Coastal Getaway

Work has been brutal lately and even though it has been less than a month since we had Christmas vacation, I was ready to get away. Since Bryce had MLK day off from school, I took the day off work and we decided to head to the coast.

We found a deal online for a hotel with a king bed, fireplace, beach view, and continental breakfast. It doesn't get too much better. So we woke up Saturday and got a few things done and then right before we headed out, we checked the reservation and realized they were for MAY and not January. So we called the website and luckily we were able to change it.

So after a quick scare, we headed out with our snacks and bags, leaving all stress and worry. The drive was so fun to just talk and take time to enjoy the beautiful world around us. The coolest part was all the frost. It made everything seem magical and as we got closer to the coast the frost got less and less, meaning more and more sunshine!

When we arrived in Lincoln City, it was sunny and pretty warm (50s) so I didn't even need to wear a coat! It was just want we needed. We got checked in at our hotel and then went to the outlet mall. We then went to the beach and it was so amazing. 

We walked along the beach until the tide came in and the sun was setting. It was so beautiful!

We then hunted for a place to eat, but surprisingly did not find too much so we needed up at a Mexican place that was sub-par to anything in California. Oh well. We then went back to the hotel and watched a Japanese film, which I kind of slept through, but since we were on vacation that is allowed. We then went on a night walk to the beach. It wasn't too cold or windy and the waves were steady and sweeping, but the best part were these little birds that looked like they were ice skating on the sand. (I just googled them and they are called sandpipers....they even had a cool name). Anyways, after our night walk, we then watched a French cartoon movie, which I kind of slept through too.

So Sunday, we woke up and got ready for church. There was a LDS chapel just down the street and so after we got our continental breakfast, we took a quick 5 minutes drive to church. It ended up being ward conference and a little awkward as the reported on numbers of activity, temple recommend holders, etc., but we ran into a friend who had served in the Singles ward and was now our family ward. He and his wife have a beach house there so he was able to give us some good tips on what to see.

After church, we watched the first half the 49ers game. Then we went and got lunch - fish and chips - they were pretty good too! Luckily during that time, the Niners also won! Next, we drove down the coast and stopped at all the lookout points. It was so beautiful!

It was so BRIGHT that I couldn't even keep my eyes open long enough for picture.

Sunday night, we enjoyed two other movies, Wall-E and The Umbrellas of Chervourg, and another night walk on the beach. This time there were no sand pipers, but it was still peaceful.

On Monday, we slept in and then got ready and checked out of the hotel. We made our way to Roads End park in hopes of seeing tide pools, but we were a little early because the tide was not out far enough. We did end up walking a long time on the beach!

It was a lot more windy and cold on Monday, but still blue skies!

We then headed home, but it was such a perfect weekend.