Willo's First Trip to the Oregon Coast

One of my favorite places in the world has got to be the Oregon coast. Being a Southwest girl, I’ve grown up visiting the warm beaches of San Diego and Los Angeles, so the first time I drove into Oregon I was blown away by the greenery, the massive pine trees, and the fact that both the forest and the ocean could exist on the same beach.

For my first birthday with my pup Willo, I knew I wanted to take a family trip to Oregon and I had to bring Willo with. As I started planning for our trip, I looked at two of my favorite spots, Pacific City and Cannon Beach. Both beaches are insanely beautiful, have haystack rocks, and are not too far from Portland where we would fly into. I decided to book a two-story home just a few feet from the beach in Pacific City because that beach is a little less crowded, a little less knows, and a bit cheaper. It also has one of my favorite breweries, Pelican Brewing Company, right on the sand of the beach in front of the haystack rock.

We flew into PDX in the afternoon on our first day there, picked up our rental car (yay a minivan so we could fit 6 people!) and headed out west. The drive from the airport to the coast is around 2 hours depending on the traffic in the city. I would definitely recommend renting a car if you’re flying in!

On our way to our beach house, we stopped in Tillamook to load up on groceries for the weekend. Tillamook (yes like the cheese!) is a bigger town than Pacific City and has a Fred Meyer and Safeway. I definitely recommend stopping there on the way out to the coast to stock up depending on where you are staying. Pacific City has a market, but it doesn’t have as many options as the typical grocery store.

Luckily Tillamook is right on the way out to the coast and makes for a good place to stop. If you have time, I would also recommend touring the Tillamook Factory, sampling some cheese and getting some of their delicious ice cream or a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.

We finally made it to our house after the sun had set and settled in. Willo’s cousin (my cousin’s fur baby) Aurora, who is an Australian Shepard, German Shepard mix, met us on the coast so the two of them played all night long.

The next day we got an early start to our day. We had plans for a corgi meet up with our friends who live in Portland as well as a waterfall hike!

We drove about 10 minutes to a hike called Munson Creek Falls. It was a quick in and out hike that took us to a tall waterfall. We were able to let the dogs off-leash for a bit and Willo even took a dip in the small river coming from the falls.

The hike was short but pretty and the dogs had a lot of room to run. After the hike we headed back to await our corgi friends.

Once our friends Mochi, Taro, and Enzo got to Pacific City we had a very eventful playdate on the beach. Four chaotic corgis ran up and down the beach, Willo kept barking because she wasn’t the center of attention, Taro almost got taken out to sea by a wave while going after his ball, Mochi kept trying to steal food and Enzo attempted to find himself a new family.

Once the corgs were finally tired out, we all hiked over to the brewery for a drink and a meal. Corgmoms deserved it and the dogs needed a nap.

It is crazy the amount of attention 4 corgis get in public. I don’t mind it, Willo LOVES it, but always ask before petting someone’s dog.

On our way home, we had to stop for some Tillamook ice cream at the market. After pursuing both Taro and Mochi, Willo ended the day with zero new boyfriends, but 3 new boy friends.

The next morning we woke up to rain so we stayed in, watched some football and made breakfast. These are the benefits of staying in a house as opposed to a hotel.

When the rain stopped, we went out to the beach to hike Cape Kiwanda. The cape is right on the beach near our house and is easily one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been. The cliffs offer breathtaking views and the rocks make you feel like you’re on Mars. When the sand’s not wet, people even sled and sandboard down the big sandhill that leads up to the cape.

We also made sure to catch the sunset on the beach and let the dogs play.

That night we enjoyed time by the firepit and in the hot tub reminiscing about our weekend on the coast and prepared for our next adventure. We were off to Portland in the morning!