For us as a family, one of our most exciting and coveted times is our annual RV trip. We spend days prepping for this trip, getting excited about places we will go and things we will see. The night before we load up the vintage rig with all of our favorite books, craft coffee, our favorite treats and snacks, twinkle lights and cozy blankets.
We head down from Portland taking the slow route along the the coast of Oregon into the Redwoods National Forest in California and back up to Portland.
The goals are simple:
- Get there in the amount of time that it takes.
- We don’t have any obligations, and we are not in a hurry.
- We let the journey lead us as we slow down, rest, connect and treasure the time together.
Here’s a few of the stops we took, and what we noticed or loved about each place.
Newport, OR
This town is just one of those places that you will leave remembering for years. The iconic clam chowder, the pungent scent of ocean water and fresh catches of the day, and the slowness of it all, removed from the bustle of metropolitan cities.
We loved lazily walking through the Oregon Coast Aquarium, home to a variety of fish and ocean creatures home to our beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Our little two year old who could walk on her own this time loved the seals, the fish, and the touchable tide-pool creatures but needed a sweet mama’s encouragement to get her hand close to those soft little tentacles of the anemones.
Coos Bay, OR
The first morning waking up in our cozy little RV, just big enough for the three of us, left us lazily wandering the beach in front of our favorite RV Park of all time:
Bay Point Landing. We savor the peace and calm of this place and the thoughtful design and layout of this modern campground.
Sarah is wearing the Linnton Dark Olive and Roscoe Terracotta.
This place has gorgeous airstreams, rentable tiny-house cabins, a lounge with shuffle board and fun games, a kids play room, and even a natural-light filled indoor saltwater pool. You can even get tasty snacks, craft beer, wine and s’mores kits.
Harris Beach, Oregon
Two years in a row we’ve pulled into this magical beach town just before sunset catching the most incredible skies of orange and red mixed with a foggy haze of the incoming marine layer.
The campground is a stones throw away from the beach, so it’s perfect for a short hike down to the water. There is this sandy escape if you go down the hiking path from the campground. We trekked between massive rock cliffs, seizing a view of the ocean for as long as we could before moving downwards.
The Redwoods, California
Sarah is wearing the Bird Russet & Balsam Navy.
There’s this mysterious quality to the Redwoods that is so present during an adventure into the forest. The windy roads in between towering trees, the mist that hangs off of them swooping in from the ocean, each one towering upwards, as if they stretch on forever.
Colin is wearing the Fremont Off-White and Crest Olive & Sarah is wearing the Bird Russet and Balsam Navy.
We spent ages wandering through each grove, admiring the gorgeous peaceful giants. We played and ran around, stopping to notice the details, and taking lots of photos to look back on these times in the future.
What comes of each trip is a series of unexpected, treasured and joy-filled moments that will hold into old age, and pass on as a legacy. We have found that this commitment to rest and unplug a bit from the daily grind (from our callings at work and home) gives us balance in our emotional and spiritual health as individuals and as a family.
Colin Cabalka is a visual story teller, director, husband and father based in Portland, Oregon. Follow him on Instagram @colincabalka.
Sarah is wearing the Linnton Dark Olive and Roscoe Terracotta.
Colin is wearing the Fremont Off-White and Crest Olive & 