Say Cheese!

Sometimes vacation plans change.  They change because of bad weather or flight delays or lost luggage.  Or because of an omelette.  What eggs-actly am I talking about?  (I know, I know…roll your eyes but know that I was hysterically giggling when I wrote the previous line!)  See, an omelette changed the course of the Oregon road trip that my mom and I took earlier this month.  Our original plan was to leave Cannon Beach and drive to Portland so I could go to Powell’s Books.  But before we left the coast, we stopped at the Lazy Susan Cafe for breakfast.  We both ordered omelettes – my mom got a cheese and mushroom omelette and I got just cheese.  Those omelettes were to die for.  When I read the menu, I noted that they were made with Tillamook cheese.  I knew from one of my trusty travel brochures that Tillamook was just down the road and it was home to a cheese factory…okay, honestly, I was really interested in the ice cream operations!  Anyway, those omelettes were enough to change our plans so Portland and books were out and Tillamook and dairy products were in!

Check out some of the pictures of the Tillamook Cheese Factory!  But keep this Tillamook travel tip in mind - check out the cheese bar before you eat the ice cream!  Your tummy will thank you!

Cute cafe on Cannon Beach's main street.
Cozy with a friendly staff...and delicious omelettes!

Tillamook Cheese Factory



Ladies at work on the cheese line



Please slice it thin!





The ice cream makin' room





The best $7.50 lunch I've had in a long time!
(Mine's the one without the whipped cream...ick!)



Goonies Never Say Die!

If you grew up during the ‘80s, chances are you saw some of the greatest cinematic masterpieces ever made – The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ghost Busters, Back to the Future, and my two favorites, Top Gun (best soundtrack ever!) and The Goonies. 

If you’ve never seen The Goonies, you’ve been sorely deprived.  Here’s a quick summary – a group of friends hunt for the treasure of the pirate One-Eyed Willy in order to save their neighborhood (the goon docks) from being torn down by developers.  The film was set and filmed in Astoria, Oregon (as was that other thrilling movie, Kindergarten Cop).   My mom and I stopped in Astoria and nearby Cannon Beach on our travels through the North Coast.  We didn’t run into Mikey, Sloth, or Mouth…but I did eat a Goonies burger!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!

The Astoria Column.  You have to
climb 164 steps to get to the top!

Some of the 164 steps in the
Astoria Column.  They keep going...

The Astoria-Megler Bridge as seen from the Astoria Column.
This bridge is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.

The city of Astoria as seen from the top of the Column.

Mom!  I see you!  Can you see me?!

Along the [goon?] docks.

Deep in Ecola State Park.

Haystack Rock in the distance. 
Taken from Ecola State Park.

Haystack Rock from Cannon Beach.

You can never have too many pictures of rocks.

My mom and I at a scenic overlook.

Oregon:  The Land of Trees

Overlooking a town (Manzanita?) from a bluff.

Does anyone else think this sign is funny?