Find Kardus

We ended up asking Bryans sister Mackenzie to come with us to provide extra help with Shepherd on the road and to maybe even let us sneak in a date night. It was great to spend the time together. Shes a junior this year and this was probably our last chance to spend such a chunk of time with her! 

There was lots of driving and downtime, but I definitely wanted to hit up a couple of tourist spots. One place we went while we had a full day in Brookings was Natural Bridges.

We didnt hike down because we had Shepherd and it wasnt suitable for him. It was still a beautiful view and right after, we went to the river! It was crazy that Brookings has mountains all around it, but the beach right across the street. One moment we are at the ocean, the next in town, the next in the mountains with waterfalls all over. Bryan, Mackenzie and Shepherd had a great time hanging out in the river and since it was hot, it felt amazing!

After the river we went took a quick stop at a waterfall, where Mackenzie hiked a little. 

After a full day of sightseeing and spending time with friends we ended the night at a beautiful, warm beach that was in a cove, so it was protected from the cold wind. 

It was wonderful first leg of the trip. A large part of our vacation was being on the road, but we made sure to get lots of rest and even explored Portland, which was wonderful.