Our First Trip to the Coast

To celebrate one month in Oregon on Tuesday, we decided to drive to the coast since neither of us have seen the Pacific. We'd only been in our apartment a few days and didn't feel comfortable leaving the dogs alone yet. I had reservations about bringing the three monsters with us but thought it would be worth doing at least once.

"So, you say we're going to the beach?!"

Cedric was ready for this new adventure.

Ellie always waits patiently during drives.

One amazing thing about Oregon is all of the beaches are public access! There are two highways that lead from Portland to the Oregon coast. One leads further south and is a longer drive. We chose ighway 26 because it was shorter and seemed like the main route to the coast. We thought it would be a large highway and we'd zip right through. As it turns out, the highway is just two lanes and since Tuesday was the hottest day of the year so far in Oregon, many other people were making the drive too. The temperature was only in the 90s but the coast was in the 80s and it seemed like perfect beach weather.

The drive should have taken about an hour and fifteen minutes. However, our public workers were out in force and cutting tree limbs. That means they had one lane (of the two lane highway) closed. Traffic going West was backed up and it added at least 30 minutes to the drive.

Parking at the beaches we came to was a little difficult. The parking lots are small but we were able to find a spot at the first one we pulled in to. Brandt pointed out that by having small lots, it keeps that section of the beach from becoming to crowded. The dogs were anxious and ready to go since we'd spent 30 minutes idling. We made it down to the beach and the sand didn't phase them. Ellie wanted to eat the seagulls, Cedric needed to defend the entire beach from all other dogs, and Sparrow was just a terror like she normally is.

Wet puppies!

We decided to walk out into the surf and see what the dogs thought. They didn't mind it until we realized that the tide was coming back and we'd gone out too far. A "huge" wave, from dog perspective, came crashing in and covered all three dogs up to their necks. Ellie's reflected pure terror but fortunately I had turned the girls around and none of the water got in their faces. Brandt hadn't gotten Cedric turned around and the poor boy was completely soaked, beard and all. Sparrow kept trying to dry her face on the sand like she does on the carpet at home. It didn't work and resulted in her face covered in sand. We walked up and down the beach, enjoying the cool breeze and lovely weather.

Sparrow just making herself more sandy.

We were able to snap a few pictures but spent most of the time playing in the tide or lounging on a blanket. The dogs were confused and becoming more anxious the longer we stayed. We decided to call it quits and head back inland.

Tiny horseshoe crab hanging out next to us.
He was the size of my thumb.

I loved the way these grew on the rock outcropping.

Looking up from the beach.

I took the dogs for a quick run when we got there,
to help them work off some energy,

Brandt took them for a run after they got soaked to
help them calm down a bit.

We packed up and headed back toward the stairs and my car. That was when we realized the tide had sneaked up on us. The state website warned to keep an eye on the tide but we dumb Kansans didn't head those wise words. The tiny walkway we'd come to our part of the beach through, was now filled with water a few feet deep. It was shallow enough that the dogs' heads would be above it but they had just spent the last half hour drying in the sun and I didn't want soaking wet dogs in my back seat. They had also determined that the ocean was evil and didn't want to be near it.

Picture of our walkway when we first got to the beach.
When we left the water was around the large rock and the small one on the right.

I had Sparrow and Brandt had Ellie and Cedric. Sparrow was flipping out so I hoisted her up and on my hip. I was able to carry her across safely. Brandt didn't have as easy of a time. Ellie wanted to be with me so she forged through without a second thought. She did the same thing when I wandered out into the ocean and Brandt had the leashes. She went as deep as she could without swimming. Cedric was not too keen on experiencing the cold water again. He climbed up on the rock on the right and wouldn't move.

I didn't notice any of this until Brandt yelled my name. I turned around and saw Cedric perched on the rock about four feet up looking like a soaked, scrawny, mountain goat and acting just as stubborn. Ellie was as far as her leash would allow but still stuck in the tide pool. The water was up to her chin and she was struggling to get to me. I put Sparrow down and dragged her back with me into the water. I had Brandt throw Ellie's leash and she made it the rest of the way. Nothing Brandt said could coax Cedric down from his perch. He had to climb over some smaller rocks to get to the boy.

We made it to the car and I was done with that day. We dried the dogs the best we could and tried to rub out the sand too. I had my backseat covered with a blanket, which I was very thankful for at that moment. I noticed the side of Brandt's foot was bleeding when we got in the car. He'd cut it on the rough rocks when fording the tide to save the boy. Ellie passed out the second we pulled away from the beach. Cedric was fairly calm and even Sparrow was laying down in the back (usually unheard of).

We got home and Brandt bathed the dogs and I used my hair dryer to partially dry them. Brandt had to use my shampoo and conditioner because our belonging were still in transit. The dogs are still fluffy and smell nice though!

I mocked the Oregonians for flipping out about how "hot" it was going to be, since the high was maybe 95 degrees. Turns out, that's a really big deal here since air conditioning hasn't been invented yet. Our apartment was unpleasant and there was no breeze to cool us or the dogs. I used cold air when I dried the dogs but we were all still pretty hot. Once it was dark out and the dogs were dry, we took a ride to DQ for ice cream. I blasted the AC and the five of us enjoyed modern technology during the drive.

Brandt and I loved the coast and we'll definitely go back. We will not be taking the dogs with us again. They didn't enjoy it and we didn't enjoy dealing with them. Now, here's a picture of Cedric passed out in my arm because we was so tired from our adventure!