Life on a Real California dairy farm: Oregon Vacation

Oregon bound for Brad & Kristyn's Wedding

This summer we were able to successfully execute our first family road trip! We were Oregon bound to visit friends and family and were ready for anything with a 13 month old and 3 1/2 year old in the car! Amazingly enough, they both were Fantastic travelers and we all had a great time!

For breakfast our first morning in Lincoln City, OR, we took the suggestion of a friend and went to the Otis Cafe in Otis, OR. It was a tiny place, and with two antsy little guys, we were thankful for an outdoor seating!

Mr. "I'll Have Pancakes, Thank You" chose the teddy bear pancake for breakfast... and my omelet was incredible!

Chris ordered the Half Order of German Potatoes... hash browns with onions and cheese. He couldn't even muscle down Half of the Half Order! They were definitely a meal in themselves!

Later that day, we headed to the Inn at Spanish Head for Brad & Kristyn's wedding ceremony on the beach.

People came out of their rooms to watch from the balcony...

The view from the reception room was gorgeous!

Uncle Mike, Mom, Clayton & Aunt Jan

The new Mr. & Mrs.!

Clayton was infatuated (to say the least) with the bride! Even though he had never met her before, he was in love and wanted to dance with her all night long! Thank you, Kristyn, for fulfilling his wish!

C'mon, Mom... Dance!

I had never seen The Shoe Game before, too funny!

Later in the evening, Clayton wanted to go back down to the beach. Until the cool Oregon breeze hit him in the face...

he could not stop chattering his teeth long enough to take a picture with me!

When we were on our way back upstairs, we found this warm spot in the sun and a nice couple offered to take our picture. Too bad Cole was too tired to come down with us!

Dad dancing with Kristyn...

Chris, me, Brad, Kristyn & Katie

Audrey & David

Uncle Steve & Aunt Jan... parents of the groom!

And one last attempt to get a picture with Cole... but he was much more happy to snuggle with his daddy!

Congraulations, Brad & Kristyn! May you share a lifetime of Love, Laughter & Friendship!

Enjoying Oregon!

The day after the wedding, we had a pretty lazy day at our hotel. The boys were exhausted and just needed Naps!

For dinner, our last night in Lincoln City, we headed over to Kyllo's at the suggestion of a friend. We got a double bonus when we realized that the restaurant was situated on the bank of the D River, the shortest river in the world, measuring at 120 feet long at "extreme high tide"! It was meerly a creek at low tide, as you can see in the photos below... A great conversation piece at the least!

And back to dinner... Yum!! I had the fish tacos and Chris chose the famous Hal Mac... Crispy grilled halibut, dungeness crab, macadamia nuts, tomatoes and melted parmesan. The atmosphere was dress up or down with a fantastic view of the ocean and was suitable for the boys. If you're in the area, this one is a must visit!

The next morning, we loaded up and headed out. We made a visit to Cloverdale, OR to visit Kara Hale and see some cattle. I got quite a kick out of the retired Rancho truck parked at the dairy! :)

Cole had a great time... feeding cows, swinging in the twine hammock (made by one of Kara's employees) and both of the boys loved the tire swing!

Mom, please take my picture with the kitty!

Our Tillamook experience!

As we drove into Tillamook, we were greeted by a herd of Holstein & Jersey cows, enjoying the green pasture just outside the high school stadium. Yes, they are the Cheesemakers!

Thanks to Stacey for the suggestion, we stopped at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company for lunch. We tasted some wonderful Brie cheese and a array (to say the least) of sauces, dips, dressings and more. Lunch was great and the boys enjoyed the petting zoo!

Then for a bit of ice cream! When we first pulled into the parking lot at the Tillamook Cheese plant, we were overwhelmed at the number of cars and people. After being on the road with two little guys, a crowd was not something we were interested in dealing with.

But we were there, so we sucked it up and found a parking spot. The place was packed with people buying souvenirs, t-shirts, ice cream, cheese, taking tours... everything you could think of. I would rate our experience to be a 10! We chose our "treasures" and headed for the closest register. Tillamook has Excellent customer service, and we only waited in line for a few minutes. Whew!

Then to CHOOSE an ice cream flavor! Wow! As you can see, the second photo still cuts off the right hand side of the menu... and the photo below only shows the people who have already ordered and paid, they're just waiting for their scoops! The line was crazy long, and again, we probably waited in line for a total of 7 minutes. We are SO glad that we stayed.

Since this trip was about the boys, we opted out of tours, etc. and just found a place in the shade to enjoy our treats... Yummy!

Clayton chose "Banana Split"... little did I realize that it was actually a 3-scoop delight with a combination flavors to make up the overall experience! So much for a single scoop!

After ice cream, we drove just down the road to visit our good friends, Mark & Stephanie Miranda! We had been looking forward to this visit for quite some time and were so excited to finally be there! Chris was excited to see some cattle we share that are housed up there, treated like queens! ;)

It was the perfect place for the boys... they felt right at home. Clayton was so excited to "do some really hard work" and play with Kirby, the kitty. When Kirby was a little-bitty thing, he went through the Kirby mixer wagon, and was fed out into the feed bunks. They found him later in the day, buried in feed and unphased!

After his ordeal, Kirby never left the calf barn... until Clayton showed up! They were instant pals and before long, Clayton was running around the yard with Kirby chasing after him!