We ARE there yet!

So we're just hopped on SR14 and literally had been driving for a total of 10 minutes and Vanessa asks: "Are we almost there?" Mike and I start laughing and say, "No, sweetheart. We'll be driving for a couple of hours, so you need to be patient."

We decided to drive North on I-5 (yes, North) and turn West at/near Longview, WA so that we could drive the full length of the Oregon Coast. Did you know that tip of Oregon is actually North of Vancouver? Though we knew that Oregon had a "tip" that kind of wrapped around Washington, it just never occurred to us until we actually looked at the map. So for the time it took us to drive North to Longview, I couldn't help feeling like we were going the wrong way!

Do you know how many ways you can vary the question: "Are we there yet?" There's: "Are we almost there?" and "Are we close to there yet?" and in the imperative: "Tell me when we are getting close to there." Then as you drive a bit further, it becomes "We've been driving forever. Are we there yet?" then what feels like only 3 seconds, "You told me you would tell me when we were close." Then there's the roundabout: "Are all these cars going to the beach?" and then as we do actually get close and inform her of this, she returns to: "Tell me when we get close, close, close." (As opposed to just 'close'.) By this time, our responses are curt "no"s or just sighs of frustration, with our tongues bleeding from repeatedly biting them. We just keep reminding ourselves, "we're on vacation." :)

So we stopped in Astoria for a bit and gazed up at the "Goonies" house and the amazing bridge that connects Oregon to Washington. Then we decided to just drive from there all the way to the Salishan since we had gotten a late start. We took in the beautiful scenary and views and decided to postpone our trip to the Tillamook Factory for later in the week.

After finally arriving at the Salishan Lodge, we were delighted with the lush and beautiful grounds and our spacious room with a view. We cleaned up and headed to dinner. After a nice meal dinning on Tillamook mac & cheese, halibut fish and chips and spaghetti and meatballs, we ran back to the room to change for the pool. After a nice dip, we are settled in for bed. (Our room to the left. Mike, Vanessa & Jack on the couch.)



Our bathroom.










The view from our room.








We plan on going to the Aquarium tomorrow today and will have more adventures to post.