Monday, February 25, 2013

Bandon Surprise

A few weeks ago, I arranged to surprise Mike with a trip to Bandon. Grandma and Grandpa were very gracious about letting us use their house down there (which is so comfortable and relaxing) and all I had to do was ask Mike to take a day off of work. The boys were visiting family this weekend anyhow, it was the weekend after Valentine's Day and the weekend of my 6th sobriety birthday. Plus, we only have about 8 more couple-only weekends before Layla arrives - eeek! Super exciting, but we had to get some special one on one time in (where we could actually sleep in and eat meals at normal hours) before our little one arrives.

We packed up and left early Saturday morning. Mike was driving, so I set up directions on his phone - after awhile, though, the GPS voice became annoying (and the route was questionable), so I told him to go ahead and peek at his destination and he could choose his own route. I think he was pleased to hear that we were finally going to stay in Bandon after all these years of talking about it.

The drive was gorgeous - the sun started peeking out as we drove closer to the Oregon Coast. The weather didn't look promising for the weekend, but we ended up having gorgeous sun ALL day on Saturday!


The relaxing commenced within minutes of arriving...because we didn't sit enough on our five hour drive down there, you know? :)

I think he likes it...

We went out and explored a bit. These photos were taken at Devil's Kitchen State Park...


Mama toting Layla along - 23 weeks pregnant!


Drove into Old Town and visited the candy shop. I don't think Mike was thrilled about this stop until he spotted the huge package of sour belts for an amazing price! His favorite candy (and Matthew's) at a really awesome price? Plus the owner of the store was a sweet old man who was so helpful and offering us samples left and right. How do we say no to that? :)

Saturday morning, we woke up to this view. The ocean is out on the left, so you have a choice as to which view you choose as you lounge in the cozy chairs.

After a yummy homemade breakfast, we headed to the Wild Game Park where we got to play with and pet a baby bobcat! This little girl's name was Naya - she's 9 months old and FULL of energy. She reminded me of a crazy toddler. Mike loved her and went back twice to pet her!

My personal favorite part of the day was witnessing Mike, the goat/sheep whisperer get overwhelmed by the critters. I tried to warn him that feeding them = really muddy shoes and pants, goats jumping all over you and maybe even a head butt! I don't think he believed me until he experienced it for himself. I was really nervous about getting horns to the belly - these guys are really aggressive!

This video makes me laugh every time I watch it! 


After our safari adventure, we did a little more driving around and exploring - stopped into the Cranberry Sweets factory where there are a bazillion samples. I tried everything...even the cheddar cheese fudge. GAG me....it was disgusting. I figured it would be, but also took a chance that my pregnancy taste buds may like it (Rice Krispie treats + pickles, for example, ended up being a tasty treat!) Cheddar cheese fudge? Not so much.

We also drove down to the jetty and spent some time poking around at rocks and enjoying the view...it was beautiful, but COLD and windy down there...so our time outside was limited. Looking forward to returning during the summer sometime when we can enjoy the outdoors a little more.

Had to note the heart shaped rocks for Matthew and Grandma Margaret...

A quick self portrait before we ran back to the car...

The fog horn at the end of the jetty that we can hear from the house...

Back in town, there were new art sculptures that I hadn't seen before. They were made entirely out of beach trash - amazing!







I loved this trip with my sweet husband. The ride back wasn't quite as fun as our time there...but then again, coming home from a great vacation isn't supposed to be the fun part. Looking forward to taking the kiddos back down with us next time!





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