My sister's visit- Part 3: Tide Pools & Lighthouses

We went down to the tide pools at Seal Rock Friday morning about an hour before low tide. That is the best time to go because you can explore the pools while the tide is going out and as it starts just starts to come back in. The park was pretty empty when we arrived. We left right after low tide and the parking lot was FULL! Cars were waiting for other cars to leave. The tide was already starting to come back in when all the people were arriving.

I used to love going to the tide pools here when I was younger. We would come here every time we came up to visit my grandparents. When I was living in Waldport, I would come here a lot with my friends and family. It was fun being there with my family again. I was surprised when we realized that I have never been there with Jared! It was his and the kids first time at the tide pools and they loved it. Cayden had fun on the rocks. We saw starfish, muscles, tiny fish, crabs, snails, sea anemones, lots of seaweed, and other sea life.

Our next stop was the Yaquina Bay lighthouse. We went through the tour pretty quickly because having Cayden in a place like that isn't such a good idea! We visited with my family for a little while longer and then my parents took Samara and Scott down to the Bayfront to go whale watching. The ocean was perfect that day, but sadly, they didn't see any whales.

The Yaquina Head lighthouse was our last stop along the Coast on our way back home. This has always been one of my favorite lighthouses. We didn't have a whole lot of time, but we wanted to go up inside. The last time we went up was when faith was a baby. I was going to take Faith and Cayden up and Jared stayed down with Brenna (you can't make the climb while holding a baby). Cayden was just under the height limit to go up, but they let him anyways since he was so close. He just had to stay against the wall and keep hold of the rail.

We made it up about three flights and Faith was too scared to go any higher. She went back down to wait with Jared and I continued on up with Cayden. He couldn't wait to get to the top! We climbed the allowed 111 of the 114 stairs up to the lens. The view is absolutely gorgeous! I hope that Faith will get to see it some time.

We met my parents at the park entrance to say goodbye and give them our park pass so they could take Samara and Scott to see the light house. The kids slept until we reached Salem and we stopped for dinner. We had such a fun time while we were on the Coast. I really wish that we could make it over there more often.

Cayden looking out at the ocean.

Looking to the South

Looking to the North

Looking up

Everyone came up to our house Sunday afternoon. We had dinner and then played "Ticket to Ride" again. Samara and Scott flew back to Utah early Monday morning. It was fun hanging out with them in a stress-free environment. It was pretty crazy last summer at the weddings. I'm so glad that Jared took the time off work so we could have fun with them as a family.