Oregon Vacation | 2026

Four years ago we went to a wedding along the Columbia River Gorge and discovered Hood River for the first time. I've been itching to get back—and dreaming up this road trip—ever since. Oregon is incredibly beautiful and while I originally wanted to include Crater Lake, Bend, Sisters, and Sunriver, I narrowed it down to three destinations over 10 days:

1. Seaside with my parents
2. Eugene to visit friends
3. Hood River with friends from Seattle. 
 

Like any good road trip, we made pit stops along the way to sightsee and break up the drive. We loved all of these points of interest, and deciding what to add the day-of (or even the day before) gave our trip a nice bit of spontaneity:

- Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
- Lake Sacajawea Park in Longview, WA
- Multnomah Falls 
- Mt. St. Helens Interpretive Center
- Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum
- Rowena Crest Viewpoint 
- A McDonald's PlayPlace :) 

Seaside with my parents (5 nights)
Seaside is incredibly family-friendly and a great destination for our kids' ages. We did all the quintessential things: played at the arcade and rode bumper cars, visited the historic aquarium to feed the seals, bought saltwater taffy at Seaside Candyman, and flew kites. We also had fun exploring different beaches in the area (they're all so wide!) and particularly loved Indian Beach at Ecola State Park.

We stayed in an Airbnb off the main promenade with a peaceful view of the nearby estuary. We enjoyed the perks of an amazing deck and hot tub along with our usual grandparent-vacation activities: playing games, doing puzzles, drawing, telling jokes, etc. We also watched The Swiss Family Robinson, which felt like a fun and fitting movie for this visit—afterward the kids reenacted the movie for a whole evening. We ate at Seaside Brewery (twice!) and also made homemade pizzas. 

An unexpected highlight was seeing puffins(!) at Cannon Beach. We had no idea that Haystack Rock is home to "one of the most accessible breeding colonies of Tufted Puffins in the continental United States." Spotting their orange bills and watching them fly out from their burrows was really cool—I think it even topped the tide pools, which are also really amazing. 

Eugene to visit friends (1 night)
Though a little out of the way, Eugene was always at the top of our list because we wanted to see two sets of friends. It was so great to be welcomed into their homes and fed delicious food! No surprise, we'll readily drive three hours for someone to feed us (haha!) especially when they turn out to be two of the best meals of our trip. Still drooling over the Cafe Yumm! Sauce bowls and the homegrown green beans and farmstand corn on the cob. 

While it was a bummer to be inundated with forest-fire smoke, we made the most of our morning with an awesome visit to the raptor center. Our family's ears perk up at the mention of any nature or animal center, and this ended up being a highlight of our trip. We loved seeing the hawks, turkey vultures, owls, and peregrine falcons. We also continued our tradition of buying a stuffie at the gift shop whenever we visit a new zoo or aquarium and left with happy children :) 

Mosier/Hood River with friends from Seattle (3 nights)
We ended our trip with a luxurious stay at a condo in Mosier, just 10 minutes from Hood River. The view from our living room and bedroom was exquisite and the kids loved running upstairs to look out the window every time they heard a train pass by. We came for the wind—so Mr. Fleece could wing foil—and stayed for the pool :) Truly a wonderful cap to our vacation, made extra special because we were joined by family friends from Seattle. It was nice to have playmates for our crew, plus the dad is the one who introduced Mr. Fleece to wing foiling in the first place.

Two other highlights were eating at Mosier Company (twice, because I loved the ambiance) and biking along the Dalles Riverfront from the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum parking lot. I didn't take any pictures along the bike ride, but it was my favorite activity of the trip. We got our bike rack for our van just in time!

 

I'm so glad Mr. Fleece got to be a part of the wingers and get out on the water twice. Hood River is known as the "Windsurfing Capital of the World," and as Mr. Fleece learns the sport of wing foiling, it's inevitable that we'll be back. I love finding a place that we'll be excited to return to again and again.

June 2022

August 2026

Spotting turkey vultures,

-SJW

Life Wright Now | Summer Pt. 1

Seattle summers are hard to beat—great temps, beautiful blooms, and late sunsets—it's easy to want to be outside all the time. We've done most of our standard seasonal activities, i.e., low-tide beach days, biking, and blueberry picking. I even carved out a Saturday to hike Gothic Basin with friends, a 9+ mile feat!

While there's a constant draw to be outside, I've noticed that my children simply love having downtime at home—to draw, read, and play multiple rounds of Monopoly Deal. For better or worse, we've actually increased our indoor time as parents, adding a weekly Minecraft session with Dad and movie night with Mom.

I'm not sure if we'll carry those things into the school year or not, but for now, they've been fun add-ons to our media-slim living. As of a few weeks ago, we officially have a 55-inch TV in our playroom! We also purchased a tin-can phone and need to get it set up and installed so our crew can call friends and receive voicemails. We're really embracing 21st-century living :)

Other highlights include:

• Our "first day of summer" party at Hiawatha
• Father's Day at Lincoln Park
• Mr. Fleece helping his mom move from Connecticut to New Hampshire
• A Gig Harbor road trip
• A friend-filled Fourth of July (sadly, Mr. Fleece was sick in bed)
• Alki playdate meet-ups
• A Port Angeles road trip
• Lots of swim lessons and family swim sessions

Rhythms change, but friends are a constant.
-SJW