“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:
Next we checked out the International Rose Test Garden:
The following morning we shopped, visited Pioneer Square, and rode the light rail:
Seaside
Our next stop was the coastal town of Seaside. My kids LOVED Seaside for these reasons:
- It was the beach!
- They had never seen the Pacific Ocean before,
- Their cousins from Nevada met us there,
- Seaside had an aquarium with seals to feed and lots of shops, restaurants, and arcades. Kid heaven!
- 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.
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…
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. 
In 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.
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:
Columbia Gorge
We drove the Columbia Gorge out of Portland and checked out Multnomah falls and a fish hatchery. 
The fish hatchery competed with the falls in terms of beauty. I’m not kidding! Their flowers and grounds were beautiful.
Mount St. Helens
Our luck changed the day we drove up Mount St. Helens. It was cloudy and we could barely see it.
The good news is that the route we took had amazing visitor centers–and a Bigfoot store!
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. 
And I’ve rarely seen such cute marmots.
Seattle
As the vacation wound down, we joined 84,549 other people visiting Seattle in July. They were all at Pike Place Market, too.
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. 
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.
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?
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 Summer
“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 Vacation
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 Summer
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 – Again
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 Vacation
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 🙂
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 Vacation
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!!
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 Vacation
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 # 17
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 Wines
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 Vacation
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 Bike
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 Gives