Our family of 4 enjoyed a very nice getaway this September to the Oregon Coast. It was preceded by changing jobs, moving from Montana to Idaho, starting a new job, shingles, chicken pox, and all the fun that goes along with that. Needless to say, we were all ready for a nice break. Rather than expound on the entire trip, I will just write up some of the highlights. We spent a lot of our time visiting friends in Tri-cities, Washington, and spending quality family time with the in-laws on the Oregon Coast. We did short trips from our rental in Rockaway Beach (Some of them were things I've already written about in older posts).
One of the afternoons I took my father-in-law to the Tillamook Air Museum. I had visited once in 2012, but I didn't remember much. They have lost a few exhibits since then, but it is still worth visiting if you're in the area.
During WWII, the present structure the Air Museum now occupies (Known as Hanger B), and a second hanger (Hanger A, which burned down in 1992) were constructed to form Tillamook Naval Air Station. These hangers were, and Hanger B still is, the largest freestanding wooden structure in the world. Each hanger could house 4 K-class blimps which were 252 feet long apiece. The blimps primary purpose was to provide anti-submarine patrol and convoy escorts. They ranged from the San Juan Islands to the North, down South to California.
After the Navy decommissioned the bases following Japan's surrender, lumber companies occupied the hangers primarily for a long period of time. In the late 90's the remaining Hanger B was converted into an air museum.
They also had a nice selection of aircraft engines on display, ranging from the first single cylinder piston engines, on up to modern turbo-jet engines. Me, being a fan of the P-38 and the heavy 4 engine bombers of WWII, I enjoyed the cut-away display models they had for the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 and the Allison V-1710.
Another notable aspect to this trip that I will share about, was finally getting to share our love of lighthouses with one of our children. Bridger is only 6 months old, so obviously he didn't care about what was going on. We were able to get Addie excited, on the other hand, about visiting lighthouses. We got both kids their own United States Lighthouse Society Passport book so they could start logging their visits just like Mom & Dad. For those who aren't familiar with this, it's similar to the National Parks Passport, except in this case you typically make a small donation to support preservation efforts and in turn you can get your passport stamped when you visit lighthouses. Some remote lighthouses, however, you cannot always visit and their are other provisions for obtaining the stamps (like for Tillamook Rock Lighthouse).
The first lighthouse we visited on our trip was the Cape Meares Lighthouse, about 20 minutes from Tillamook. This was the first lighthouse Amber and I got a passport stamp for on our honeymoon in 2017. The lighthouse was constructed in 1890, and its tower is only a mere 40 feet high. Certainly not tall for Oregon Coast standards, but it sits elevated on a bluff and the First Order Fresnel lens has a focal plane over the ocean of 223 feet.
Addie was very excited to see the lighthouse and she had a huge grin plastered on her face as she clutched her passport, eager to get it stamped.
During the trip, we had planned a full day to go North and visit the Astoria area. I love that part of the coast, and I have written about the history of the area before so I won't rehash that. The main things on our list were taking the kids to Lewis & Clark National Historical Park (Which Addie absolutely loved running around and exploring the replica of Fort Clatsop)...
... But our main reason was to visit the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. The museum features fabulous displays and exhibits about the local history, WWII history, the operations of the US Coast Guard, and lots of information about the shipwrecks in the area. The Columbia River Bar is nicknamed the "Graveyard of the Pacific" due to the dangerous waters around the mouth of the river. The museum also features the Lightship Columbia, which was essentially a lighthouse on a ship that spent time anchored at the mouth from 1950 until 1979. It was the fifth and final lightship to be stationed there. It was also the final lighthouse stamp Amber and I needed for the Oregon lighthouses in our Passport. However, it was just our bad luck that it wasn't open for tours while we were there because of needed repairs.
(Addie & Bridger are off to a great start on their Lighthouse Passport)
Again, I'm not writing about how we spent a lot of our time on our trip, but I will end with this. Amber and I have certainly had to adjust how we sightsee and go on road trips now that we have two kids. We certainly learned how little attention span they have and we were forced to race through the Maritime Museum and not view it at our own pace. But it is absolutely wonderful to be parents and pass on our love of history and scenery to our kids, and hopefully as they grow up they will begin to appreciate it. And there is something incredibly satisfying about watching your toddler be enthralled with playing on the beach for the first time in her life while you show her how to built sand castles...
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