Experienced Bad Mom

Not Just a Bad Mom, But an Experienced Bad Mom

  • HOME
  • About Me & The Blog
  • Contact Me
  • How it all began
  • The Kids
  • No Guest Posts
  • Publications

Seen and Unseen on our Family Vacation

July 19, 2016 By Katy 15 Comments

“Ocean in view! Oh the joy!” wrote William Clark in 1805, thinking he had reached the Pacific Ocean.

Alas, that famous member of the duo, Lewis and Clark, was looking at an estuary of the Columbia River.

This got me thinking about all the things my family saw, thought we saw, or wanted to see, but didn’t, on our recent vacation to the Pacific Northwest.

And, because this is my blog, I get to torture thrill you with my vacation photos and anecdotes!

Portland

Portland was a pleasant surprise. Sometimes you think a big city will be like all other big cities: skyscrapers, noise, etc.

However, Portland was full of gems. We had a spectacular summer day and enjoyed a visit to the infamous Voodoo Donut:Seen and unseen on our family vacation: Portland's Voodoo Donut

Next we checked out the International Rose Test Garden:Seen and unseen on our family vacation: Portland rose garden

The following morning we shopped, visited Pioneer Square, and rode the light rail:Seen and unseen on our family vacation: Portland light rail

Seaside

Our next stop was the coastal town of Seaside. My kids LOVED Seaside for these reasons:

  1. It was the beach!
  2. They had never seen the Pacific Ocean before,
  3. Their cousins from Nevada met us there,Seen and unseen on our family vacation: our cousins met us at the beach!
  4. Seaside had an aquarium with seals to feed and lots of shops, restaurants, and arcades. Kid heaven!
  5. We saw mole crabs and red crabs in the sand, plus seals and harbor porpoises swimming near the shore. It was like our own version of National Geographic.Seen and unseen on our family vacation: crabs on the beach! They just washed ashore.

Astoria

We moseyed up the coast, stopping at Fort Clatsop to get our fill of Lewis and Clark history (ok, so my husband could get his fill), before visiting Astoria, Oregon.

I think this family photo from Fort Clatsop could be a contender for the Christmas card, don’t you? My daughter was mad about something…Our family vacation: Fort Clatsop

Astoria was the filming location for The Goonies. We got to see their house on the hill and visit the jail from the opening scene where the Fratelli brothers escape. Seen and unseen on our vacation: Astoria Jail from The GooniesIn Astoria,  you can also see the school from the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Kindergarten Cop.

The best part of Astoria was riding Old 300, the trolley, up and down the waterfront. The volunteer drivers provided excellent historical commentary and it was only $1/person. Woot woot! My daughter got to ring the bell, too.Seen and unseen on our family vacation: Astoria's Old 300 trolley

We ended the day with a visit to Cape Disappointment (more Lewis and Clark) where we saw a sea lion frolicking in the water–sorry, no picture of him. So here’s a picture of us there:Astoria Cape Disappointment

Columbia Gorge

We drove the Columbia Gorge out of Portland and checked out Multnomah falls and a fish hatchery. Seen and unseen on our family vacation: Multnomah Falls

The fish hatchery competed with the falls in terms of beauty. I’m not kidding! Their flowers and grounds were beautiful.fish hatchery

Mount St. Helens

Our luck changed the day we drove up Mount St. Helens. It was cloudy and we could barely see it.Seen and Unseen on our family vacation Mt. Saint Helens

The good news is that the route we took had amazing visitor centers–and a Bigfoot store!Seen and Unseen on our family vacation Bigfoot!

We did NOT see Bigfoot. However, we are now the proud owners of a Bigfoot bottle opener and a magnet.

Mount Rainier

It was cloudy in the morning, but then the clouds lifted the moment we got to Paradise and started climbing. We got to see the mountain! It was beautiful! And straight up. I’ve never seen such steep visitor center paths. Seen and unseen on our family vacation Mount RainierAnd I’ve rarely seen such cute marmots.Seen and unseen on our family vacation Marmot

Seattle

As the vacation wound down, we joined 84,549 other people visiting Seattle in July. They were all at Pike Place Market, too.Seen and unseen on our family vacation Pike Place Market

We visited the Gum Wall, the fish throwing guys, and Beecher’s Handmade Cheese where we watched them make cheese. It was busy, but fun. Seen and unseen on our family vacation cheese-making at Pike Place Market

San Juan Islands

On our last day we drove 90 minutes north of Seattle to Anacortes, Washington where we rode a ferry one hour west to the town of Friday Harbor. We boarded a small boat (think Gilligan and the Skipper’s S.S. Minnow) and cruised around looking for orcas for 3 hours.Seen and unseen on our family vacation whale watching, but no whales.

We saw none.

Zip.

Zilch.

Nada.

According to the tour boat owner, it is very rare NOT to see orcas this time of year. Uh huh.

The good news? Shall I ever want to fly to Seattle, make the drive, ride the ferry, and try another whale watching excursion again, I get half-off.

I think the orcas and Bigfoot were on vacation. Possibly together. Probably on Mount St. Helens.

How’s your summer going? Have you been to the Pacific Northwest? Have you ever gone whale watching and not seen a whale?

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Related

Comments

  1. Kelly l m kenzie says

    July 19, 2016 at 11:05 am

    Such a fun trip! And yes, I’m over the fact that you were SO close to me up here in Vancouver and you didn’t run through the border. Almost.
    I must tell you that I ve done two whaling trips. One was a bust. We saw a tail of a grey whale. Maybe.
    Could have been a cloud.
    The other trip was what you hope for. All of us cooing over the huge sea lions clinging to the bouys, only to have their cousins being tossed about like beach balls by orcas a few minutes later. Orca mom and dad teaching their kids how to kill sea lions. It was incredible. What had seemed so large moments before was reduced to a play toy. Amazing.
    Kelly l m kenzie recently posted…Guess Who I Met This SummerMy Profile

    Reply
    • Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom says

      July 19, 2016 at 12:55 pm

      “I’m so happy you had an amazing whale watching trip!” – Me, said with a fake smile plastered on my face, through gritted teeth as I struggle with jealousy over your fantastic experience watching whales.

      Well, maybe if I ever go again, I’ll have an amazing experience, too!
      Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom recently posted…Seen and Unseen on our Family VacationMy Profile

      Reply
      • Kelly L McKenzie says

        July 24, 2016 at 7:09 pm

        Hahahaha! Now for the OTHER trip where we didn’t see one &^%$ whale … picture 9 foot waves, my elderly mother turning green, clutching the collars of my vomiting children’s jackets so she can throw them aside and get to the edge of the boat herself … I spent a good hour anxiously studying her lips. Told myself that if they turned blue, I was hollering at the skipper to return to shore immediately.
        Kelly L McKenzie recently posted…Guess Who I Met This SummerMy Profile

        Reply
  2. One Messy Mama says

    July 19, 2016 at 11:36 am

    Sounds like you all had a wonderful time! Love the photo’s 🙂 x
    One Messy Mama recently posted…The Pee Files #4 – Of The Pink Kind – AgainMy Profile

    Reply
    • Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom says

      July 19, 2016 at 12:56 pm

      It was fun and a big adventure. Next year we’ll probably hole up in one location an hour from the house and just eat snacks and fish off the dock somewhere. 🙂
      Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom recently posted…Seen and Unseen on our Family VacationMy Profile

      Reply
  3. Anne Marie says

    July 19, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    thank you SO MUCH for sharing!! I am completely obsessed with the Pacific Northwest and am DYING to go and explore like you got to. I’ll come with you for a half priced whale watch 🙂

    Reply
    • Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom says

      July 19, 2016 at 12:56 pm

      Maybe you’ll be my lucky charm and we’ll actually get to SEE whales?! That would be awesome!!
      Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom recently posted…Seen and Unseen on our Family VacationMy Profile

      Reply
  4. Janine Huldie says

    July 19, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    Totally loved getting to see all the photos from your recent vacation and we also just got back from vacationing at Disney World last week. Though I need to still go through our photos better to hopefully share about our trip soon still. Thanks for sharing with us!! #happynowlinkup
    Janine Huldie recently posted…Another Year Older, But Still Sharing Her Favorites – Happy 7th Birthday!!My Profile

    Reply
    • Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom says

      July 19, 2016 at 1:59 pm

      We visit Disney World every February to escape the cold – I look forward to hearing how your trip went in the sumer!
      Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom recently posted…Seen and Unseen on our Family VacationMy Profile

      Reply
  5. Jen says

    July 20, 2016 at 11:06 pm

    How beautiful! I am jealous you ate doughnuts and wore sweaters. We won’t see a sweater until mid January around here.

    So glad you had a wonderful time!
    Jen recently posted…The Happy Now Blog Link- Up # 17My Profile

    Reply
  6. Mo says

    July 23, 2016 at 5:11 pm

    Not a single whale?!?! What a disappointment! We have only done East coast whale watching and had great success. Well, at least you had great doughnuts!
    Mo recently posted…Wine Tasting At Binny’s – You’ll Want To Try These WinesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom says

      July 24, 2016 at 11:12 am

      Sniff. My daughter and I actually cried when we realized we would not see whales. I know there’s no guarantee…but we came so far and took the whole day JUST to see whales.

      Hooray for donuts, though, and a lovely vacation overall!
      Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom recently posted…Seen and Unseen on our Family VacationMy Profile

      Reply
  7. Amber says

    July 24, 2016 at 8:54 pm

    This looks like SO much fun. I want one of those donuts. Oh my gosh they look good.
    Amber recently posted…Someone Stole My Daughter’s BikeMy Profile

    Reply
  8. Chris Carter says

    July 25, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    Oh my gosh WHAT a VACATION!! I just loved reading about it all and seeing pics! I would have been so upset at not seeing the whales… WHAT THE WHA?? I cracked UP at your “The good news? Shall I ever want to fly to Seattle, make the drive, ride the ferry, and try another whale watching excursion again, I get half-off.” <—- HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Yeah, right?

    And big foot? Now THAT'S the greatest disappointment of all. No wait- maybe the clouds masking Mt. St. Helen's. UGH. Do you get half price there too?

    Geesh.

    But the rest? AWESOME. Such an incredible experience for you and the kids!
    Chris Carter recently posted…A Portrait of Friendship and All It GivesMy Profile

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Watch What We're Watching This Summer - Experienced Bad Mom says:
    June 25, 2018 at 5:07 am

    […] degree. We always learn something from Expedition Unknown, whether he’s looking for Bigfoot, hunting for pirate gold, or discovering ancient cities buried in the […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome!

I'm Katy, the Experienced Bad Mom. Everything I've done wrong with my first child, I've done wrong with my second child as well! Come laugh with me.

Follow me!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Pin with me

Visit Experienced Bad Mom's profile on Pinterest.

Tags

80s American Girl back to school bad mom birthday parties birthdays blogging Cats Christmas coronavirus Disney Disneyworld Experienced Bad Mom Finish the Sentence Friday funny funny parenting cartoons funny stuff for parents Generation X references giveaway good mom guest post Haiti Haiti Outreach Ministries homework humor ice hockey kids kids say the funniest things middle school parent mommy blog humor movies raising kids school shopping summer summer vacation Sydney teenagers TV tweens vacation We like cats Will Working Mom Juggle youth sports

Looking for something?

Archives

Happy Now

JENerally Informed



Copyright © 2021 ·Modern Blogger Pro · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.