Viva Las Vegas 2016 - Day 1

Right on the heels of our OR trip, I got to sneak away a few days later for a little trip away to Vegas. I was greeted at the airport when I arrived by my friend, a Vegas local, Amy.  We spent the afternoon doing a little shopping, trying out the new Wahlburgers restaurant and enjoying a few drinks to start it off.

Once the evening came along, we decided to hit up Freemont Street. We spent some time dancing to the band playing, walking around, and doing some serious people-watching.

Once we decided we were done there, we spent the rest of the evening in a nearby bar called Hogs and Heifers. Where we had an absolute blast with our bartender Natalie (pictured below) and some other bar patrons that came in.

 It turned into a bit of a wild evening to which I remarked upon reflection the next day,  "I'm too old for this shit anymore....but I'd do it again!" I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.  It was seriously, the best!  Amy sent me this fun collage after my return home. I think it sums up the day nicely.

Gone Coastal- Day 5

Unfortunately, our coast time had to end sometime and we made the best of it with one last walk along the Arch Cape beach while the sun rose behind us and hunting for a few more sand dollars. Then we were off back to Portland to play the day away before our flight home.

We managed to take Mike to Powell's Books downtown, which happens to be the biggest book store in the world.  I was pretty sure he'd found his soul mate at this point.

I'm not sure how I managed to get him out of there.  But I did and then we walked to have one last quit meal together before returning home to the chaos.

We still had a little time on our hands, so we decided to head to the waterfront to do some more walking and ended up doing an impromptu tour of the SS Blueback submarine.  It was pretty interesting to learn about.

Then it was time to check in and head home. I'm so glad I decided to tag along and extend his stay after his retreat. It was worth every minute and every penny spent. A special thanks to Grandma Braska who flew in to watch the kids and manage the chaos while we were gone (that's no easy task).
It's always nice to have a trip away and be reminded that not only do I still love this man of mine, but I really, really like him too! I am truly a lucky lady.

Gone Coastal- Day 4 -Part 2

After lounging at the B&B for a bit, we went back across the street to catch the sunset and play in the sand a little longer.   While we waited, we wandered around the rocks and caves a bit more and found our second starfish sighting of that day. Score 3 Becca- Mike 0!

The sunset was as amazing as could be. 

But the best part was when before we left the room, Mike made a comment about how it would be cool to see a whale or something from the shore, to which I replied "Yeah, good luck with that."  Immediately after arriving on the sand, Mike pointed out to the water and said, "What's that? Is that a spout?" And holy shit! There was! We watched this guy (or girl) spout away for a good 15 minutes or so from the beach.  Score 1 Mike!  Can you see it?  

Wishlist of the day, completed. Check, check, check! 

Gone Coastal- Day 4- Part 1

 Day 5- started out with an early morning walk around the cute B&B we were staying at in Arch Cape.

Then we walked across the street to take a morning beach walk.

I had told Mike that it would be really fun to hunt for some sand dollars and hopefully see some star fish hanging to the rocks that washed in during high tide.  He assured me those most likely wouldn't happen. But low and behold, the morning sand dollar hunt was a success! 

No starfish yet, but we did find a crab in the little lagoon leftover by the tide.  After a very delicious breakfast back and the B&B, we decided to check out the nearby town of Cannon Beach and the famous Haystack Rock that resides there as well as the Tillamook Lighthouse, or Terrible Tilley.   We took a long walk along this beach and discovered some cool anemones and sea caves and got as close to Tilley as possible for some pics. 

 And low and behold! We also ran into my other wish list item. A starfish clinging to the rock. Mike tried to pry it off. Turns out those things are tougher than they look!

After a brief walk around town, we decided on a coastline drive to take in some more scenery and maybe one more beach.  We ended up going as far as Rockaway Beach. Such a cute little town/beach.  We spent some time there playing in the sand and then just sitting and enjoying the ocean a while before heading back.   

After this we headed back into Seaside for some dinner and gelato and one last visit to the town before heading back to the B&B for a little rest sunset.