Sometime in the spring, Princess Eager asked me, "Could we go to the Oregon coast this summer?"That prompted searches through several different vacation rental sites, comparing accommodations, prices, and areas of the coastline. I read through options on VRBO.com, OregonShoresVacationRentals.com, OregonBeachVacations.com, TripAdvisor.com, VacationRentals.com, and others. I could tell I'd started this process late, because many properties (especially those in a family-friendly price range) disappeared from the page as soon as I indicated summer dates in the search parameters. I spent a lot of time over several weeks researching and commiserating, trying to find the perfect place for the best value.
Truthfully, it was difficult to commit to spending the money, and I also had a hard time believing Hubby, who parts with money for fun with even more difficulty than I, was truly on board. This decision delay meant some of our initial favorite options became unavailable. Finding August weekend accommodations with beach access is not something you can leave until the last moment. Especially when you expect to house 10.
We narrowed down the family's list of "must haves," eliminating less important desires for a hot tub and game room, even though those features had enticed us in some of the listings.
We definitely needed beds for 10, a kitchen for cooking, TV, and our social-media-addicted kids placed a strong priority on wi-fi. We limited the search to the northern coast area, so we weren't spending more of our Friday-through-Monday weekend in the car than necessary. I was hoping for beach frontage with crashing waves. I'd also hoped to be able to view the beach from the house, but gave up those wishes for easy walking access, and, since the kids really wanted to 'skim-board,' a tamer, sandy beach. We also much preferred the ambiance of homes showing open plans with big windows and deck for enjoying an ocean view.
The winning and very popular final choice was The Skyscraper at Netarts.
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It was higher priced than I'd hoped to find, but definitely more luxurious than I'd originally envisioned for us, too. It seemed to fulfill our top needs and wants, and the kids were thrilled and excited by the photos of the house and beach. Being situated right where the Netarts Bay meets the Pacific Ocean, it offered the best of both worlds... smooth water and shallow waters of the protected bay, and breaking ocean waves. Netarts is near Oceanside, another small and picturesque coastal town, and is just west of Tillamook. Tillamook is
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| image from Tillamook.com |
After we made the decision and reserved the house, the kids impatiently counted the weeks until we could go for our little vacation in late August. As it turned out, Prince Steadfast had only 2 of the 4 days off of work, so the young family opted to stay home alone for a more relaxing and quiet weekend, and, of course, Prince Helium and Princess Bossy couldn't come from their state far away. So it was just the 8 of us... Hubby and I, our 4 princes, and the 2 younger princesses.
More about the actual trip in another post...with lots of pics! Soon, I promise.
