One of my favorite bloggers (Kelsey from A Balancing Peach) recently touched on the point that not every post has to be a tutorial with a numbered check-list. This may not seem like a big deal, however, her statement could not have been better timed for me.

Lately, I have found myself stressing over having to create perfectly laid out travel posts. You know, pinterest worthy guides with gorgeous photos, helpful lists, restaurant tips, etc. I love making these, but turning every trip into one is not always easy for me. Occasionally I just enjoy going on mini vacations and do not have anything worthy of making into a guide. Sometimes I just relax at the beach and take pretty pictures. And the fact that I do not have “perfect photographs” or enough experience in the area to write a travel guide is not something I want to hold me back from sharing the photographs with you. Thus, this post is just going to be more of a travel diary. I hope you will still enjoy it!

On Friday, two weeks ago, my family and I drove out to the coast for our Labour Day weekend. We stayed in Coos Bay, but spent most of our time exploring different surrounding beaches. The first place we stopped at on the way there was Cape Perpetua. I had not been there for over eight years and, like I said on instagram, had completely forgotten just how pretty it is there. Honestly, it has to be one of the most breathtaking views at the Oregon Coast! I was so in love with this view and could have stayed here for hours on end. Definitely a new favorite spot!

“The ocean is everything I want to be. Beautiful, mysterious, wild, and free.”

The sunset we got to watch that night was honestly one of the prettiest I have ever beheld. I have never seen a cloud quite like this one! I mean, it is a perfect shape, was illuminated by the sun, and has light shining through the middle onto the ocean. Not to mention, it was literally this vibrant. No fake filters for this photo. It really was THAT colorful. ????????????

On Saturday, we visited Shore Acres State Park ↑ which was so lovely. It had beautiful gardens and an absolutely breathtaking ocean view that I simply could not get enough of. From one of the viewpoints, we were able to watch gray whales spouting and splashing their tales for over 20 minutes which was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, I forgot the big lens for my Canon camera at home (????) so I was unable to get any photos. I did get some footage of the whales with my olympus camera, though, and will be sharing that on my instagram soon!

After a few hours spent at Shore Acres, we went to the Simpson Reef Overlook to see Sea Lions (I could only get these on video too) and then Cape Arago to see the lighthouse.

On Sunday, we went to Bandon’s West Coast Game Park Safari. Everyone had fun looking at the featured animals, but the petting zoo animals were the real favorites as you could actually spend time with them. My little brother Charlie, as you can clearly see, absolutely “hated” the donkeys. I mean, get a look at that gin! haha He followed that animal everywhere.

Afterwards, we went to the Coquille River Lighthouse and Face Rock Creamery for some ice cream. This was our first time at this creamery and we really enjoyed it as they give you ginormous amounts of ice cream for just $3 (a much better deal that Tillamook Ice Creamery) and their flavors were delicious – loved the mango sorbet especially!

On Monday, we went back to Bandon Beach, but this time in the early morning. It was so beautiful and I really enjoyed walking through the caves, seeing all of the beautiful rock formations, and looking at all of the shells and sea anemones. It was also nice to meet the Circles in The Sand creator Denny Dyke and walk through his mazes of art. Such a talented person!

Have you ever been to the Southern part of the Oregon Coast? And what did you do for your Labour Day weekend? Let me know in the comments!

xo, mikéla