ^_^ 

After chilling on the beach, we went back to our campground and....slept. BUT THE STARS WERE AMAZING. And that was great. Clear Oceanside skies and lots of stars makes for perfection.

The next morning we woke up early to head down to Oceanside for low tide. Seashells and tide pools ya'll. We got a lot of seashells, and found this little guy...

(my pictures aren't actually THAT bad of quality, I just pulled them off my phone and they turned out crappy) 

And tide pools are seriously the coolest.

And sunrise on the beach, also the coolest. 

I seriously loved seeing all the houses and the sun rising. It brought back a loaaad of memories. Happy ones.

 After that, we went back to the campsite and packed up. Into our tiny car. It was FULL to the brim and it barely fit. #Expertpackers 

Once that was all done, we head towards Cape Meares to see the lighthouse. The VIEW was great, and I was having flashbacks of childhood me running through the woods there. 

And once we explored there, and hugged trees, we got ice cream from Tillamook. You might have had Tillamook ice cream, but you have not lived until you have had fresh Tillamook ice cream right from the factory. Thne headed along highway 101 to Washington. HIGHWAY 101 IS THE MOST PERFECT ROAD IN THE WORLD. HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS A LOT. Like, you can't complain driving on highway 101, it's magical ;) 

Another thing Oregon/Washington has a lot of, is freaking awesome bridges. 

LOOK WE MADE IT TO WASHINGTON. I'm actually really sad that we never got a picture or the "Welcome to Oregon" sign, I missed seeing it every time. :(

So basically we were staying with complete strangers in Washington. HAH. But they were super super nice, and that was great. We didn't actually get there until 10pm or later, and I don't have pictures of any other parts of the 4-ish hour drive because I was on my phone the whole time. :/

The next day we got up and it was nice to sleep in a house although I was still in my sleeping bag on the floor. CLEARLY, I would have rather been camping. ;) First place we headed was to catch a ferry! Whoo! We had a little bit of a mix-up and ended up waiting for 1-2 hours. Ferry lines are hilarious. It's a HUGE line of cars up the highway, and it moves slowly, so basically people just get out of their cars and hangout, and when the line would move, they would just walk. It was hilarious to me, even though it really isn't. ;) And there was this adorable little Indian baby girl that we waved and, and she waved back, her parents had no idea ;) I also waved at a group of guys chilling at their VW van getting ready to go scuba diving, they weren't super friendly :( In Utah people wave at strangers, I guess they don't do that in Washington ;) 

Once you drive onto the ferry, you can get out of your car and walk around, and it was the BEST. I was in heaven. I love boats, and I love the ocean. I didn't get a picture of it, but the water was FULL of jelly fish, and you could see them, and that was super dope.

I was basically in heaven.

When the ride ended we found this super cute Gluten Free bakery and just HAD to go check it out and buy lots of stuff ;) After that we drove to Port Angeles so one of the girls could go see her family, and while she hung with her family, we went to this AMAZING cafe called Cafe New Day. I am no where NEAR a foodie, food does not bring me joy, and it basically all tastes similar, but this was probably the BEST gluten free food that I have ever had in my entire life. So good. 

After all that we went to Silverdale, WA to meet up with some of my sister's friends at the mall. While they were talking, the rest of us went to Barnes and Nobles. Obviously. I read kids books, and bought a reprint of the US Army Survival Guide, typical. ;) I could spend hours in a bookstore, it's a problem. And after that, we embarked to get back on the ferry. We waited to forever again, and there was a jazz band playing, and I hate jazz ;) So basically on this side of the bay, you pay for the ferry, and go park in a parking lot and wait to board the ferry. Everyone is sitting on their cars, and drinking coffee and stuff, and I like that vibe. And then we got back on the ferry, and the sunset was pretty great. 

The next morning, we woke up early, packed up, and headed home. YAY. I love traveling, and road trips, but going home is always the best feeling EVER.

On our way back, we drove past Mount Rainier, I actually have no idea which mountain is which, there were so many in the distance, and it was hecka confusing. But I'm pretty sure that the sign knew what it was talking about ;) 

With our car full of sand, and our hearts full of memories, we pulled up to the curb in front of my house. We were all almost exploding when we got into Utah, because we were so excited to be home. I mean, these people are great, but 40-ish hours in a car with them and I was more than ready to be home. 

Anyways. It was great. I'm super glad I went, it felt so good to go home to Oregon, man I love that place :) It was definitely a good fix to my extreme wanderlust. Life is good y'all. :) 

(apologies for the length, and excess of pictures, and overall bad grammar, you're welcome)