Always Take The Scenic Route

A couple of months ago I craved a getaway, an adventure of sorts. I began to research destinations with one of my sisters. We knew we would only be gone for a short time, and needed to take into account that wherever we decided on would certainly be a road trip! We came up with many feasible options but none that we were completely sold on. It was then that we stumbled upon Oregon – it was perfect! Beautiful, serene, relaxing and about an 8 hour drive from Vancouver, BC, where we live, which by our standards was doable. Our online quest for accommodation led us to a lovely little condo directly across the street from the ocean in Cannon Beach…SOLD! I packed a weekend’s worth of clothes, adult colouring books, a good camera and off we went!

My sister ditched her usual road trip Glee soundtrack mix (forever grateful heh heh) and agreed to listen to my Serial Podcast suggestion (which I highly recommend), but not before making me sit through Jenny McCarthy’s talk show on satellite radio – but if I’m being honest, I didn’t hate it. Couple of pit stops and some stale whopper chocolates later(they barely made it out of Walmart before I was seeking out the nearest trash can) and we were nearing Astoria. Considering I am a HUGE Goonies fan this excited me greatly, because for those that don’t know, Astoria is the birthplace of The Goonies. We were only passing through but managed to scope out some areas where the movie was filmed, including the iconic house – though from afar. Understandably, the owner doesn’t appreciate trespassing fans so if you’re interested in checking it out, it has to be from a distance!

We of course opted to take the scenic route from there and I’m sure glad we did because if we hadn’t, we never would have encountered the porcupine along the side of the highway – yes, my sister and I are an excitable pair and there was no chance we weren’t going to seize this opportunity and risk getting quilled for a couple photos. So we made a sharp u-turn, parked just close enough and treaded lightly to get a photo, which was also from afar – porcupines don’t appreciate trespassing in their territory either and we respect that. The scenic route tacked on more time to our drive but we didn’t mind, it was nice to be unplugged and not feel like we needed to rush. Life is busy enough, to be able to take our time and enjoy the drive was so necessary.

When we finally reached Oregon and I saw the ocean that I so vividly remembered from a trip I took with my parents over 15 years ago, I was overwhelmed with emotion because I just knew this was exactly where I needed to be, I needed this trip. Of course having one of my sisters by my side made it that much more meaningful. Oregon was like a dream..it was so surreal and even my camera couldn’t capture it’s true beauty – though I tried my hardest! My sister and I explored each day to the fullest getting our boots wet in the ocean, carving images in the sand with sticks that had washed up on the shore, eating glorious food and getting bitten by the same little a-hole dachshund (though he be but little, he was fierce – we had the puncture wounds and bruises to prove it!!). We spent the evenings colouring like the true adult children we are, watched Pete’s Dragon and ate some of the best pizza we’ve ever had. Oregon, you were good to me, and I can’t wait for the day that I can return! It was truly a trip for the books, or for a blog in my case 🙂

-Amy