On the Eve of Kindergarten

My dear little Eleanor,

Tomorrow is your first day of Kindergarten. And you are going for a full day. You will be in the first group of students at Seventh Avenue in a full day Kindergarten, something that is happening in more and more schools right now. Looking back at my letter to Ethan before his first day in Kindergarten, I realize that I am not feeling as sad this time around, and I think there are a few reasons for this:

1. We are exceedingly busier these days, and I don’t have as much time to devote to sentimentality.

2. I have seen what fun it is to have Ethan learning and growing in school, and I’m anxious to see it for you as well.

3. You have been excessively whiny lately.

4. I am in denial.

5. I have a lot of projects around the house to get done!

Number four is likely the most accurate. This is not only a big transition for you, but for me as well. For the first time in 8+ years, I will not have at least one child home with me for the better part of the day. This is huge. I will no longer have a little buddy with me on errands, shopping trips, outings, et cetera. And while the reality of this is somewhat exciting, it makes me a bit sad as well. Truly, it is the end of an era. In the quite near future, I will be back to working outside the home, and I will be turning in my stay (and work) at home mom card. It has been an amazing blessing to be home for these years of your life, and I can’t help but be sad that the end is near.

It also is a clear indication that you both are growing up. Tonight, as I put you to bed, you had a lot of anxiety about being around any “big kids” tomorrow. You kept asking about it. I told you about how Ethan had a 6^th grade Buddy his first year at school and that now that Buddy is a student in Daddy’s history class at LT. She knows this kid’s little sister, Mariah, and wanted to tell her. I said, well, Mariah is not at Seventh anymore either. She is in middle school and soon she will be in high school, just like eventually you and Ethan will be in high school. You laughed and said, verbatim, “Ethan in high school? Now that I can’t imagine!” Me neither, kid. Me neither. But 5 years ago, your first day of Kindergarten seemed eons off, too.

While your biggest worry seems to be a fear of the big kids, mine is that you will not eat enough every day. You are, quite possibly, the slowest eater. You always say that you are 100% Italian, and while I know this to be false, you sure to eat like a European: you savor your meals.  In keeping with this idea, your lunch tomorrow is very European: salami, baby cheese wheels, pistachio nuts, and strawberries. I’m hopeful that small bits of finger food (with a lot of protein) will be the best bet for you. Hopefully, you won’t spend your whole lunch talking, instead of eating.

I do feel like you are ready and will do well with a full day of Kindergarten. I’m hopeful a full day program will allow for more play in the midst of new Common Core (education reform of the minute) responsibilities. While you are independent, you do play well with others, and I hope this continues. You will have your best friend Jason in class, but I am confident you will make new friends as well. Just like your brother, I teach you to always be nice to everyone and never exclude new friends who want to play.

You have always been a pretty independent kid, and you can play on your own for hours. Most often, I find you in your room, “reading” book after book. While you do not show much interest in learning to read on your own (at least with me), your love of books is just as big as it was for Ethan. You have a children’s Bible that you have “read” at least 100 times. In fact, on one of our trips to the lake this summer, you read the Bible to yourself for over an hour of the drive. I am excited to watch you go from a book page turner to a bona fide reader, just like your brother, because I know you will read as voraciously as him, opening up so many new worlds and ideas. It does this English teacher mommy good to see you two loving reading so much.

Imaginative play is another specialty. One of my biggest joys comes from listening to you spin stories with pretty much anything, whether it be your dolls, super hero figures, Lego characters, or, like this past weekend, tiny shells. On our family canoe trip, you collected about 30 tiny conch shells. On the drive someplace, you sat with them in a hat and made up the longest, most intricate story about what they were doing. At one point, I had daddy turn down the radio so that we could just listen to you because it is so darn cute. One time, on a 12 hour drive home from Hilton Head, you played with a Wet Wipe for a full hour. You don’t take much to entertain yourself, and it’s fantastic! This creativity will be put to use in school, hopefully, as you navigate new territory.

Eleanor, I love you so fiercely that sometimes I need to just kiss your face repeatedly. Your goofy personality paired with your sassy attitude is a lethal combination. I see so many great things for you in your future. And I will be in the front row watching, and cheering, all the way.

Love you,

Mommy

P.S. I am on the substitute list for your school this year. If I ever get to sub for your class, I hope you will call me Mrs. Mommy!

On the Eve of Third Grade (posted two nights late...)

Dear Ethan,

Tomorrow you start the 3^rd Grade! The middle: three years before third grade, three years after third grade. Wild.

You seemed to have a really great second grade year, and I am so grateful for that. After struggling slightly with your reading fluency in first grade, we really kicked things into high gear, and you improved so quickly. Your second grade teacher couldn’t believe you had any trouble whatsoever, and you were one of the strongest readers in the class. And you continued to work hard to come out of your shy shell, even rocking a narrator part in a school performance!

Your interests right now are mostly the same as last year: Legos, drawing, reading, and creating stories. Your Lego collection is getting slightly out of control, but you really do play with them all and enjoy them so much. You are careful to keep them together and organized, too. You don’t love to write, as evidenced by the big fuss you put up every time we tried to get you to journal over the summer, but you do love to illustrate. You have read the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (some books several times), and you always want to draw and write if you have to write, just like the protagonist in the book, Greg Hefley. You created a character with some friends at school last year called Iron Pigeon, and you wrote several stories for him. Wherever you go, you leave your Pigeon mark, based on the Pigeon from the Mo Willem’s stories. It’s pretty funny how you incorporate him into drawings all the time.

I continue to be proud of your treatment of others, as you seem like a genuinely nice kid. You are upset, at times, by the way friends treat you, though I notice you do not treat them back in the same way. We are working on ways to express yourself better when you feel wronged, rather than simply shying away from the conflict—a skill that is certainly difficult to teach, especially for this pushover mom. You are a likable kid and have a variety of friends at school, not just those you’ve known for a long time.

Your treatment of Eleanor is still great most of the time, but we have surely noticed you figuring out how to push her buttons and manipulate her, and we are working on this as well. But the other day, when Eleanor was trying to get you to let her do something with you, she begged, “Please! I’ll be your best friend!” You paused a minute and replied, “Well, you already are.” I said, “Really?” And you said, “Kind of...” And my heart burst in a million pieces. Most of the time when you have conflicts, really, it’s because you are trying to get her to play with you or go along with something and she is uninterested. Then you get angry and take it out on her. But when you play well together, it is awesome! Just this week, you started a little morning tradition of climbing into Eleanor’s bed and reading Captain Underpants to her. It’s so flipping adorable! We got secret video of it, too, so you can’t deny it later.

You are still doing lots of activities, and soon you will start soccer and fall baseball. Daddy continues to “make” you practice with him, and you continue to whine and cry about it until you are actually outside doing it and, miraculously, enjoying it. We wish you would go with Dad more willingly and appreciate this time he spends with you, but I also know you will look back fondly on the time Dad spent with you working on throwing, catching, etc.

My hopes for you this year is that you continue to be a kind kid, one who is not exclusive of others, and that you work to the best of your potential. You can get a bit lazy when it comes to homework, and while we do not expect perfection, we do want you to always try your hardest. We know you will continue to make us proud.

I love you so much, bud!

Mommy

Addendum: It is two nights later, and I just read Harry Potter with you before bed. When I turned out the light, I talked about how you need to really be the best big brother and help show Eleanor around the school. I told you if you saw her during the day to be sure and wave and smile at her and help her if she ever seems upset. I could hear the smile in your voice as you said, “Sounds good.” I can tell how happy you are to have Eleanor become a part of your great school. 

Fond Farewell (Day 18)

Last day of vacation = bittersweet. The inevitability of our departure makes me want to speed it up at this point, but we are all a bit sad it's over.  

Once again, we started the day with breakfast in the Anderson's kitchen. Glenda had homemade, delicious granola and smoothies. And, for the second time in a row (and in my life), I had French pressed coffee. Delightful. We lingered over our breakfast, even though we knew we needed to get on the road, because it was kind of hard to leave these awesome people. Before we left, they took our picture for their guest book, and we took theirs, and then it was hugs all around before leaving. The kids were sad to leave Malley the dog, too! 

Last night, we had decided that we would drive to I5 and go to the first visitors center for Mt. St. Helens, which is not far off the highway. This way, we would see it, but not add several hours to our trip. The next visitors center, and one with a closer view, was 50 miles off the of the highway. Had we had more time in this area, or had we known it was this difficult to get to, we would have planned better. As it was, though, a quick view from far away was all we could manage. Now we have an excuse to come back, I guess! 

From the visitors center, Portland was just an hour and a quarter away. I really wanted to have lunch at Pine State Biscuits. When I went to Girl and the Goat and sat at the chef's table, one of the chefs on the line used to live in Portland. I asked her where we should eat and Pine State Biscuits was one of her suggestions. Then, when a former colleague of mine, Jason, sent suggestions for our itinerary (his brother lives in OR), he told us to try Pine State Biscuits as well. So we went. There are a couple of locations, so I found the one closest to Powell's bookstore, which is another place we planned to visit. Pine State is a casual, order at a counter and find a seat place. It was super good! I forgot the name of my sandwich, but it was a thin piece of fried chicken, cheese, and bacon, served between a biscuit. There was sausage gravy on it and around it on the plate. Holy moly. Ethan got the pulled pork sandwich which he said was the best of his life. Will, who was wary of the fried chicken with most of the sandwiches, ordered the biscuit with egg and cheese. Then he saw my sandwich. Guess who then gave him half? Pretty nice wife because it was goooo-od. Eleanor at a quarter of her biscuit with egg. I am about to have the rest of it for my dinner. 

After our tasty (and cheap - out of there for $20) lunch, we drove across the river to Powell's Books. It is a HUGE bookstore that takes up an entire city block and several floors. The place is divided into rooms labeled by color. It would take days to browse the whole store. We spent most of our time in the children's section. The kids each picked one book, and I picked up a couple things for a certain little girl who turned one today. 

From Powell's we trudged our way through city traffic to get to our hotel. It took us 40 minutes to go 11 miles. Will dropped us off and then raced to the car rental place as we were close to being late with it (I called and you only get a 29 minute window from the time you say you will return it...lame). He made it, and the kids and I got kiddie cocktails in the lounge with the free drink coupons we had received upon check in. When Will got back, we all hit the pool. I swam a bit then left to get stuff organized/packed up in the room. We ate a hodge podge dinner of some things we still had from our travels. 

Alarms will be set for 4:30 tomorrow so we can take the 5am shuttle to the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:40. Brutal. We fly to Santa Anna airport (obviously) and then on to Chicago. With time changes, we will get in to Chicago around 5. Everybody cross you fingers that they are looking for people to bump and we can take a direct flight home.

Ethan, who does not like goodbyes, is having the hardest time with vacation being over. He just said, "So...tomorrow we are not doing anything fun like hiking or visiting someplace cool?" I reassured him that getting to our connecting flight on time will be a pretty decent adventure. It is always an adventure when traveling with kids, but I wouldn't have it any other way! 

The Summit (Day 17)

Our last day at the Casita...definitely sad. We made the most of it and started the day with breakfast at John and Glenda's. She includes breakfast as part of the deal. The first night when she asked we told her it was ok and that we had things for breakfast, feeling kind of strange about her cooking for us. But, when I looked back at the site, I realized that this is meant to be a bed and breakfast. And, well, we did pay for our stay here so we figured we would take advantage. She can bring it to us in the casita but she asked if we'd like to have it at their house. I told her whatever is easier and she admitted that not schlepping everything across the yard was easier, so we came to her. She served us frittata, fresh fruit, bacon, french pressed coffee (for me), and sour dough pancakes for the kids. Everything was delicious! But the best part was chatting with John and Glenda as if they were old friends. It is such a fun experience being here.

After our breakfast, surely the most satisfying of the whole trip, we headed out towards Mt. Rainier again. This time, we were going up north a little more to the a different entrance that would take us up to the Sunshine Visitor's Center. We just are able to get a different view of the park this way. And, it was a good thing, too, because as we were making our way there, we turned a corner, turned to the left, and BAM: there was Rainier in all her glory, all clear and dazzling but for one small cloud in front. We pulled off the road as soon as was humanly possible for an incredible photo op (stay tuned for Christmas card...). It was awesome. I was so glad we were able to see the peak like this as the day was party cloudy and I had some doubts. 

From here, we went to the Sunshine Visitor's Center. It is smaller and less crowded than the one at Paradise. We ate a picnic lunch and walked a ways up a path that was heading up the side of a mountain. Eleanor lost steam pretty quickly, but Ethan and I had plans to hike to the top of Dege Peak. I had read about the hike in our guidebook and thought it was a good choice for us to be able to actually get to a summit. It is categorized as and easy hike and was about 3.8 round trip. We were able to take one way up and then go down a different way, with plans to meet Will and Eleanor in a smaller parking lot down the road from the Visitor's Center. 

The way up was a decent incline but most of the trail was wide enough for the both of us. Often, one side of the trail was meadow at about a 30 degree angle. There were also some parts where we had trees on both sides of us. During these times, I was admittedly a bit nervous about bears. We didn't have our bear whistle, and we had seen some poop a few times on the trail. I have no idea what bear poop looks like, but it was enough to make me take pause. But, we made it up to the summit without incident. The last .3 miles consists of several switchbacks until you are finally at the very top. We saw Rainier, or what we could see of her with clouds in the way, and also Mount Adams, I believe, and much of the Cascades. Down below, there were two beautifully green lakes. Our elevation was just under 7,000 ft. There were two men at the top who took our picture for us, and we took pictures of where we had come from as well as where we were headed on the way down. These guys did not think bears were a concern at all and didn't think any would be up so high, which made me feel better.

After a quick stop and snack at the summit, we made our way back down, choosing a new way down. This other way was a narrower trail, and I held on to Ethan with one hand for much of it. I was glad we did not have Eleanor with us! We made it down in about 40 minute at the exact time we told Will to meet us in the other parking lot. We could see them from higher up and they waved and looked at us through binoculars. At the bottom, Will told us two men had come down a bit earlier and said they saw a bear just off the trail! It was probably the two men who were sort of teasing me about being worried about seeing one - that'll show them! A local woman told us that a ranger told her that there haven't been bear attacks in Rainier in years and years and that they are not interested in humans. Good to know...

It was now four o'clock, and we knew it would be a good hour before we got back to the Casita, so we left for Packwood. We wanted time to make dinner, eat it, enjoy the hot tub, etc. Last night was so rushed. 

I had a dinner planned of spaghetti e olio with carrots and broccoli. I had the spaghetti in the boiling water for a bit and added the veggies. After a bit, I went to pull out some pasta to test it and noticed two small bugs in the slotted spoon. I thought this was odd and looked in the pot. There were tiny dead bugs EVERYWHERE. I have no idea what happened. I do not think it was in the pot because I surely would have noticed. The spaghetti looked fine on it's own. I didn't notice until after I added the veggies. The only thing I can figure is that the broccoli was infested with bugs. I didn't notice when I cut it, but maybe they were in the florets. I don't know. But I know that there were far too many to be ignored. We had to dump the whole thing. Luckily, I had sautéed some chicken to add to the pasta and that was separate. Plan B was to open 6 packages of Ramen noodles and boil those as our pasta. The pantry was stocked with them. I simply added the garlic flavored olive oil to the pasta and topped it with chicken. Problem saved. I did explain what happened to Glenda because I didn't want her to see the Ramen packages gone and wonder why we had gone on a college-esque bender. 

After ice cream for the kids, we put on our suits for another dip in the hot tub. Will prefers it on the outside, so he acted as photographer. I pretended it was a hot tub time machine and took us all back to Tuesday when we arrived here so that we could spend another three nights in heaven. Did I forget to mention that while I was fixing my dinner, before the bugs made an appearance, Glenda stopped by with sliced pork that John had smoked all day, sliced, fresh mozzarella, and crackers? Just because. Heaven. 

Tomorrow, we have to say goodbye. :( We plan to try to see Mt. St. Helens on our way to Portland. We are supposed to give our rental car back around 4 and we are staying at an airport hotel, as our flights out Saturday are at the crack of dawn again. One more day of adventuring, and then it's back home to reality. Usually, at this point I am ready, but I am actually a bit sad this trip is over. I am always homesick on trips, but I never felt that way here. Maybe because we moved from place to place. Don't get me wrong - I do miss many things about being home, and it will be great to sleep in my own bed drive in straight lines, and see friends and family. But I am glad we went through with this crazy long trip to the Pacific Northwest. We saw some incredible things and we know exactly where we would like to return someday. 

Rainier (Day 16)

Going to (try to) make this post brief as my body is aching from a day of hiking and that hot tub is calling my name...plus, we haven't eaten yet and it's after 9.

Today, we did Rainier. And Rainier did not disappoint. Well, actually, Mt. Rainier him (or her) self kind of did by hiding behind clouds for most of the day. But the rest of the NP...WOW! Loved this place. 

Upon John and Glenda's recommendation, we started with this Box Canyon Trail, not far into the park. It is very short, and takes you to a bridge over a huge canyon carved out by a glacier years and years ago. The bridge is about 150 feet up and you look down at the rushing river running through the bottom of the canyon. So cool. Along that hike, we took a quick detour and went up a bit on the Wonderland Trail. The Wonderland Trail is one that goes all the way around Mt. Rainier. It takes a week or two for most people to complete. We saw one woman hiking it and spoke to her briefly. She was on day 7. All alone, too. Will and I wondered if the amount of female hikers going solo has increased since the publication of Wild. I bet it has. We noticed that this girl had running shoes on, not hiking  boots, which seemed a bit peculiar, as well. 

After this hike, we continued further into the park, on our way to Paradise Visitor's Center. On the way, we pulled off the road several times for pictures of great waterfalls, lakes, etc. One lake is Reflection Lake, which was very pretty. It is the most photographed spot in the park, but usually when Rainier is making an appearance because you can see it in the reflection of the lake. Not today, at least not when we were there. Oh well. 

We went in the visitors center briefly and then had lunch at the base of the mountain. Several times while we had lunch, the peak poked through the clouds, and I was able to get a few pictures. After lunch, we went up park of the Skyline Trail, which is 4.5 miles total, if you do the loop. We just went up as far as we wanted. Along the way, we saw a deer hop right over the path, as well as many marmots (not sure if that is the plural...) They are very cute and came pretty close to the trail so I  got some great pics. The trail is all paved and even wheelchair accessible, but it is pretty steep at first. Will and Eleanor turned around at a certain point, but Ethan and I wanted to keep going. So we did. And it was awesome. We would see people up higher and think, well, we'll just go to there, and then we would get there...and decide to go to the next there. 

We finally stopped at Glacier Vista, or something like that, where we viewed the Nisqually Glacier. We were literally in the clouds, 6350 feet in the air. We started around 5300, so we went up about a 1,000 feet. It was great. So many pretty pictures. The meadows are all in bloom (they bloom only for 4-6 weeks a year), and everything was just breathtaking. 

When we made it down, we waited for Will and Eleanor in the visitor's center, where we said we would meet. They were not there, but I stayed put, assuming they would come back to look for us. About 20 minutes later, we saw them coming off another shorter trail to Myrtle Falls. It was a short one, about a mile total, and Will thought it was worth seeing, so Ethan and I trudged up to that one, too. And it was very cool - definitely worth the extra sore feet.

Since it was now after 6, we knew we definitely had to head home. We drove out a different way than we came, coming out a different entrance. John had told us we could do this and take a road through the Gifford Pinot National Forest  back to Packwood. Well, we saw this small road (miraculously) and turned, not exactly sure if it was correct. I didn't have phone service, but my gps app did show where we were and that we were heading the right direction. It was about 20 miles on a curvy, narrow, and bumpy road, but we made it. I actually didn't think it was that bad. Maybe I'm just used to this now. We were "home" by 7:30 but hadn't even eaten. We had stopped at a restaurant right outside the park that Glenda said was a favorite. But there was a 25 minute wait. So...the kids had mac 'n cheese, and Will and I are having frozen chimichangas that were in our freezer and Glenda assures us are delicious. 

We have decided to go back to Rainier tomorrow and then (possibly) go to St. Helen's on our way to Portland on Friday. The problem is it just takes so long to get to it. We are really torn because we are here, but we loved Mt. Rainier NP so much, we want to explore another day. Really wishing we had another day here. We could have easily spent a week here, actually. Live and learn. 

That's all for now...chimichangas are ready!

The Casita!! (Day 15)

Nostalgia's for suckers - we have forgotten that last place as it's been replaced by the best place on the planet - The Casita! We may not return from here. 

When I first started looking into places to stay, The Casita was one of the first places I found. I knew we had to stay here and pretty much planned our itinerary based off of when we were able to get a few nights here. Here is the link to the place on vrbo:

http://www.vrbo.com/618155

But, really, the pictures here don't even do it justice. The flower garden and fish pond, as well as the gorgeous vegetable garden, help make this place amazing. Oh, and we are nestled in the mountains. And there's a hot tub. Tonight, sitting in the hot tub with the kids, looking up at the mountains, I thought, I am so glad we saved this place for last. 

I'll back up a bit and tell you about our journey, which was very easy. We left the A-frame at 7:45 this morning, wanting to make our drive by early afternoon. We had 4.5 hours ahead of us. For the first time this trip, we had to double back, going south down 101 until Aberdeen, where we then went east on highway 12. We made just one stop, in Aberdeen, and then made it to The Casita around 1pm. The second half of the drive was very, very pretty, and reminiscent of our drive through Vermont - mountains all around but not closing in on you. On the way, we could have stopped and taken a trip to Mt. St. Helens as we went past where we needed to turn. But, to get to it, we knew it would take an hour, which meant adding 2 hours of driving time to the day. Plus, it was pretty cloudy at the time and we worried we would drive an hour and not see much. We will do it either tomorrow or the next day when we can pack a lunch and plan to be gone for the day. 

When we got to The Casita, we were greeted by Glenda and John the owners and people who live in the main house. They are, quite possibly, the nicest people on the planet. Glenda is an artist and makes jewelry and beautiful stained glass windows, among other things. John is a jack of all trades and worked as a firefighter and worked for the state fire marshall's office. His parents owned the main house and John and Glenda inherited it and then added on. They built The Casita a few years ago, originally intended to be an office, but they have rented it out for about a year. They said it has kept them very busy as it's rented most of the time. Glenda, wanting to set it apart from the many other rentals in the area, offers breakfast with the rental and also will cook other meals for a fee. She does all the cleaning herself, and it is clear that they have thought of every single detail to make their guests so comfortable. I even noticed extra bathing suits in the closet, presumably for those who may have forgotten one. 

The Casita has a small bedroom with two twins that is separated from the master with a pocket door. Then the master has a nice, four post bed, a large closet, a big vanity and a bathroom. There is also a washer/dryer (cursing ourselves for doing laundry yesterday!) in the master, set off with a curtain. The kitchen is small but has everything you might need, and then some. There is a walk in pantry with things like a crock pot, a vitamix, calphalon pans, etc. There is even a salad spinner. Never have we been in a rental with such nice kitchen stock. Next to the kitchen is a living area with a nice desk area and cool set up for television and music. There is a Bose sound system in the house and it's all rigged up to play cds or music from your phone even. I mean, we went from flushing our toilet with a foot pedal to this - no contest! 

Really, the best part of this place is the outside. Will and I were both saying it looks like someplace you would see in Home and Garden magazine or something. They do all the work themselves and make us feel like quite the lazy homeowners. I mean, we just leave all summer and make 0 improvements! We were joking with them, but you could tell they appreciate the adventures we take with our kids. The kids, by the way, are in heaven again because we get to share their black lab, Malley, for the next few days as well. Malley is 11, very well trained, and sweet as can be. She follows the kids around and lets them pet her. John brought out treats for the kids to feed her, too. Maybe this will satisfy their urge for a dog for a while. More likely, it will strengthen their resolve to fight for one! 

When we picked our jaws off the ground from admiration of this place, we asked for advice on what to do with the rest of the afternoon. They suggested this hike just in the Mt. Rainier National Park called the Grove of Patriarchs trail.  It was only a 25 minute drive or so, and really a great hike. The big trees reminded us of the redwoods, though the trunks aren't quite as big. These trees are different spruce trees and Douglas Firs. Some of the trees in this forest are 1,000 years old. It is crazy to think what they have seen. Another neat part of the hike was a long suspension bridge to cross a river. A sign suggested one person at a time, but both kids went with me. I was a bit nervous, but I am hoping the bridge would just think there was a 200 plus person on it and be ok. It held. 

From that hike, we went back into the town of Packwood to load up on some groceries for the next few days. We parked in the IGA and had an amazing view of Rainier right from the lot! Back at our new home, we made pizza and picked fresh lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and snap peas from the garden (also part of the deal...we can pick whatever) for a salad. We ate, then the kids and I went in the hot tub while John showed Will a trail close to the house. Then, the kids had ice cream before heading to bed. 

We cannot tell you how comfortable we are here. There were many redeeming qualities about our Bogachiel solar powered A-frame, but this suburban girl likes her kitchen sinks in the kitchen and her power from a 120 volt outlet. 

Tubing Fun (Day 14)

A pretty benign last morning here, but one with a necessary task for some: laundry. We drove into Forks to a laundromat and did a large load. Man, am I glad we have our own washer. Laundromats are expensive! It cost $5 to wash in a big washer. A tiny washer is at least $4. While I manned the laundry, Will took the kids to the library in town. It was misting a bit, which made the park a bad option. And it turned out that the Forks library was actually quite nice. And Will was able to get online and read the newspaper. And I had 3G at the laundromat, too, so I was able to send and receive texts, read my emails, and check in with the world. I called my mom and also talked to my friend Susie for a bit as well. Felt good to be back in the world, if only for a bit. Will came back to pick me up and then I went to the library with the kids for a bit while Will went to the store. The kids played in the nice kids' area. 

Back at the cabin, we made some grilled cheese, ate outside, and I packed our suitcases up nicely. Then, we drove down Undi Road (the road our place is off of) further than we had walked the other day. We knew it became a trail eventually. We parked a ways down and then found the trail actually not too far from where we parked. It was called the Bogachiel River Trail, and it was a really awesome trail! I wish we had driven to it our first day. It starts up high and then goes down into the valley and eventually crosses a small creek with a homemade bridge made of a fallen tree. It is rain forest, too, so the trees are full of moss and the grounds are covered in ferns. It has a fairy tale look to it. We didn't hike the whole trail but went a ways down before turning around. 

In the later afternoon, we ventured down to the river with our suits to try tubing. Ethan went in one, and Eleanor and I in the other. The river is so low that my back side got caught on quite a few rocks, but we were able to keep chugging. The current had us go around a couple curves and then there was one section at the end with some pretty good "rapids." It gave us a feel for how it must be with the river is higher. It was so fun! Unfortunately, the fun ended there because a tree blocked the river after that. Then came the not so fun task of walking back up river, carrying our tubes over the rocks. Eventually, we had to cross to the other side, which is difficult with the very slippery rocks in the water. But we made it back. Will, who has been in the freezing cold Pacific and Crater Lake when the air temp is in the 60s, thought it was too cold to go in the river today. The Bogachiel, by the way, is the warmest river in Washington, we've been told. Truly, it felt great. Well, Will saw our fun and changed into his suit to try it out. Not sure he was as thrilled by it as me and the kids, but it was certainly an experience. I would love to take the kids on a tubing trip sometime!

Dinner tonight consisted of leftovers. I got creative with the steak since I knew reheating it would make it tough. I cooked it low and slow with a little seasoned water for a few hours. Then, I added our last cup of instant rice to the water near the end and let it soak up the broth. Lastly, I added the last bit of shredded cheese we had. The result was a delicious cheese rice with chipped beef type of meal. Will had a similar meal with cheesy rice and leftover chicken. We both ate ours out of the pot around a fire in the pit. We felt like pioneers! 

While we were eating, Lyle Senior stopped by to ask us if we knew the Nat Geo show called The Legend of Mick Dodge, or something like that. We hadn't, but I had seen the name mentioned in the guest book. Apparently, Lyle's son, the one who built our cabin, was on one of the episodes that aired in January. He lent us the dvd to watch it. We had another batch of s'mores and then came inside to watch it. The show is about this wild man, Mick, who dresses like a Native American, has a big long white beard, and walks barefoot through the forest and such. In this episode, he was helping a friend build a huge, homemade staircase into the trees on his property. When they ran into some trouble, Mick Dodge went to find Lyle to help. There is a scene, then, that opens up with views of the cabin we're in and then cut to Lyle up in a tree. He is a very successful lumberjack, apparently, and he zip lines down to help. He is in the rest of the show a bit, helping with the staircase. It was neat to see. And the kids think we are now famous because we stayed in a cabin that was (very briefly) on a tv show. 

We will leave here early tomorrow, determined to have the afternoon in our next destination. Strangely, I'm going to miss this crazy cabin. The view upon waking up in the loft is pretty awesome, and we have enjoyed a lot of time exploring this area. I will be happy to have a kitchen sink in the kitchen again, as well as a shower that doesn't run out of hot water mid-shampoo, but I think I will look back at this off the grid cabin with pleasant nostalgia. 

Way Off the Grid (Days 11-13)

Days 11, 12, and 13

Wifi at the Forks Public Library - Praise the Lord!

All of these will be posted at one time once we are back in civilization with wifi. Sorry for the absence, those of you who check in regularly: Mom, Lisa, Bill and Betsy, and Susie. :)

Our drive from Seaside to just before Forks, WA was long, but mostly uneventful. It was not as windy as other drives, but, for some reason, it made me feel worse than normal. I think the road itself was rougher. I was feeling lousy enough to take a second dramamine, which seemed to do the trick. Getting into WA was fun. We took a huge, long bridge over the Columbia (I think) river that leads into the ocean. But once we were in Washington, there was nothing for miles and miles between small towns. It was a bit different from our drive up the coast of Oregon. 

We stopped about halfway, in the town of Aberdeen, WA, to pick up groceries because it was the last place with a Safeway. The small town grocery stores have big prices and poor selection. We were shopping for four days, so we had to get creative with ice and bags and packing the car. 

We finally made it to our place, which is about 3 miles off of 101 (the coastal highway), along the Bogachiel River. It was a very curvy 3 miles in to find our place, and it is very secluded. There are a few neighbors, but we can't really see them from our place. 

The cabin itself is interesting. It is run on solar and everything is run on 12 volt plugs. There are outlets (I don't know why), but our things don't work in them. There is one converter, so if I want to charge something, I use that. Not that there is much need to charge anything since there is no wifi. This was a bit of a surprise to us, I guess, but this place is mostly used for weekend fishing getaways and such, so I guess they don't see a need. There is not cable or tv reception, either, so the only option on the small tv is to watch a dvd. They have a pretty big collection to choose from, though we haven't used it much. I did put on A River Runs Through It last night while I made dinner, but that's it. 

The kitchen is tiny and consists of a gas stove, a tiny oven that doesn't work, and a small fridge. There is a small counter as well. The one sink in the place is in the bathroom next door to the kitchen. It has a shower, some cabinets, and double sink (with small counter space for drying dishes), and a toilet. The toilet looks sort of like one on a plane. There are foot pedals to fill it with water and to flush. The kids think it's fantastic! I think it's fine, but look forward to a normal toilet. 

The cabin itself sits on a large piece of land, facing the river. We can walk just a 100 yards or so to the river bank, and we can see it from the loft bedroom, where Will and I are sleeping. Unfortunately, the river is very low, so it will be a bit hard to swim in. There is a small current, and we have tubes to use with the cabin, but I don't think we will be using them. One side of the cabin has a pretty large yard (the kids have been playing baseball) and the "backyard" has a nice cement space with seating a fire pit, and a nice grill.

This first night, I made "hobo dinners" on the grill, with sausage, potatoes, peppers, and onions wrapped on foil and then steamed. They were a hit with the kids and hit the spot after a long day of driving. We ate outside. Afterwards, I did the dishes (in the bathroom), and the kids played outside with Will. 

Getting the kids to bed proved a bit difficult, as there are taxidermy bears and other animals hanging up everywhere, and they were a bit anxious about them. In fact, They were both up at night from it. Hoping tonight (because I'm writing from day 12) goes better. 

Will and I have gotten used to watching an episode of Sons of Anarchy on the ipad after the kids are asleep. But because we have no wifi, that is not an option. The kids are sleeping in the room with the tv, so a move is out, too.  So...we had to just...read. There are lights throughout the cabin, but the are weak. I ended up using Ethan's book light to have enough light. 

Another thing about this place is that it was terribly hot at bedtime. There are only windows on the non-lake side. The lake side has a sliding glass door, and door to a balcony off the loft, but neither have screens. We badly needed a cross breeze, but did not want to invite bugs in. As I type, I am sweating upstairs in the loft area. I have the door open, but there is not a breeze tonight, so it's still so hot. Fortunately, it definitely cooled down at night and we were call chilly in the morning. I had to go downstairs and put a blanket on Ethan. Hoping it cools down soon!

Oh, in addition to the bear rug on the wall, the bust of a bear, and various other small heads in the cabin, Will and I sleep with a giant Elk staring at us. Will named him Laurence W. Elk.

Day 12

Since not a one of us had a very restful night's sleep last night, we were all loathe to get out of bed. Except Ethan. Ethan LOVES getting out of bed and trying to get the rest of us up and at 'em. 

Last night, I had read through the guest book to see all nice things written, but one complaint over and over was that there was no coffee maker. I noticed last night that someone had donated what I thought was a french press (which I don't know how to operate and lack the means to look it up) but realize might just be a drip coffee maker type thing used for camping. There is basically a stainless steel pot with a stainless filter of sorts on top. People had left coffee, so I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, all I got was coffee with a ton of grounds in it. My guess is it should be used with whole beans. So...no coffee for me. 

I made some scrambled eggs for breakfast and when we were all ready, we went outside to walk along the road near our place, which is also a trail through Olympic National Park. On the way to the road, we encountered two dogs, a wiener dog (who the kids named Weenie), and a black lab. Ethan welcomed the wiener. Not so much the lab. The lab came running from a house and Ethan did what he now knows to do - he stayed still. She came up and smelled him and then moved on to Eleanor, who freaked out. The dog was as big as Eleanor, and she scared her quite a bit, even though Eleanor is our huge dog over. She is used to approaching dogs on leashes. We heard an owner call out Maggie and the dog left. We continued on our way and got out to the main road when Maggie appeared again. She had decided, it seems, to accompany us on our hike. The kids were a big tentative at first, but, by the end, they could not get enough of Maggie. 

The whole time, Maggie would bound into the woods, after a bird or a squirrel, and then come back into the road ahead of us. She stopped for drinks in nearby ponds and even took a dip or two. But she kept coming back to us. It was hilarious. She wasn't so interested in us as far as being pet or anything, but she just stayed near us the whole way. 

We walked probably a good mile and a half before turning around to come home. When we were almost back, a car came down the road, and woman with three girls with her got out, saying they had been looking for Maggie everywhere. We felt bad, but there had been nothing we could have done about it, really. She is obviously not kept in the yard, and I don't think us telling her to stay would have done any good. The woman was not upset with us or anything, just exasperated at their adventurous dog. The kids were sad to see her go and kept wondering if she would come say hello when we walked past her house. She didn't. We imagine she was probably locked inside. :) 

Back at the cabin, we had lunch and relaxed a bit then left to find 2nd Beach. There are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Beach around here, and we had read that 2nd Beach was really cool. We drove through Forks (small town) and Three Rivers, sites of the Twilight movies. Funny to see some of the ways they try to capitalize on this fame. Just as in the books/movies, the area has a large Native American population. It is the Quinalt Reserve, I believe.

We found 2nd Beach, and started the hike to it. We knew from the map that you had to hike to it, but the hike proved longer than expected and ended with over a hundred stairs. But it was a very pretty hike, with huge, gnarly trees, and the sun coming in through them. The beach was totally worth the trouble, and was, by far, my favorite beach so far. Huge rocks covered with pine trees, jutted out of the ocean. It is just so neat and different. All kinds of people had tents set up along the beach, as I think you can camp there. We saw a lot of backpackers.

Another great thing is that the weather was finally beach worthy. It was into the 80s today so the beach made perfect sense. Unfortunately, the ocean was freaking freezing. The waves were amazing, and I really thought I would go jump in them, but I only made it to my waist. You don't get used to this kind of cold...you just go numb. But we enjoyed reading and watching the kids play (or fight, which was not as enjoyable), for a few hours before heading back up the path to our car.

We stopped at a grocery in Forks for a few things (instant coffee for me...thanks, Starbucks Via!), and then came home. I had marinated chicken in this tequila lime marinade all day. I watched Pioneer Woman do it on her show a few days before and had been wanting it. I grilled that and then made cilantro lime rice, and refried beans to go along with it. If I do say so myself, it was a pretty darn good meal for having a ridiculously small kitchen. I'm making it work!

I made a fire after dinner but then showered while the kids made s'mores. Another thing I didn't mention is the loud water pump. You have to flip a switch for this water pump for any water. And every time you use water, it makes a loud noise, even just washing your hands. It was so annoying that we turned it off last night. Even when you are not using the water, it goes off every so often. Annoying. 

Anyway, there was more baseball after s'mores and then the bedtime battle. Eleanor tries our patience the most, as Ethan falls asleep next to her. But both were asleep faster tonight than last night. Long hikes and beach trips will do that!  

Day 13

There have certainly been times on this long trip that I thought, never again. Never again will we plan so much, stay so many places, and pick up and move so many times. But then, like today, we will have some really cool experience, and I think, this wouldn't happen if we stayed in the same place the whole time. Or, at least, that's what I tell myself...

The thing is, we have had really smooth sailing. Sure, the drives are a bit harrowing, but even those haven't been as bad as others we have had. No drive has taken longer than expected, and the kids behave pretty well. They do bicker and fight, but it's all normal. Thank goodness for books on cd! They have been an absolute life saver - seriously! 

Today, we drove into the Hoh Rainforest section of Olympic National Park. From the main highway (101 - what we took from California all the way through Oregon and now in Washington), the Visitor's Center was 18 miles away. We have learned that 18 miles is not 20-25 minutes here. With the roads, it's more like 40. We hadn't packed a lunch, mistakenly, so we stopped at a place called the Hard Rain Cafe, on the way in, and grabbed a few protein-filled snacks. Once we finally got to the Visitor's Center, we decided on a hike called the Mossy Trail. It held up to its name - all the trees were just covered in moss. The whole forest looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. So cool. Except, also, very hot. Today was almost 90, so even in the shade of the trees, it was quite warm.  We finished the trail in about an hour or so and then decided we likely wouldn't do another today since we hadn't had lunch, and it was pretty warm. 

One disappointing thing about where we are in Olympic is that we really don't have a good view of Mt. Olympus. I guess I just took for granted that it would be visible from anywhere in the park. Not the case. The Hoh Rainforest is in a valley. You can hike to Olympus, but it is 18 miles. We didn't feel up to that today. I am pretty sure I saw Olympus coming in on our drive, but the best place to see great views of it is well over an hour away. When I researched where to stay for this trip, there were not a lot of options. There only seemed to be the option of near Forks, where we are, in the Southeast, and way up north. Since we were driving up the coast of Oregon, this spot, also close to the coast, made the most sense. Looking back, I wish I would have found a spot in the southeast corner of the national park. Then, we would have been closer to our next destination, too. Going from here to Packwood, WA (our next stop) is closer to 5 hours, and we are not looking forward to it. Will even discussed leaving tomorrow and skipping our last night here to get a little closer. Honestly, part of that is because he misses the news and wants to be someplace with Wifi. Who would have thought Will would have so much problem without technology?! I think we will stay here, though, and we plan to be all packed and ready and get out of here early on Tuesday morning, hopefully shortly after 7 am. That way, we can be driving by Mt. St. Helens around lunch time. We can explore it on the way to our place in Packwood, a little bit north west of there. Our place is supposed to be between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier. But I digress...

After our hike, we left Hoh and went back to the Hard Rain Cafe for some burgers (and a grilled cheese for Eleanor). The place was very reasonable and pretty good. They must do a pretty good business as the only place to stop along the road into the park. This road runs along the Hoh River, which has a lot more water than the Bogachiel by our place. We brought our suits and were hoping to find a calm place to jump in. Unfortunately, every place we saw looked a bit too rough, so we nixed that idea. 

Instead, we went south on 101 back to a cool beach we had stopped at on our way to our solar powered cabin. We had taken some pictures of it but didn't end up walking down to the beach because we were only 30 minutes way from our final destination, and we knew the kids wouldn't want to leave the beach. It had looked pretty cool, though, so we returned. It's called Ruby Beach, and it did not disappoint. It is all smooth rocks, just up until the waves crash onto shore. There are huge boulders jutting out of the ocean, as is the norm here, and it is just so freaking pretty. The rocky beach is covered with large driftwood and, best of all, there is a giant "lake" in the middle of the beach. I don't know if it can qualify as a tide pool, as it is huge. The water in this "lake" was certainly warmer than the Pacific, and eventually the kids went in and had a great time. Ethan noticed kids using driftwood logs as boats, so he set off to find one. He and Eleanor had a great time finding just the right log and finding oars to help push the boat along. I watched, shivering, from shore. The temp dropped from 89 in the rainforest to 72 on the coast, and the wind coming off the ocean was chilly! I was only in a tank top. Of course, the chilly temps didn't stop Will from going in the ocean (he thought it might be his last chance for a while), and the kids from going into the "lake." 

We dragged the kids away a little after 5 to get home. Tonight we grilled steak, zucchini, and potatoes for dinner. No fire tonight, but we did walk down to the river after dinner. Will found the tiniest baby frog we have ever seen, and Eleanor especially (who I've nicknamed Lenny from Of Mice and Men) loved holding him. Ethan walked into the river with his crocs but then slipped and was soaked. We haven't taken advantage of being on the river yet, but that will change tomorrow, as the plan is to play in it for a bit. I think it is deep enough in the middle to float in a tube a ways down, so we will try that. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler, but the river is actually quite warm. 

We could use cooler weather anyway. Last night, our loft was so terribly hot that both Will and I could not go to sleep. Eventually, I got my frozen water bottle I use to ice my foot and went to sleep snuggling it. Tonight, when we got home in the evening, I opened the door up there to get a cross breeze. I figured I would rather deal with some bugs than be so hot again. Luckily, we don't see any bugs, and it is so much cooler in here now than it was last night. Phew. 

Year 11 (But day 10)

One more night of sleeping with sounds of the ocean; tomorrow, the ocean will be replaced by the Bagachiel River in Washington. Will and Ethan started the morning off with a run down the promenade. Will said Ethan ran for a full 25 minutes - not bad! When they got back, I walked to Main St. I can't run, but my back was so stiff, I needed to move around. I also was in search of chocolate cake. Will and I have a tradition of having chocolate cake on our anniversary. Today is 11 years for us, so I wanted to find some good cake. I stopped in a coffee shop, where I got an amazing latte, and looked for cake there. Only brownies, so I kept searching. Unfortunately, I never found a bakery. No cake for us... :(

Today was gorgeous in Seaside, sunnier than expected even, so a great day to hit the beach. Still cool down by the water, but the sun was so nice, I read on the beach for several hours.  I even got warm (and brave) enough to take a quick dip in the ocean. It was cold, but I have always loved being in the ocean, letting the waves hit. Admittedly, though, I didn't go past my waste because I knew the breeze would make me too cold when I got out. The kids built volcanos and constructed a chocolate cake for our anniversary since I couldn't find one. 

By 3:30, the kids had seemingly attracted half of the beach sand onto (and into) their bodies. We couldn't even reapply sunblock, so we decided to have them hit the showers. All I can say is, two baths later (she had to go back in when I noticed more sand as she got dressed), I sure hope the pipes don't burst here until after the next guests stay here so we are not liable. 

Once the kids were squeaky clean, Will left for the laundromat. We have not had a place with a washer/dryer yet, so our pile of dirty clothes was pretty big. I'm in the best shape because I packed way more clothes than anyone.  Alternatively, Will is wearing one of 3 shirts in every picture on this trip. :) While he was gone, the kids watched the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie so I could shower and get ready for our "date." 

We left for downtown when Will got back and had dinner at Norma's, a local place for seafood. It gets a lot of good write-ups, but, honestly, neither Will nor I was impressed. My meal came with clam chowder, which was very good, but the locally sourced, lightly breaded sole I ordered was greasy and under-seasoned. I know I sound like a food critic always, but I am really not all that picky. I think our expectations were higher. Will felt the same about his halibut. Ok, but nothing fantastic. My rice pilaf was good, though Will and I joked that it was probably some MSG filled rice-a-roni.

Our original plan for after dinner was to make a fire on the beach and do s'mores during sunset. But when we saw how sandy the kids got, the idea of lugging wood out to the beach, fighting with the wind to get it lit, and then trying to keep the kids from rolling around in the sand sounded like more trouble than it was worth. So it was back to the condo to wrestle them to bed. 

We go to our third (and final) state of this trip tomorrow. One week to explore Olympic National Park, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier. Looking forward to this last leg of the trip, but sad to leave this coast. We will still be near the coast for the next several days, though, as Forks is not too far inland. I imagine we will visit at least one beach in the area. So much to do and see!

Seaside in Seaside (Day 9)

I type this sitting on the bed in the bedroom of our condo in Seaside, Oregon. I am literally looking out the window at the sun going down over the Pacific. I booked this place last minute through Hotwire after deciding I wanted to have some place a bit larger for our two night stay on the coast. It's a one bedroom condo as close to the beach as you can be. We are along the last road that runs parallel to the ocean, called the Promenade, or Prom for short. Just across the Prom is the access to the beach. We can see and hear the ocean right from the window. Love it! 

And I think we deserve it after a longer day of travel. The drive today was about 4 hours, but we made it into 7 with several stops. This leg of the trip had more towns to go through, it seemed, and, in general, was a bit more crowded. But, man, was it pretty. So much of the drive was right on the coast with the most amazing views of waves crashing against the mountain. Driving north, we are at a small disadvantage when it comes to stopping at turn-offs, and that's probably good. I would have wanted to stop at every one to take a picture. 

We did make a few planned stops. One was in Depoe Bay, a big fishing village. Our friend Jason who has been down the coast left us recommendations for where to stop, and this was one place. Not only was the harbor in the boat scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (exciting for a nerd like me who used to teach the book and watch the movie), but it was a great place to watch for whales. Jason also alerted us to a free whale museum right at the harbor. There was not much to this museum, mostly just cute kids' activities but it had a huge window facing the Pacific for whale watching. There was a ranger in there, too, answering questions. We had not been in there long when a whale was spotted. You could see him blowing spray from his blow hole, surfacing, and then diving underwater, showing us his tail. It was so cool! The ranger said he would be down for several minutes and then resurface around the same area. And that is exactly what he did. We watched several rounds of this before moving on.

Along the harbor, a few men were dumping big containers of fish and filleting them right there. They worked amazingly fast. We noticed seals coming right up to below they were working, hoping to catch some scraps. At one point, a woman dumped a bin of crab pieces right into the harbor. Seagulls went bananas. Fun to watch. 

Another fun stop was in Tillamook. Yes, the same as the cheese. We stopped at the factory for a bit. Opting out of the tour, we did get ice cream from their creamery. Eleanor chose chocolate, Ethan got banana split and Will and I got a 3 scoop sampler with banana split, chocolate peanut butter, and black cherry. Yum!!! 

Our last longer stop was only 20 minutes from Seaside, but we wanted to stop so we didn't have to drive back tomorrow. This stop was at Cannon Beach. It is a very popular destination around here because it's only about an hour west of Portland. The beach has this huge rock jutting up called Haystack Rock. We walked down to it, got some pictures, and went on to Seaside. It was a very pretty beach, and the most crowded we have seen. Ethan hated the people; he has been spoiled with mostly private beaches. 

Once we got to our place in Seaside, I took the kids to the beach while Will went to Safeway for a few things. The tide was low, so the walk to the water seemed to go on forever. They had fun building a hot tub, picking up half sand dollars, and jumping in the waves. Will went down to the beach after we returned while I made dinner. Now, we are watching a gorgeous sunset and willing our kids to fall asleep sometime soon. 

Breezing through Florence (Day 8)

We left California today, driving north on 101, the highway that runs all along the coast of Oregon. It was a breathtaking drive. I decided to get behind the wheel today because I don't get dizzy on the winding roads if I am driving. That, and I thought Will might like to be the passenger for once, allowing him to look out the window all he wants. The views of the ocean, often from high up on the edge of the Cascade mountains, was beautiful. A lot of the first part of our trip really did run all along the coast. Other times, we were a little inland, but then we would peak out at the Pacific pretty often. 

Our ride today was about 3 1/2 hours, and it went by pretty quickly. We did stop for one extended break in Port Orford. We had been in the car for over an hour when I saw a pull off on this lovely stretch of coast. It was the site of Battle Rock, seen here on this website: http://www.enjoyportorford.com/battlerockpark.html

We hiked down to the beach, which was very pretty with many large rocks jutting out of the water. And the kids loved that it was full of smaller pieces of driftwood. They would have stayed there for hours, making furniture. As it was, we only had time for Ethan to construct a table before we had to pull him away. People were climbing Battle Rock, and Will took Ethan up part of it. When we arrived, it had looked like you could walk right out onto it, but we realized it had to be climbed from the bottom. I had a minor anxiety attack when I saw Ethan high up on this rock. One wrong move and he could have fallen over the side. Will realized, too, that it was likely bad news and had him scoot down on this bottom. 

On our drive, we also finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on cd. It was three, hour long disks. We have also listened to hours of Encyclopedia Brown and Nate the Great. We only have one longer book on cd left. We need to start looking for used book stores for more books on cd. The kids would likely listen to them again, but it would be better for us all if we didn't have to. We have a few more longer drives to get through. The kids do amazingly well. Because of the mountain driving, they are not reading, using an iPad, drawing, or even watching the dvd player. They either listen to a book on cd, or we listen to music (not many stations come through, and when they do, it's mostly Christian Rock...). They get mad at each other every so often, but, mostly, they have been very good.

We got to Florence, our destination for the night, around 2pm. We were able to check into our place, an inn at the top of a very steep hill. We let the kids watch a bit of tv while we figured out where to go next. Then we left to find a beach. The first one we went to was so windy, we got back in the car. The sand was whipping around and hitting us in the legs. We drove a ways to another access point near the dunes. Guess what? It was still windy! Very windy! But it was fun walking through the dunes to get to the beach. We hung out for a while and then Will was able to find a spot that was sheltered. We were along a jetty, so we went inland to a small beach area. It had water from over the jetty, and the kids played for a while. 

From there, we went into Old Town Florence to look for a place to eat. We finally found a place with a variety of food, including Mexican, American, and seafood. I wanted seafood because we were on the coast, but the Mexican food looked so good. I got chicken in mole, which was delicious, and Will got a burrito, I think. Kids went American, so whatever they got came with fries. 

We introduced the kids to Seinfeld back at the hotel. They are fans. We also showered a pound of sand out of our heads/bodies. Now, it's bedtime. For the first time this trip, the kids are in the same bed. So far, it's not going well. It doesn't help that it's 8:30 but looks like noon in this place. We have a wall of windows facing mostly west, and most of the windows only have mini-blinds. Only the biggest window has a blackout curtain. So, sadly, the only person sleeping in this room is Will right next to me, as I type with the sun in my eyes through a hole in the mini-blind. 

More coastal byway is on the docket for tomorrow. We will drive to the northern coast town of Seaside. This time, though, we stay two nights. We have a one bedroom condo with ocean views, I believe. There will be some fun places to stop along the way, like Tillamook (hooray for cheese!) and Depoe Bay, where a scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was filmed. 

Smith River (Day 7)

What a wonderfully pleasant day among the Redwoods. This morning, Eleanor slept in again and then literally woke up, saying, "Anyway..." What a goof. Once the kids had eaten and gotten dressed, Will took them to a big park near the ocean we'd seen our first night here. He knew the kids would like to play there and also wanted to use the equipment to get a little workout in. I stayed here, showered, cleaned up, repacked a bit, did a short workout myself, and waited for them to get back.

They weren't back until almost lunch time, having made a stop at Walmart for a few things. We ate and then left for the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Mr. Mike had told us of a nice little beach area from which to enjoy the Smith River. We got there fairly quickly, parked, and took a short hike to a fairly private beach area. There was a section to get in the river that was all rocks but another that was sand with a gradual drop off. The part of the river we were at was not very deep, even in the middle I don't think, but I didn't go far enough out to find out. 

The weather today was picture perfect: mostly sunny and a bit warmer, probably in the mid 70's. I was able to take off my long sleeve and sun myself in a tank top. It was glorious! The kids had fun throwing rocks, trying to learn to skip them, and using them as baseballs. Ethan, for a while, wouldn't go over to the sandy area because two older girls were playing there. He was being a bit shy. But I convinced him finally, and he had fun running into the water and swimming a bit. 

Will and I had somehow forgotten our suits. Sadly, this was the first time I really wanted to swim, too. The water felt so much warmer than the ocean, and with it being warmer out, it seemed so refreshing. The water was oh so clear, too, and it looked like such fun. Eventually, Will couldn't take it and decided to just swim in the nude. There were only a few people on the beach, and it is California, after all. He only wanted to fit in.

Just kidding - ha!  (Betsy, you can pick your mouth  back up off the floor.) He did swim in his boxers, though. Unfortunately, my underclothes are not as inconspicuous as men's boxers, so I remained beach side.

By 4:30 or so, we hiked back to our car and came back to the cabin. Pizza was on the menu tonight, a take and bake, along with a salad. After dinner, I made a fire in the pit with some kindling and wood Mike gave us and we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores. Perfect ending to a pretty perfect day. 

We head back north tomorrow, driving along he coast of Oregon. We will stop about halfway up the coast tomorrow, in Florence, to stay one night. Then, we will go up a few more hours to Seaside. We will be in Seaside, near Cannon Beach, for two nights before we head up into Washington State for the last week of our trip.