I wanted to sit and leisurely remember our vacation as I recorded this journaling, but once the children go off to school, I always seem to feel this immediate cinching and everything becomes uncomfortably tight for awhile, as I transition to higher expectations. After a few weeks everything will seem to fit a little better, but in the meantime, this will be a guilt motivated task (as I promised and Mom is now asking) on a to do list that is crammed between all of the other tasks that need doing. So, no relaxing stroll down a very recent memory lane this time. If the writing seems pinched, that's because so is time.
Like every vacation, I prepared for this one the day before--all day-- and by evening realized that I should have been preparing for a week. I tried to send Fred to bed early, because we had planned to leave at 4AM and he was the designated driver, but he felt the weight of all that needed to get done and my coercing wasn't effective until after 9PM. By 2AM Jordan, Mikayla, Eden and I finally fell into bed. Fred woke us all up at 3:45 and we were prepared enough that we were on the road within 15 minutes, pulling out right on time, which made Fred happy. It took another 30 minutes for the excitement and anticipation to calm, and for everyone (but of course Fred) to fall back asleep for the next few hours. When people did finally start stirring, hungry, we pulled off at a truck stop and unloaded breakfast out of the cooler, hooked up movies on two different computers in both back seats and in 30 more minutes we were back on the road with 8 people as contented as you can be on a road trip--the children because they were fed and entertained, Fred because there was peace and quiet and I because who can scoff at hours of time laying ahead of you with nothing else to do but read:) Over the course of the 10 hours there were a few, "Are we there yet's?" and a couple of "He's touching me's!", but with the help of snacks and coloring books and movies and reading books and cheerful anxiousness, we made it through feeling quite happy and arrived an hour before check in. We drove past our beach house and were disappointed with the exterior and the fact that there was garbage strewn all over the yard, but who can be upset when there is no wind and the sun is shining on the Oregon coast and the ocean is stretching and crashing out before you for miles? We called the rental management and asked them to have the garbage cleaned up and then went to the beach and soaked in the magic. It's always so much fun to be with someone who has never experienced the ocean and we had 3!
When we finally did get checked in, we were thrilled with the location, jetting out over the beach, on top of a cliff, with full ocean views on one whole side, but the house was old and smelly with thriftstore furniture that I had to put blankets from home over before I wanted to sit down. As the rest of my family is more optimistic than I am, they weren't as bothered and the mattresses looked new and the bedding was clean, so we bought candles and room fresheners and made do. Before Fred and I even finished unpacking the car, all of the rooms had been claimed and the children were busily "moving in". Then back to the beach, and this time all of the crazy kids got wet and cold and before we could take a long exploration we were headed back to the house and warm showers (of which there were happily 4). Fred and I went shopping for the weeks groceries and by evening, as we were soaking up the views on the balcony, we were able to meet the reason for our earlier garbage problems--a very friendly racoon, affectionately named Ralph. Over the course of our three night stay, we learned that Ralph was very friendly and would eat right out of our hands. Of course that was a highlight of the trip for all of us animal lovers.
Wednesday morning Mikayla and I were down on the beach by 6:30 AM and back ready for a defrosting shower by 8:30. Fred had breakfast ready and when we were all ready we headed back to the beach. That day was filled with beach, shower, beach, shower all day long. For the coast, we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. It was in the mid 60's, only partly cloudy, no fog and almost non-existant wind. The children played in the waves with their swimsuits and then huddled in the warm sand, while Fred and I in our jackets looked on and smiled at the impetuosity of youth. We were in up to our knees and occasionally a sneaker wave would splash us up to our waist, but no swimsuit donning desired:)
Thursday, after a morning on the beach, we drove 40 minutes to Newport to see the sea lions on the docks. We weren't disappointed as they were sunbathing by the hundreds and putting on a pretty good barking show, and all for free. Jordan treated us to taffy in a tourist shop and we headed back to Lincoln City for a beach fire dinner. Of course, that evening was the only time that we had wind, the entire vacation, so after hiking in 20 minutes to a favorite spot and doing everything possible to block the wind, Fred finally got a fire going, after a frustrating half hour. The kids still wanted to play in the waves and Fred had promised Jordan he would jump in, but the roaring fire we had anticipated to keep everyone warm never transpired. Mikayla and I had made foil dinners of fish and rice, which finally cooked perfectly. The rest of the family had opted for the traditional hot dog roast which ended up being more of a challenge since we had a hard time keeping the fire going. We all had a good size sidedish of sand in our food, but by golly we made memories and we were very thankful that evening that we had chosen not to camp. Even our run down shelter was very inviting that evening.
The next morning we packed up and headed home after one more jaunt to the beach, feeling refreshed, fulfilled, not quite ready to leave but happy. The trip home always seems longer, but we made some fun stops at an incredible outlet mall, and for lunch and to hike up to a gorgeous waterfall, but somehow on the way back we ended up lost numerous times and we didn't crawl into our beds at home until around 2AM on Saturday. Even so, though cramped quarters are never physically comfortable, I love being with my family in those kinds of environments where everyone is forced to work together and ends up being goofy and fun. Halfway through I moved into the back to give Jordan more leg room up front and Mikayla and Eden and I watched "Gone With The Wind", an experience which I haven't had since high school and now remember why. But, even after the 3 hour incredulity of Scarlet, we still came out determined to try a little harder to emulate Melanie, even though none of us, sadly, have every met anyone in real life like her.
I built up the importance and expectations of this vacation to great heights in my head and it delivered! And despite the dilapidated lodging, it was everything I wanted it to be. We'll hold onto it for a long time.
We took over 450 pictures. I had a hard time weeding through them, but I painstakingly got it down to 39.
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Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 8/27/2010 01:07:00 PM
Like every vacation, I prepared for this one the day before--all day-- and by evening realized that I should have been preparing for a week. I tried to send Fred to bed early, because we had planned to leave at 4AM and he was the designated driver, but he felt the weight of all that needed to get done and my coercing wasn't effective until after 9PM. By 2AM Jordan, Mikayla, Eden and I finally fell into bed. Fred woke us all up at 3:45 and we were prepared enough that we were on the road within 15 minutes, pulling out right on time, which made Fred happy. It took another 30 minutes for the excitement and anticipation to calm, and for everyone (but of course Fred) to fall back asleep for the next few hours. When people did finally start stirring, hungry, we pulled off at a truck stop and unloaded breakfast out of the cooler, hooked up movies on two different computers in both back seats and in 30 more minutes we were back on the road with 8 people as contented as you can be on a road trip--the children because they were fed and entertained, Fred because there was peace and quiet and I because who can scoff at hours of time laying ahead of you with nothing else to do but read:) Over the course of the 10 hours there were a few, "Are we there yet's?" and a couple of "He's touching me's!", but with the help of snacks and coloring books and movies and reading books and cheerful anxiousness, we made it through feeling quite happy and arrived an hour before check in. We drove past our beach house and were disappointed with the exterior and the fact that there was garbage strewn all over the yard, but who can be upset when there is no wind and the sun is shining on the Oregon coast and the ocean is stretching and crashing out before you for miles? We called the rental management and asked them to have the garbage cleaned up and then went to the beach and soaked in the magic. It's always so much fun to be with someone who has never experienced the ocean and we had 3!
When we finally did get checked in, we were thrilled with the location, jetting out over the beach, on top of a cliff, with full ocean views on one whole side, but the house was old and smelly with thriftstore furniture that I had to put blankets from home over before I wanted to sit down. As the rest of my family is more optimistic than I am, they weren't as bothered and the mattresses looked new and the bedding was clean, so we bought candles and room fresheners and made do. Before Fred and I even finished unpacking the car, all of the rooms had been claimed and the children were busily "moving in". Then back to the beach, and this time all of the crazy kids got wet and cold and before we could take a long exploration we were headed back to the house and warm showers (of which there were happily 4). Fred and I went shopping for the weeks groceries and by evening, as we were soaking up the views on the balcony, we were able to meet the reason for our earlier garbage problems--a very friendly racoon, affectionately named Ralph. Over the course of our three night stay, we learned that Ralph was very friendly and would eat right out of our hands. Of course that was a highlight of the trip for all of us animal lovers.
Wednesday morning Mikayla and I were down on the beach by 6:30 AM and back ready for a defrosting shower by 8:30. Fred had breakfast ready and when we were all ready we headed back to the beach. That day was filled with beach, shower, beach, shower all day long. For the coast, we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. It was in the mid 60's, only partly cloudy, no fog and almost non-existant wind. The children played in the waves with their swimsuits and then huddled in the warm sand, while Fred and I in our jackets looked on and smiled at the impetuosity of youth. We were in up to our knees and occasionally a sneaker wave would splash us up to our waist, but no swimsuit donning desired:)
Thursday, after a morning on the beach, we drove 40 minutes to Newport to see the sea lions on the docks. We weren't disappointed as they were sunbathing by the hundreds and putting on a pretty good barking show, and all for free. Jordan treated us to taffy in a tourist shop and we headed back to Lincoln City for a beach fire dinner. Of course, that evening was the only time that we had wind, the entire vacation, so after hiking in 20 minutes to a favorite spot and doing everything possible to block the wind, Fred finally got a fire going, after a frustrating half hour. The kids still wanted to play in the waves and Fred had promised Jordan he would jump in, but the roaring fire we had anticipated to keep everyone warm never transpired. Mikayla and I had made foil dinners of fish and rice, which finally cooked perfectly. The rest of the family had opted for the traditional hot dog roast which ended up being more of a challenge since we had a hard time keeping the fire going. We all had a good size sidedish of sand in our food, but by golly we made memories and we were very thankful that evening that we had chosen not to camp. Even our run down shelter was very inviting that evening.
The next morning we packed up and headed home after one more jaunt to the beach, feeling refreshed, fulfilled, not quite ready to leave but happy. The trip home always seems longer, but we made some fun stops at an incredible outlet mall, and for lunch and to hike up to a gorgeous waterfall, but somehow on the way back we ended up lost numerous times and we didn't crawl into our beds at home until around 2AM on Saturday. Even so, though cramped quarters are never physically comfortable, I love being with my family in those kinds of environments where everyone is forced to work together and ends up being goofy and fun. Halfway through I moved into the back to give Jordan more leg room up front and Mikayla and Eden and I watched "Gone With The Wind", an experience which I haven't had since high school and now remember why. But, even after the 3 hour incredulity of Scarlet, we still came out determined to try a little harder to emulate Melanie, even though none of us, sadly, have every met anyone in real life like her.
I built up the importance and expectations of this vacation to great heights in my head and it delivered! And despite the dilapidated lodging, it was everything I wanted it to be. We'll hold onto it for a long time.
We took over 450 pictures. I had a hard time weeding through them, but I painstakingly got it down to 39.
--
Posted By Bloomers to KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES at 8/27/2010 01:07:00 PM
