Today, July 6, 2014, was the day--we were leaving on our family vacation. My mom had booked two cottages on the Oregon Coast and the whole family was heading there for a week full of fun. The day started by meeting at Amy and Jason's house in Taylorsville at 8 a.m.
So it begins - Mangelson Family Vacation!
We traveled all morning, stopping for lunch in Burley, Idaho. We then continued on to Boise, Idaho. We stopped at the Boise Temple.
Pics outside of the Boise Temple
It was a hot day in Boise. But we all enjoyed the temple grounds.
We loaded up and continued to our final destination for day 1, Pendleton, Oregon. Amy rode along with us because Keaton was playing in a championship baseball game, so Jason stayed behind and would be driving out with Keaton in a few days, depending on how many games they won.
Once we arrived at Pendleton, we had dinner and then the kids all headed to the pool to swim. They were excited to be free from being inside a car for 8 hours!
We woke up the next day and continued on our journey. Another long day of traveling was ahead of us! We would arrive in Depoe Bay today!
Pics from the Oregon countryside.
We drove along side of the Columbia River.
We stopped at this rest stop.
It felt good to get out and move around a bit. Kendrick was being really good though.
Kendrick and Ethan
Kendrick - love the scenery behind him. Oregon was definitely more beautiful than Idaho. At least the part of Idaho that we drove through to get to Oregon.
This is a pic that Amy took as we drove down the highway. You can see Mt. Hood in the distance.
We stopped for lunch at this Bellagios Pizza place in Portland, Oregon.
The kids were having a good time climbing all over.
All of the grand kids!
We continued onto our destination. We stopped one more time at Tillamook and went to the cheese factory.
It was fun to see how they make cheese and we also sampled some of it. We also had some ice cream. It was yummy!
The kids had fun playing in this van.
Trying to get them to all look at once was impossible!
Amy took this pic - she has better luck!
We finally arrived at Depoe Bay! So excited and ready for a break from driving/riding in a car! This is the cottage that most of the family stayed in.
It was so cool! This pic shows the side balcony with a view of the ocean.
This is the front of the house.
Full side view - love the ocean in the background.
We mostly just got settled in and made grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Then we just hung out at the cottages and eventually went to sleep, listening to the sound of the ocean.
This was the view from the big window at the back of the cottage today.
It was a little bit foggy, windy, and chilly. But that didn't stop the kids from going down and playing on the beach.
Kendrick loved it!
Me and Scott - having fun in the ocean breezes!
Once again, trying to get all of the kids to look is a challenge!
Maybe this time?
Oh well, they're having fun!
Later, they were playing "minecraft" in the cottage.
That evening we went further into Depoe Bay to the whale watching station to see if we could see any whales. We did see a seal and maybe a whale tail or two? I can't remember what day is what now.
We then went to Lincoln City for dinner at a restaurant called "PignPancake". We were told that the weather was great. We were thinking, "this is great?" Mainly because it was chilly.
Sunset on the beach that night.
The next day, Wednesday, everyone kind of did their own thing. Some were going to the aquarium, so were going to go on a bike ride, and some were driving to Astoria. We decided to go with the group that drove up to Astoria.
There was some road construction on the highway, so we were slowly but surely making our way to Astoria. We stopped for lunch at McDonald's - since we had a lot of kids with us, that was the best choice to keep them happy and they could get out and play in the playland for a bit.
We continued down the road. We arrived in Cannon Beach, home of the Haystack Rock.
This is Haystack Rock - you may remember seeing it if you have watched the movie, "Goonies".
Cannon Beach reminded me of Park City in Utah. It had a lot more people around and it was very "touristy". I think it is more of a resort type place.
We got out and spent some time on the beach at Haystack Rock.
It was cool, but a little bit warmer than it had been.
Scott, holding up the rock.
We had a lot of fun just walking around the beach.
There was also a lot of things to look at.
They don't allow you to climb on the rocks any more.
Kendrick seriously loved just playing on the beach.
He loved to run up to the water and then have it "chase" him back.
Having a great time at Haystack Beach!
Grandma with the Eyre kids.
Scott and Max
Posing with the sea captain.
We decided that if we continued to Astoria, we would not get there until late and then the drive back to Depoe Bay would be really long and we would get back even later. So we started back to Depoe Bay.
We stopped for dinner at a little diner. It seemed like it would be ok. It was called "Grumpy's.". Well, we know where the name came from. The server and the cook were pretty grumpy that we were in there. I don't know if it was close to closing time or what, but they acted pretty put out that they had to help us. We decided to leave and eat somewhere else.
We found another place, I can't remember the name of it, but it was delicious. So I'm glad that we left the other place. We also were talking with the server and she asked where we were from and we said Utah. She said oh, my mom used to live there. We asked where, and she said oh this little small town, you've probably not even heard of it. We asked, where? And she says, "Levan". We all laughed and said that's where we grew up! I guess her mom lived there for a while with her boyfriend. Small world!
We hustled back to the cottages because it was Max's birthday and Charlie was having a small party for Max.
It was Max's 7th birthday today!
Charlie with the birthday cake.
Max opening presents.
The next day, Thursday, we had a reservation to go on a whale watching cruise out on the ocean. We were hoping to see some whales up close and personal! HA HA
Checking in at the ticket booth. Kendrick is already a little bit apprehensive about the trip. :)
Here we go!
Waiting in the museum and checking out the sites.
A harbor seal coming to greet us.
This was the view while we were waiting to board the boat.
I didn't get any pics while we were out on the ocean. It was a little bit bumpy! I also got a little bit sea sick! I did see a few whales, but I didn't get to witness the really cool sightings because I stayed sitting down and felt like I would vomit if I stood up! Kendrick got a little bit wheezy too! So he and I stayed sitting down. There was a few other kids that were feeling the same way, but they had a bucket, for a good reason!
It was really cool though and I'm glad we did it. I just wish I would have felt better so I could see the whales better! Oh well!
When we got back to shore, we watched them cleaning the fish that had just been caught.
Another view of the harbor and some sea gulls.
We headed back to the beach house and had some lunch. It was quite warm, and looked like a perfect beach day. We also had a visit from our cousin, Rick Mathews and his wife Vicky and their grandson. So after visiting for a bit, we all headed down to the beach. It was perfect!
Kendrick loved playing in the sand.
So did Katie- even though she had got a little bit wet.
Kendrick was totally content to play all day at the beach.
It was a perfect day for our Mangelson Family Vacation!
Uncle Joe built an airplane for Kendrick
He thought it was pretty cool!
Scott and Kendrick hanging out on the rocks.
Kendrick decided he wanted his swim suit on, so we walked up the path to the beach house.
The beach house in front of him is the house my mom, the Ropers, and Charlie and his kids stayed in.
I took a few pics, since this was our last day at Depoe Bay. This is the hot tub that was on the lower deck of the Sea Glass Cottage the majority of the family stayed in. I didn't ever get in the hot tub, but a few of the kids did. I love the view of the ocean in the background.
This was the beach house my mom stayed in. This almost looks like a postcard photo! I love it!
We went back down to the beach. Now that Kendrick has his suit on, he was getting near the water more. It was also hot, so it felt good. The water was still pretty cold though.
The family, just hanging out at the beach. Our last day!
Kendrick wrote his name in the sand.
He was pretty proud - even if he is missing a few letters!
Another shot of Kend and his name.
Family selfie - not sure where we were at?
This was from a post my sister Paula put on Instagram.
Me, Amy, Paula, Mom, Vicky, Rick, Emilee, Charlie, and Annie
The whole Mangelson family - it was a great day!
That night, Jason built a fire on the beach. He and Amy had got supplies to make smores.
Our attempt at a family pic with the sunset. Kendrick didn't want to take one though!
Scott checking out the sunset.
The kids just had fun climbing and playing.
Me and Scott
Roasting marshmallows
Kendrick thought it was pretty cool.
We had a fun night to end our last day at Depoe Bay.
The next day, Friday, we loaded up and headed down the PCH. We were bound for the Redwood Forest. There were lots of sights along the way. The scenery was beautiful. A little foggy at times, but very cool.
We stopped for lunch at this restaurant, "The Barnacle Bistro". It was yummy.
A pic I took along the way of the view of the ocean.
We eventually made it to our hotel in Fortuna, California. The kids all invaded the pool and everyone that was there, left because of all the noise and splashing.
The next morning we woke up and headed to the Avenue of the Giants in the Redwood Forest.
The trees were so tall! They were almost magical!
The kids had fun climbing on the ones that had fell.
We tried to get a pic of all the grand kids on the this log.
We almost did it.
Walking up the trails.
Fun times - I loved how green the ferns were and how big!
A wild berry patch.
Our view as we drove through the forest.
This log was marked with different events in time to show how old the tree was.
Kendrick was dancing around.
We found out why - he needed to go potty!
Luckily we made it in time.
A quick snack break for these two - Diet Coke and crackers.
Look at the roots -
So tall, they almost block out the sun.
Scott is a midget next to a giant redwood tree.
Bottom of an uprooted tree.
This showed where a fire had been.
Some of the trees had these "knots" or "bumps" on them.
Making our way through the forest.
Kendrick inside a tree.
The kids loved climbing.
It looks like we told everyone to wear red stripes or orange. HA HA
We had a great day exploring the Redwoods. I remember as a kid always wanting to go there. I had a few friends that went there with their families and I wanted to go there. I was curious to see what they were like and just to see how tall they really were.
We had lunch at a restaurant inside the Redwoods park and also did a little shopping. I bought a snowflake ornament made out of redwood. I can't wait to hang it on our tree this year. I love having ornaments that remind me of special times or special people in my life.
We loaded up and continued down the road. We were headed to Reno, Nevada. That would be our last hotel stop before we headed back to Utah.
The scenery through California was great. We went by Lake Tahoe and came across where the Donner Party was. It was a long ride though and we were very happy to arrive in Reno.
All we did was crash in our hotel. We didn't even go get dinner. Scott, Kendrick and I went to sleep.
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed for Utah! We traveled for a while and decided to stop for lunch in Elko. I texted Amy to see where they had stopped. They had left before the rest of us.
They had stopped at this bistro, "McAdoo's"
We decided to join them and so did my mom and Charlie. It was delicious! I had a wrap that was so good and the side salad was great too. Thank goodness for technology to give us a tip on where to eat!
We continued down the road. The trip home always seems like it is twice as long! But we finally saw this sign:
UTAH! - thanks to my sister Amy's pic! I actually need to give credit to her for a bunch of pics in this blog post! Thanks!
It had been such a fun trip! I loved it! I wish I would have taken more pics, especially the last few days. I need to remember to take pics everyday of every event. Even the small ones. It makes remembering the trip so much better.
Well, until the next trip, which I hope is soon!
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