Oregon Coast to Cali Roadtrip!

For my birthday this year we decided on a family road trip, ah the memories to be made... no fighting, certainly no carsickness, so inexpensive, restful.... OH WAIT we have four kids. Just kidding. :) 

So it wasn’t going to be per say “chill.” But we dove in and started planning away! We were going to head to Idaho to see some friends we hadn’t seen in years. (And since we moved home from Idaho we haven’t been back since, it just sounded like fun! Campsites found, a yurt booked, road trip mapped out... 

Then, as is unfortunately the norm in the northwestern states- fires decided to invade our plans and our route. What was shaping up to be a dream road trip turned into “what do we do now...” and the thoughts of “we already booked spots...” You could say we were just a *little* deflated by it all. However, when dealing with a minimal window of time and with children in tow ( you may know already) but improvisation is the name of the game!! 

We packed, barely planned at all- and headed to the Oregon Coast. Ah, The O.C, a place where people from all over the country dream peaceful dreams of. A place where warmth and soft sandy memories are made....

Just kidding again. It’s Oregon people, it’s more like “wet, cold, sand in your eyes (that ends up scratching your brains) and wind whipped wild hair” but sure, we’ll go with the first idea. 

 

We took off, The only plans in stone being to head to California via the Oregon coast then head over to Reading to see Dylan‘s friend. That’s it. We knew nothing besides there were a lot of stops along the way and many campgrounds and fortunately they were first come first serve. One of the first stops was a beautiful lighthouse in Coos Bay, boy was it majestic up there. Like a proud prize pup at a dog show, this lighthouse demands reverence. We loved it! 

Next we headed south further and of course had to stop for some local treats! We hit up a chocolate shop for some frozen sorbet for kids and coffee for us, then a sweet little mom and pop bookstore. Kids were thrilled! 

From there we headed to our first camp spot and enjoyed the night hanging out there, Bullards Beach Campground was a sweet place! We were happy we found a spot, it was a busy weekend on the coast. 

We stopped at the beach the next day and then continued with the adventure! Down the coastline to southern Oregon we went, before finally arriving in California! We got to eat awesome vegan food, see some friends and some more beautiful places along the way! (Also, kind of fell in love with Ashland Oregon.) 

What started out frustrating having to change plans turned into a amazing trip! And that’s about how life goes, you have to just roll with the punches! The kids loved the trip and amazingly- no carsickness!! Thank you Lord. 

I highly suggest taking a trip and being spontaneous, there’s something exciting about just going and seeing what happens! Yes we really are just that wild. Wouldn’t change a thing!