After a winter of staying home and hibernating inside, we were ready for a day trip. A couple of weeks ago, Stephen took the day off work, we ditched school, and drove to Agate Beach.

I’m not sure where the agates were, but the big, wide sandy beach–with hardly a soul in sight–was an amazing playground for us! The kids ran and ran as they found driftwood and shells. The boys built a “sandbox”–which is, of course–the most logical thing to make out of a beach full of sand.

The Oregon coast is almost always a kite-flyer’s paradise. The wind does all the work for you.

The wind, waves, sand, and sun lifted the gray of winter from our backs. We left with our collection of shells and rocks and drove into Newport.

Towns along the coast seem to be home to tourist dives filled with dusty tchotchkes from a bygone era. But, that didn’t deter our kiddos from finding the store delightfully filled with things to make them smile. We bought a few souvenirs, soda pops, and got our token smashed penny.

Surprisingly, the harbor was filled with barking sea lions sunning themselves and napping on the rocks and rafts below the docks. We chose a seafood restaurant overlooking the water. During our dinner of lobster rolls and chicken nuggets, we watched the sea lions swim and the gulls dip and dive to gather fish scraps from the cannery next door.

On our drive home, we took a new route to pass through Corvallis, home of the Oregon State Beavers. Welcome, springtime!