{"id":8181,"date":"2014-11-24T01:36:02","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T08:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sixsuitcasetravel.com\/blog\/?p=8181"},"modified":"2021-10-27T19:52:31","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T01:52:31","slug":"ultimate-road-trip-2014-washington-to-oregon-and-the-columbia-river-gorge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixsuitcasetravel.com\/blog\/ultimate-road-trip-2014-washington-to-oregon-and-the-columbia-river-gorge\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultimate Road Trip With Kids – Washington to Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/span>As we did not get to camp until after dark the previous night, we set out to explore our campsite that next morning. We stayed at Cape Disappointment State Park which was one of my favorite camping spots of the trip.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a perfect spot that we knew was close to the ocean as it had lulled us all to sleep. Scott was smart to pick campsites next to the water so as it would not be dead quiet for my camping experiences; I like white noise and obviously no fans in the wild so the rushing water at the last site and the waves here were lovely.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our site was about 100 yards from the ocean. There were all kinds of driftwood to build with and play on, we had a very amusing time on a makeshift teeter-totter. Seriously hours of fun, trying to balance without falling was hilarious. The kids also played in the waves and dug holes and explored caves, and made new friends. The people in the campsite next to us also had five kids (3 boys and 2 girls, one of whom was also named Lily)!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When we left, we had only an hour\u2019s drive to Cannon Beach, Oregon! Our hotel was right on the beach and we had a fantastic view of the lighthouse. We stayed at Schooner\u2019s Cove<\/a> which was ideally located and spacious enough for our family.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were in a suite with a separate bedroom, a separate bedroom, and a main living area with a full kitchen, an eating area as well as a sitting area with a pullout couch. The hotel offered laundry services, a Jacuzzi, and a beachfront lawn with grills. The kids were so excited to play on the beach (dig holes, play in the waves, make sand angels) but they would have loved it about 10 degrees warmer (or maybe that was just me).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We explored the beach, went for dinner, enjoyed a family Jacuzzi in the hot tub overlooking the beach, and then went back down to the beach to enjoy the sunset.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Watching the sunset was beautiful \u2013 the colors were so vibrant.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It hit me that watching the sunset is only an event you can really watch over an ocean or really flat horizon as at home when the sunsets.  It just goes down over the houses but you don\u2019t see it disappear and it\u2019s actually light for a while after \u2013 but here we actually watched it set\u2026bit by bit\u2026awesome.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The kids couldn\u2019t wait to get to the beach that next morning. They had a fun time digging in the sand and even found a crab, it was dead when they found it but it was the entire body. They were thrilled. Me, not so much \u2013 because \u2013<\/span>ewww.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We decided to go to the Columbia River Gorge and headed out. The funniest thing, we stopped to get gas and an attendant came out to pump it for us. Apparently, it is against the law to pump your own gas in Oregon. This made me curious so I looked up other fun facts.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n