We took our first family vacation last August to Oregon. We learned several things, mainly that my youngest son’s limit in the car is three hours before he starts the real screaming. 
And that driving during the hottest day of the year in the middle of the day is no fun for parent or child! We first went to my husband’s family reunion, which also happened to be his grandmother’s 90th birthday party! It was a blast to get together with his family, and seeing all the great-grandchildren together in one place.
After the reunion, we headed to Astoria, OR and had a little mini-vacation. Astoria is a beautiful place, and coincidentally also where they filmed the movie The Goonies. This being our first “family” vacation, we were happy that there were a ton of museums to visit and most places were very kid-friendly (for more kid-specific information about Astoria, visit the Cascadia Kids blog!). We also visited Cape Disappointment for some lighthouse fun and hiking adventures. Overall it was a very enjoyable first family vacation!
Great-grandma B and all the grandkids. This is probably my personal favorite as to all the pictures I’ve ever taken. I love the look on Great-grandma’s face as well as the fact that all the kids are actually looking at the camera! (smiling would be asking too much )
This is a funny picture as you can see all the kids’ feet under the fence, and if you look carefully, you can also see their fingers in the knot holes within the fence itself.
We stayed at Clementines B&B in Astoria, and would highly recommend it! Not only was it family friendly, but we had our own little suite complete with a kitchen area and lounging room downstairs that was separate from the bedroom upstairs.
This house, which was directly across the street from our B&B, was used in the film The Goonies. It is not the actual Goonies house (which is also located in Astoria).
My oldest son in front of our B&B, giving me his best-fake “CHEESE” smile.
My youngest, being held up my dad. Also in front of our B&B
This was painted on the side of a Post Office while we were driving back across to Washington.
The Cape Disappointment lighthouse. I did this hike with my youngest asleep in the sling, only to find out when we got there, that the lighthouse was not open for tours! Needless to say, I was very disappointed.
My husband and our older son hiked here instead (the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center). Here’s the view from the Cape Disappointment lighthouse.
My oldest son had a great time exploring in the woods alongside the hiking trails
My youngest spent a lot of time exploring the trails as well, and not so coincidentally, walking away from me and the camera.
A nice daddy-son moment
And my favorite shot of my two boys from the trip.
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