Growing up in Michigan, I’ve never been a huge fan of winter. The freezing cold temps and snow make it tough to do much of anything outdoors for months on end and it’s just kind of miserable. However, since moving away, I have discovered that winter can actually be kind of nice when you live somewhere that has a milder climate. Winters here in Oregon are supposed to be rainy and cool, but we’ve really lucked out the past month as there have been lots of sunny days! Last month, my good friend from high school came from Michigan to visit Portland for MLK weekend and it was perfect timing because the weather was beautiful. We spent time walking around the city and eating at restaurants, but we also took a day trip out to the coast during his visit as well. I hadn’t been back to the beach since my parents came to visit in the fall (when, ironically, we had the worst weather I’ve experienced since moving here!) and so it was great to have a reason to go out there on such a gorgoeous day! I snapped a few photos out by the water at Cannon Beach, and I love how they turned out!
My friend Mike had actually never been to the Pacific Ocean before so I was happy we had such amazing weather for his first experience! It was a lot of fun having him out here 🙂
Cannon Beach is very dog friendly and so we were able to let Lola run around off the leash for a bit. She had such a great time playing with other dogs, running around, and playing fetch in the sand!
Happy little Lola Beans in front of Haystack Rock
I love the houses in Cannon Beach, some have the most incredible views!
After spending some time in Cannon Beach, we drove a little farther down the coast and stopped at another beach…and took more photos 🙂 It was too pretty not to!
Since Mike is a good sport, I was able to use the afternoon light and have him take some fun silhouette-type photos of Cameron and I (and Lola, of course) that I think are kind of fun 🙂
Finally, we stopped at a nearby overlook point before heading home. The Oregon Coast is very rugged but also really beautiful, and it’s just crazy to sit and watch the powerful waves!
Driving out to Cannon Beach takes less than 90 minutes from downtown Portland, so hopefully we’ll be able to get out there more often this year because I absolutely love spending time by the ocean!
