One of our favorite pastimes is to take family day trips to see a little bit more of the Pacific NW.

Back in January we explored the Peter Iredale shipwreck along Oregon’s coast at Fort Stevens State Park.

The steel hull of the ship was rusted and covered in barnacles, but you could still make out the form of the ship.

Brynn was overwhelmed by a small wave, so our time there was short after she got covered in sand and water. But, we changed in the car and explored Fort Stevens next.

This fort guarded the mouth of the Columbia and staved off a submarine attack during WW2. The kids loved running all over the old buttresses and through the magazines and seeing the guns and turrets.

The fort was about to close, so we had a short visit and ended up in the gift shop making smashed penny souvenirs for the kids. Our adventure to the coast on a warm January day ended with coffee and smoothies from a drive-thru on our way home.