Uh hi...Goonies called

Last year I was able to go to Salem, Oregon with Rachel from Signing Time...which was incredible. I loved the scenery, the people, how green it was, the hotel I stayed in...everything. It was as if we couldn't get enough, because we ended up going to Oregon again this past weekend...right were Goonies was filmed. My favorite part about the experience was driving up over a hill on the way from Portland and having this singing "AAHH" moment (very Monty Python and the Holy Grail), when we came upon Haystack, this amazing rock edifice that sticks up out of the ocean right next to the beach. It was incredible.

I was blown away by the fact that I could be hiking in the forest and then all of a sudden be at the beach. There was this brilliant green moss everywhere, on rocks and trees, something Rachel and I labeled 'fuzzy trees.' The sand on the beach was so fine that when I walked on it, it squeaked beneath my feet. I could have stayed and played on the beach forever, but we wanted to see what else was out there. Here are some highlights:

• Eating the best steak EVER at Pirates Cove, this restaurant that looked over a bay area right before Tillamook. It was also my second time ever eating crab legs...of which I love. It was hard to get going on those little suckers, but once I got the hang of it...I was breaking those shells like a local. I rate the restaurant five stars.
  
• Exploring Nehalem. Rachel performed at Nehalem Elementary. But before we went over, we explored this little cute city. There were four boutiques that made up their downtown area that all had flowers on their windowsills and all looked like mini-beach-cabins. It was very cutesy.
• Eating at Wanda's. We were honored to go to Wanda's, Nehalem's mom and pop eatery. The restaurant is only open in the morning and afternoon for breakfast and lunch...and was SO completely worth it. I was astonished by the amount of food came with each plate...and by the presentation. They mixed flavors so well. I was so impressed. I rate this restaurant five stars!
• Buddy Walk at Seaside. Seaside is this gorgeous town situated where the main street ends at the ocean. The Buddy Walk mania was held on this cute deck next to a canal that ran through the city. We had such a blast getting to know everyone that showed up and loved the location. After the walk, a bunch of us had a ramming send-off party, where we rammed into each other on the bumper boats that were next to the dock.
• Tillamook Cheese. That's right, we grabbed some Tillamook cheese and ice cream...right where they make it. I ate a package of squeaky cheese for lunch...because it was so amazingly good that I couldn't stop eating it.
• Portland downtown. Loved it. I wish we had more time there because it looked amazing at night. We were able to eat at Hiroshi's a sushi place in town. There were a couple odd dishes, but for what it is worth, their scallops were incredible. The 'fish' taste was completely gone (a major plus), and they tasted like artichoke hearts wrapped in this cheese sauce. MMM. The sushi was very fresh, but I ended up getting a roll with tons of onions and scallions (of which I hate) and it was disgusting. If you like those things in your sushi, you may love it. But I didn't. Let's just say, when they were on, they were on...but when they were off, they were WAY off. I would rate this restaurant four stars.
• Wearing our swimsuits. Rachel being from Cali, and me absolutely loving to swim, were determined to wear our swim suits on the beach and take a dip in the ocean. Well, as beautiful as it looked, the cold got the best of us. But we wore our swim suits anyway and dipped our feet in the ocean.

Another fantastic trip that left me saying "I am SO coming back here to explore some more!"