Getaway #2 for me and Dan was out to the Oregon Coast! More specifically we stayed at an Airbnb in Rockaway Beach, OR. It was a quick in and out, but we did a lot in a short time!
Thursday, Oct 31st we got a bit of a late start, but we headed out towards our rental property. We made a dinner stop at McMenamins in Centralia. McMenamins is a local chain of hotels, pubs and restaurants that encourage guests to visit all their locations by creating a Passport. Each location you visit gets you a stamp and you can earn swag, gift cards, etc. If you visit them all, a free stay at one of their places! Each one is unique and has their own charm.
Playing shuffleboard! This was really fun!
Inside the women's restroom. How many faucets does one person need?
The men's urinals, lol
After our stop at McMennamins we just headed to our airbnb, enjoyed the hot tub and got some Zzzzs.
Once we were awake we could do more than just hear the ocean, we could go visit it! After a yummy breakfast in Manzanita at Yolk, we walked the shops and headed to the shore. Here's a few pics on Sunset Beach.
This pup just loved pets
After shops and shores we found a short trail that takes you to an overlook of Treasure Cove. Oregon Coast is known for its rocky cliffs and crashing waves.
We didn't have all the time in the world to explore that day because we had scheduled a coastal train ride! This was a fun, scenic, steam engine ride that lasted a few hours. We brought some cards and our cameras and just enjoyed the scenery and the company.
Punching our actual paper ticket! So novel these days, haha
After our train ride we got some Indian food from a food truck (waited forever for it) and headed back to our place to rest a bit. After dinner we walked to the beach that we could access from our property and caught a beautiful sunset. Picture overload!
Don't let the picture fool you, we always bring games on trips and always bring the fun! :)
Like i said, it was a short trip, so the next morning was checkout time- but not time to head home just yet. We had a tour of the Tillamook Cheese Factory planned for lunch time, but wanted to hit a few spots we enjoyed before leaving the area. When we had hiked Treasure cove the day before we noticed a trail going the other direction so we followed that to its end. Check out the views!
And I had also really enjoyed walking along sunset beach so we went back and just spent an hour or so chatting and going along the beach. Check out this snail!
Then it was time to make our way to Tillamook, OR for their factory tour! This was so fun! Watching the process of making the cheese and seeing the packaged product was very fascinating. We got some free samples and left with a little bit of cheese to take home. Also, don't miss their cafeteria. I had a grilled cheese and delicious ice cream!!
What a cheesy elevator!
And in true McBride fashion, we weren't quite done yet. There are a series of Trolls, yes you heard me, Trolls that are around the PNW. We weren't terribly far from this guy that's near Portland so it was our last stop before heading the rest of the way home.
View from outside
View from inside!
Classic Dan pose, lol
Last shot of the beautiful fall colors that Oregon was showing on the side of the highway. Somehow much more vibrant than in Washington!
This was a 2 night, quick trip with no real holiday or reason, just got out and went somewhere. Explore, friends, explore!
Dan and I had a few opportunities to do some short getaways. I've learned how busy we can get, so when there happens to be a weekend with not much on the schedule, we have to take advantage and get out and explore!
First was Labor Day Weekend when we took part in a long time WA tradition. Did you know Dave Matthews Band has played at The Gorge in WA every labor day weekend since 2001? We consider ourselves to be pretty big Dave fans, but apparently not even close to others. Most people we met at the concert had flown in to WA just for this experience. We've been living in WA for 3 years and didn't even realize this was a thing!
And it is a thing! They do a 3 night concert set and most people camp there at the Gorge for the duration. That was a little too hardcore for us. And 'camping' is a loose term. If you consider rows and rows of RVS smashed together and tents for miles, then yes, they were all camping. I get that it's a whole communal music culture thing, but it's not really our scene.
Instead we got a hotel in Wenatchee (a bit of a drive from the concert venue) and drove up Friday night, went to the Saturday night show, stayed at the hotel Saturday night and then drove back home on Sunday.
On our way up to Wenatchee we stopped and did a hike. We got a little turned around on the trails and started with a really steep incline up a rock face, tried to meander and find the trail after that and just had to turn around. I'm not in the best shape so we opted to go back down the rock face and call it a done adventure for that point. We both got stung by bees/wasps on the way down, lol. Off to a strong start!
Then we hit a local burger joint that was recommended to Dan. Can't pass up a good burger! The line was long and the bathroom line was longer. We patiently waited for our food and it was pretty good. Honestly my favorite part was the Orange Creamsicle Shake. :)
We drove the rest of the way to our hotel and spent the evening exploring Wenatchee. AKA walking all over wenatchee. They have a pretty cool pedestrian/bike bridge not far from our hotel so we walked across that and then headed to their market for some local fare.
The morning before the concert we drove to a neighboring town that had a HUGE antique market. We scored some cool vinyl records and then got ready to go to the concert. Since it was late August and we were on the 'other' side of WA, it was HOT. I mean, I haven't been that hot in a loooong time. If you look at pictures of the Gorge you know there's not much shade. We just had to endure until the sun went down. I realized something new about myself- when I'm that level of uncomfortable, I'm not great at making decisions, lol.
Now for the concert itself! Things we learned for 'when' we go again
Those really small collapsible camp chairs don't work on that hill, you just tip forward. There was a size limit on things you could bring into the venue which is why we brought those, but you would've had to use your calves to keep upright the whole time. Next time we'll budget to rent their chairs
Personal fans? Cooler things for around your neck? Something more than water to help keep us cool. We bought one frozen lemonade to share because of course drinks were expensive.
Do your wandering and your bathroom break before it gets dark- it is soooo hard to find your spot on the lawn again after you leave it!
Bring some glowsticks to throw and turn into a really long glow snake, and bracelets to trade ;)
The amount of trash left by humans was deplorable, ugh
SO HOT!!!
Dan jammin' to Cory Wong
A lady had handpainted and was giving away these fans. Each one was based on a DMB song, this one- Ants Marching!
We were super fortunate that the opening act for our concert turned out to be one of Dan's favorite groups- Cory Wong and the Wongnotes. They're a fusion jazz group with insanely talented musicians. Their set was FIRE, and then they also played a few tunes during the Dave concert. How rad is that?
Seemed like it took forever between Cory Wong's set and Dave to play. Seemed like it took forever for the sun to set and give us all some reprieve. But once Dave was on stage the night really began. I'm gonna share the setlist for the night we were there. It really could not have been any more perfect. They played my favorite, Dancing nancies, and so many of my top tier loves. What a night! We got back to the hotel SUPER late since it takes forever to get out of the parking lot, but we could sleep in the next morning before heading home.
The sun finally set and we could cool down and enjoy the show!
We will do this concert again, not this coming labor day, but in 2026. Who wants to join us?
