Pacific Northwest Vacation: Day 2

On Thursday, we hit the road and drove to Corvallis, Oregon. What's in OR, you ask? Why, Oregon State University, of course. Home of the Beavers. Yep, you certainly read that correctly.

Next August is when Matthew will be notified of what school he has been placed into for his clinical year, and OSU is one of his three choices. Since he has a chance of attending this school, we felt that we should probably visit it while in the nearby area.

Our alarms were set for 5:30 a.m. so we woke up bright and early. As soon as everyone was ready and the car was packed with sustenance, we started our little mini road trip. The drive to Corvallis was pretty uneventful since we took the freeway. Of course, being a victim of motion sickness, I took it easy and tried to sleep during the first leg of the journey.

When we arrived in Corvallis, we stopped at Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery for lunch. We walked around the little downtown area a bit, and tried to absorb details of the nearby neighborhoods. After all, we could very well end up living there, so it was good for us to imagine ourselves in that particular environment. While I felt Corvallis was nice enough, college-oriented, and had clean but modest homes, it was no Seattle. But, I could do it for a year, if needed. Overall, I felt like it was a small town on flat ground, known mostly for being the home of the university. And hey, there's nothing wrong with that. I went to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, folks. I know what that environment is all about. ;)

We drove around the campus and familiarized ourselves with the layout. The main buildings were traditional red brick and very very tall. Reser Stadium was pretty impressive; I can't say that much about their mascot choice. Totally cracks me up.

After our pit stop at OSU, we started driving west, because we wanted to take the coastal way back home to WA. Upon reaching the coast, we drove into Newport, OR. We saw a beautiful view of the mighty Pacific Ocean, and had our pictures taken by old, washed up whale bones. When we left Newport, we continued driving north and stopping at different scenic turn-outs and beaches. At one spot, there was a huge rock/island right off the coast of the beach, and also a large sand dune that we climbed. Heather and Matthew made it up with no problem. Corey and I took our time because we're fatties. Another place we stopped, was at Tillamook Creamery. We tried their ice cream and bought a few blocks of cheese. And let me tell you---their huckleberry ice cream is sooooooooooo delicious.

It was a great drive back; very beautiful. By the time we arrived at home, it was nearly midnight. Everyone was pretty exhausted, but I stayed up to watch the movie, "Tangled." That's what happens when you get motion sickness and force yourself to sleep in the car. :) By the way, it was a cute movie.

At Block 15 for lunch and sangria. :)

In front of the washed up whale bones.

View of the Pacific Ocean from Newport, OR.

Heather and me.

There were seals sunbathing on some of the rock groupings.

This "beach" was covered in black pebbles. Not a grain of sand in sight!

At Mo's, you can get beer and/or wine, "to go." Sounds like St. Kitts!

 I wasn't the only one sleeping on the way back...

Huge rock island in the Pacific Ocean. 

Hello, sand dune!

View of the rock/island from the top of the sand dune.

This beach was at Oswald Park in Oregon. 

Pretty cool photo, right?

See the surfer behind me??