Julie's Trip to Oregon

October 23-28

I took a trip by myself back to Oregon for a few days in October. It was blissful! On the agenda was quality time; time at the coast and time with my best friend Melanie. Mission accomplished! I flew from Denver into Portland and rented a car, and then I headed straight to the coast. :) I walked the coast in Seaside for a while, checked out a few shops, and then drove south to Cannon Beach. I was hoping to be at Haystack Rock for sunset, and I made it! I stayed the night in Garibaldi at a cute little hotel with an adorable sea-themed room. It was darling! I ate fish and chips after the sun went down and enjoyed a quiet night at the hotel. On Thursday, I spent the day driving down the coast and stopping wherever and whenever I wanted to. It was a PERFECT Oregon day, and I really try not to use the word perfect too often, so that's really saying something. I couldn't have asked for better weather; blue skies and not windy! It was like balm to my soul. :) 

After stopping in Tillamook at the cheese factory (because, duh), walked the beach for a while in Lincoln City, snapped a few pictures in Depoe Bay, walked the bay in Newport to see the seals, walked the beach with a Dutch Bros coffee in hand in Florence, and finished the day watching the sunset in Reedsport. I picked up shells and sea glass and really was refreshed by my time at the coast. Once it was dark, I then drove to Melanie's in Roseburg. It was so fun to see her and spend time together for a few days. We took Micah to school and the kids to the park, and just did normal life for a few days. On Saturday, Mel and I were able to spend a day in Bandon together! It was a pretty windy day, but we persevered. We found lots of sea glass in Bandon and walked the beach at Bullards for quite some time. We also walked downtown Bandon and stopped in quite a few familiar places! 

On Sunday, we went to Redeemer's for church and then in the afternoon, I saw Anna Heacock and Anna Drake at their new houses. Anna H's was still being built so I got a tour of that while we were catching up, but Anna and Tim have moved into their new house so that was fun to see. And I got to meet Anna (Drake)'s newest little guy, Luke. I really love the community of friends I had while we lived in Roseburg, and it was great to pick up and spend time with some sweet friends while I was in town again. I had to come on Monday, so Mel sent me on my way with a sandwich, a full heart, and some great memories. I LOVED our time together and wish it could happen more often. But I'm grateful for a long weekend with a soul sister. :) 

Oh, also, I did stop at the famous VooDoo Donuts in Portland for a little sweet treat before my flight! We never made it there while we lived in OR. Now I can check that off my list! Yummy!