Day 6 - Home From the Sea

We did get out for a beach walk yesterday evening! What a relief to have an end to the rain. We were getting cabin fever. This is cold ocean water here on the Oregon Coast, but it's hard to keep these kids out of it. It's a good thing we have a wood stove to hang the wet clothes over. They were cold by the time they got in and had a warm bath before settling in the watch Nemo. Keeping them up late has helped to get them to sleep in, which we like. - I went back out the capture the sunset.

This morning dawned clear and sunny and I went out for a brief walk before anyone else was up. I cooked breakfast and Jill, Irene and Tom made the bakery run to augment the eggs, sausage and fruit. Jill got her gear collected and then took the kids out on the beach while Tom and I cleaned the cabin.

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We hit the road about 11:30, with Irene declaring "Grandma, we had a great time on the beach!"

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We stopped by the Tillamook jetty to check out the construction. They're rebuilding parts of it.

Irene didn't want to leave the ocean and so we assured her we would stop to see it at least once more. We always love the view from Neakanie Mountain.

With a late, big breakfast, we made it to Astoria before stopping for a late lunch at the Bowpicker. They have the most amazing fish n' chips made with tuna. The picnic tables were full so we spread out our beach towels.

It's a long trip home, between four and five hours, depending of traffic. We decided to stop in Olympia to stretch our legs and to visit more ancestors. Isaac had wanted to know about Tom's Reeder family, so we stopped at the Masonic Cemetery where three generations are buried.

Tom's parents, Jill's grandparents, were gone long before Isaac and Irene were born. It's too bad. They would have adored the kids.

- We "borrowed" some rhodie blossoms from an old bush nearby to decorate their resting place. Irene helped me find flowers that "didn't belong to someone else".

After a dinner stop we arrived home about 7:00. We unloaded the van, and then the kids and I went outside. They prepared a "surprise" Happy Summer Party for me in the playhouse with a lovely play dough cake, and we played Find the Flower using the photos I had taken of the glass flowers. And yes, they thought the flowers were pretty cool.

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Several loads of laundry are done and everyone is either in bed or headed there. I will be soon.

I'll try to catch up with you a bit tomorrow, but the schedule is filling up.