We were in Tillamook, Oregon when we all saw the Pacific coast for the first time.

Our next visit to the Pacific was after we climbed an enormous sand dune. It was fairly quiet as we climbed, but as soon as we reached the top we could hear the roar of the water. We were at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area in Florence. On our first visit to the dunes and beach we walked along the cold water’s edge (where Jackson was stung by a jellyfish), climbed dunes, and collected sea rocks to save for a future fish aquarium. On the second visit we picnicked. On our third visit we brought Bob! He did not like the water. We’d never brought him to the ocean before, and he scurried away from it like a sandpiper. He did much better on the dunes.

We also stopped by Heceta Beach and Sea Lion Caves, both near Florence. Sea Lion Caves declares itself America’s largest sea cave. There were sea lions outside of the cave on the sea cliff rocks, their normal summer rookery, but none inside the cave. (Peak season for seeing sea lions inside the cave is winter/spring.) We rode the elevator 208 feet into the cave anyway. It was really cool and unlike anything we’d seen before.

In Tillamook we visited the creamery, where they make cheese and ice cream. You can tour the cheese-making process and sample a variety of flavors. Jackson’s and my favorite was colby jack and Jeremy’s were cheese curd and garlic chili pepper cheddar. We also visited the Tillamook Smoker, where we bought so much delicious beef jerky.

We took a mini hike off road and across railroad tracks to a bay where we saw a huge jellyfish, dozens of tiny crabs, and rocks with small barnacle type circles.

We also visited Coos History Museum. We all had fun sending each other telegraph messages on the telegraph machine. Jackson had just learned that Thomas Edison began his career as a telegraph operator, so it was neat to try it out!

There was a dugout canoe on display. The process of making one is intense, requiring burning and scraping out of a log over and over. This one was made and used by natives, then found at the bottom of a body of water by a white man. He patched it with metal and then used it for many decades too. Now it rests in a museum. Wonder if it will ever be used again someday.