The Blog will go on . . . just in a new format for 2011

As much as I desperately wanted to capture each day in 2010, I sit here Dec 20, not having had time to update for a very long while.  Even though the blog leaves off in August, I took notes through the end of November and could probably still take notes on the beginning of Dec so I have the whole year accounted for.  At some point, I could recreate the year if only for myself.  We had a lot of fun adventures in late summer and fall that I would have loved to share about, and maybe I will in some flashback posts.  From here forward, I will be blogging more or less on a weekly basis or when there is something good to blog about.  In addition to my family's active pursuits, I will mix it up and talk about other things we like to do together like cooking, traveling, boating.  If we do it together as a family, it is fair game! 

Day 222 and 223 - Nature Hikes at Grace Harbor and Loss

The Leech Lake at Grace Harbor

We moved over to Grace Harbor for a couple of nights.  In Desolation Sound, the destinations are fairly close together, so we tend to stay in one place for 2 or 3 days then move on to another anchorage.  UJ got to do his 1st stern tie.  This is where you drop your anchor, then send someone to shore in a dinghy with a stern line that they tie to a tree on shore.  It is not an easy task, but UJ did great. 
 

 
The first day, my mom and I got some much desired "quiet" time while everyone else went for a hike on shore.  The next day, John and my Dad got the respite and the rest of us did the hike.  My mom is such as trooper, making it all the way to the lake and back, I don't think she will ever trust me to take her on a hike again though.  It was a little farther than I had remembered.  We affectionately refer to this lake as the "Leech Lake" because both Haley and our friend Tara got leeches stuck to their legs when they swam in the lake last summer.  There was no swimming this year, the lake was not that desirable last time because the entrance to it is not very clean.  It seemed even worse this year, more weeds and bugs.  Both days we spotted black snakes and big bugs in and around the water. 

Mom made it to the Lake

We lost things in Grace Harbor.  UJ lost the paddle off an oar when he was rowing - that can be replaced.  On that same excursion, Haley dropped one of the handheld radios in the water - it was retrieved, but never quite worked right after that.  We lost something much more profound in this Harbor- our Uncle Harold.  Cell communication is not reliable up here.  We learned that my uncle was gravely sick and he had actually been ill for a few days.  We were all so hopeful, but the very next day next we learned he did not make it.  This was definitely a solemn couple of days.

Day 221 - Part 2 - Wolf Trail

The last post left off in the middle of the tale of the Wolf Trail.  John dinghy'd us over to the bay where we thought the trailhead was.  The tide was still low enough that the entire bay was high and dry and at least a quarter mile long.  As we approached the bay, a family of four was walking toward us and flagged us down.  They had just been hiking for the previous 2 hours, and either couldn't find the trail that led back to where they had started or realized that the hike would be much further than they wanted to go.  They asked for a ride back to their dinghy.  John took the Dad while UJ and I hopped into the knee high water to quiz the rest of them about the trails.  They were able to tell us how to locate the trailhead, but the mom warned us that she had heard that there were agressive wolves on the trail.  UJ and I decided to find the trailhead while we waited for John, so we trudged, across the mud, soon we were sinking rather than walking and muck would be a better way to describe what we were attepting to walk through, it was pretty gross!  When found the below sign at the trailhead, I was instantly way less excited about the trail, while UJ was beyond ecstatic at the thought that we could see some wildlife.  We both thought the mom had been over reating when warning us about "agressive wolves".  We felt this was just a general sign that is likely posted in many places on the island and didn't indicate any recent wolf activity.  I still didn't like it.  We decided to come back after the tide had risen so we could get closer to the trailhead with the dinghy. At this point we still assumed John was coming with us.

John could not be convinced to come with us, but he did row us back over to the trailhead later in the afternoon.  This time, there was ample water in the bay (too much!).  There was not a good landing spot for the dinghy so we had to wade in.  This was NOT a good start to our adventure.

wading to the trailhead

Prepared with pepper spray, sticks and a radio

To get to the shore we had to balance on bobbing, rotting, logs and once we started off, there was no turning back.  This was not a well established trail.  This was a narrow path.  The vegetation was ample, tall and we were constantly brushing past it.  There would be absolutely no warning if anything untoward was on the path.  I cannot ever remember being so worried as I hiked along.  My heart was beating a mile a minute.  UJ was of course leading the charge.   We did a radio check, and John was able to hear us and respond.  After a while, the path widened and I could tell we were now at the high point of the island.  OK, so far so good, maybe this isn't so bad after all.  A few more minutes down the path, I could see glimpses of the bay on the other side of the island.  We had made it to the other side of the island - halfway!  And then hanging from a string on a tree . . .

The note reads, "Aggressive Wolves on this trail 8/05/10"

Yikes! This note was dated 2 days previous.  All those feelings of dread came rushing back and I was feeling super vulnerable again.  Now even UJ was freaking out.  Umm, now I see why the woman had used the phrase, "agressive wolves".  As we were hightailing it back in the other direction, we wondered what exactly the note meant.  Who wrote it? What does "agressive" mean? It didn't say "attacked" - was that good? Are the wolves still here?  For the rest of the hike, we talked . . . very loudly!  I swung my sticks onto a tree trunk every few steps. If there were wolves there, I was going to make sure they heard us.  We tried to radio John to come get us and got no answer, not a comforting feeling.  We finally made contact with him when we were nearly back to the trailhead.  I had never been so happy to be done with a hike.  UJ said that just seeing the note made the whole trip worth it  - good, because I am not doing that trail again - no thanks!  We were anxious to tell the story of our little adventure. The girls and John loved the story, our Dad, however, was Mr Skeptical.  He figures it was written by someone who just didn't want boaters on the island.  Was the note real? We'll never know, but my fear, I'm afraid was real enough for me.

Day 221 - The Rapids and the Wolf Trail

Monday Aug 9 – still at Squirrel Cove.  Checking out the rapids outgoing and incoming.  Exploring Hannah’s island with Daddy and dinghy exploring.  Wolf Trail.  2 mile run/walk. Stargazing party.

There are some cool rapids in Squirrel Cove created by the tide and a lagoon which is higher than the cove.  However, the main story of this day was the Wolf Trail.  Let's start off by saying UJ desperately wanted to see some wildlife and I definitely didn't.  In an effort to get off onto the island and get in some exercise, UJ and I decided to find a trailhead that I had heard of but had never looked for.  The trail would take us over to another cove on the other side of the island.  We found the trailhead

TO BE CONTINUED . . . .

Day 220 - We're Here!!!!

Sunday Aug 8 – gray foggy weather, Squirrel Cove by 4pm.  2 mile run/walk on shore.  Girls got dinghy ride with Daddy and Papa and water play on the beach.

Montague Harbor, Early Morning

This was a transit day, we spent all day just getting the boat organized. We crossed the Straight of Georgia (open water for an hour or two).  It can be trecherous at times, but it wasn't too bad.  My brother Jonanthan, who will here by be referred to as UJ (Uncle Jon) probably would say otherwise.  The scenery is simila all day and then you turn a corner and all of a sudden you are at the gateway to Desolation Sound and it is breath taking.  I knew it would be good, but I forgot how good.  It was cloudy on the mountain tops, but still spectacular.  I knew we'd be there long enough to see it without clouds.  The mountains up there drop off right into the sea. They are very tall and just a few feet from shore, the water is very deep.  The area has been likened to the scandinavian fjords. 

When we got to Squirrel Cove, we got off the boat as soon as we could.  John and I were the ones who did the run.  UJ is trying to get back into running after many years and has been working out a ton over the summer, so the goal was to keep up his fitness level during the trip.  I was also interested in maintaining some fitness since at this point, I was still planning to run the super Jock and Jill Half Marathon over Labor Day weekend.  I had never walked past the beach area on this island so it was fun to explore the little community which ai think is First Nations Reservation.  We found an old church and stopped out run to take pictures. 

After traveling all day, you turn a corner and see this - more beautiful than I remember

Running on Cortez Island

Day 219 - Anchors Aweigh

 Now here's the fun part, I get to look through the tens of pictures we took each day and decide what is worth sharing or at least what captures the day's activities.  Since the next 16 days or so was all of us no more than 65 ft away from each other and since we had a healthy dose of activity on all but our transit days, we pretty much had quality family time and exercise each day.  Even though our transit days were low activity, there were many days on vacation where we packed in enough exercise to more than cover for these days.  In my opinion anyway.  I will focus more on something worth sharing from each day. 

My memory from day 219 is fog, gray and pouring rain.  I remember being disappointed that my brother would not get to see the spectacular scenery as we traveled all the way through the San Juan Islands and into Canada.  He didn't know what he was missing and I knew I just had to be patient and that the scenery would be even more breath taking in Desolation Sound, our destination.  When you've seen how beautiful it can be in the Islands, it is disappointing to have visitors not see it in all its glory. Jonathan took a ton of pictures on our stop for fuel at Friday Harbor.  Later on that day, he realized he did not bring the charger for his camera battery, so his camera was pretty much useless for the remainder of the trip. We cleared customs at Bedwell Harbour, South Pender Island, BC and anchored for the night in Montague Harbor, galiano Island, BC.

Just went through the locks, girls still in their pjs

If we go back to the start of our morning, we got up at O'dark thirty and headed for the locks.  We had to wait awhile for the small lock to open and I don't think I've ever seen so many salmon jumping. It was quite a show.  My brother Jonathan got his first taste of what crewing the boat was going to be like.  This direction through the locks was pretty easy for those of us helping, for John it was hard because the boat stretched across pretty much the entire width of the lock which makes manuevering very tricky.

Oh, this is going to be hard limiting the stories I tell about each day. But I did journal as I we went, and I'll need to go back and review that now, but hopefully my writings on the trip will suffice for what I want to record here in this blog. Below is the surprisingly for me brief account of the day from my journal.

Saturday Aug 7 – rain rain rain, Friday Harbor, pouring rain.  Customs at Bedwell.  Anchor at Montague.  On the boat all day.

Waiting at the customs dock at Bedwell Harbour, note the pouring rain

Day 218 - Bon Voyage . . . well almost

Today was the day we were to leave on our 2 week boat trip.  The plan was to make it through the Locks and out into Puget Sound where we would cruise up to Port Madison or Port Townsend and have a lovely relaxing evening BBQ. Yeah, that didn't happen.  By the time we got everything ready, transported and loaded onto the boat, we knew we had to give up that plan.  The only exercise we got was excercising our appetites with burgers, shakes, french fries and onion rings at Red Mill Burger.  At least we got to sleep on the boat, it just stayed in the boathouse. 

Day 216 and 217

When I last left off on Day 215, it was tuesday Aug 3. Although I did take notes on the boat trip which you will be hearing about ad nauseum in upcoming posts, I don't have notes for Day 216 and 217 except that I see from my calendar that my brother Jon was picked up from the airport on day 217.  I don't even remember if I'm the one who picked him up!  What I do know is that my parents rolled into town on Day 216.  I also know that my family and I likely had zero exercise and zero quality time together for these two days.  I can tell you that I did a whole heck of a lot of packing and shopping for our trip.  OK, now a little is coming back to me, I didn't pick my brother up, my Dad and the girls did while my mom and I were at Costco then getting her a haircut.  I think my husband, John, and I took provisions down to the boat in the evening on day 217. The days leading up to a long boat trip are always a blur!  Uncle Jon may have gotten in some quality time with the girls and taken them bike riding around the neighborhood.  Maybe if he ever reads this he can confirm this for me.

Obviously a slow update process

OK, I find myself here again. It's late, the house is quiet, I'm the only one awake and I am actaully awake.  Let's see how far I can get this time on the update process, last time it was zilch!

Starting the update process

After lots of vaction and the start of school, I've finally stayed awake this evening long enough to start updating the blog.  I think it will take a couple of weeks to get all caught up, but rest assured every day will be accounted for. I am a first born type A, so it will happen! I did some writing on vacation and I've been taken notes, so here it comes . . .or maybe I should just sit on the couch and watch good ole Ab on the Food Network instead.

Day 213, 214, and 215

Day 213 - We spent most of the day (all of us) on the big boat loading on our provisions and getting things setup for our trip later in the month.  We also shopped for new life jackets at West Matrine and the REI flagship store in downtown Seattle.  REI has a kids play area, so the kids got to hang out there for awhile.  We also got dinner at World Wrapps inside REI.  A World Wrapps (not this one) was the site of our 1st official casual date.  I got in a 3 mile run when we got home - I love summer and late sunsets!

Day 214 - The girls had a 3 hour playdate at Kira's house and got to go biking around the neighborhood with Daddy on the evening.

Day 215 - We reciprocated the playdate today and had Kira over to our house.  Tonight they went biking with mom after mom got in a 5 mile run.

Day 211 and 212 Camp Casey Time

Day 211 - After sitting in the tortuously slow northbound I5 traffic, and a stop at McDonalds in Arlington, we arrived at Camp Casey and set up the tent just in time for nightfall.  This has been a long time coming.  The last time we came to our church's annual family camp, it was 2002 and way before kids.  The girls have been begging us to take them "real" camping with a tent.  Apparently boat camping doesn't count!  We arrived at Casey just in time for the group capmfire and s'mores.  The girls and John settled in to our borrowed 3-man tent while I enjoyed some social time around the campfire. 

What can prevent you from a good night's rest in a tent? Let me count the ways . . .

1) forget pillows
2) caffeine in the afternoon or was it the glass of wine in the evening?
3) a 3-man tent for 4 people
4) therma-rests too big to fit side by side in the tent
5) a slight slope underneath the tent
6) moisture from the trees dropping on the tent and sounding like rain
7) having to go to the bathroom after you're all snugly warm in your tent
8) being way too warm in your tent
9) fog horns from passing ships
10) crows cawing early in the morning
11) coming down with a cold
12) a grumpy 6 yr old waking everyone up at 6am

Would I do it again? . . . Of course!

Day 212 - This was Heaven for the girls, all the kids were running around in little packs and there was always some project they were working on, always involving dirt and water.  There were group games at the field in the morning, then John took took them for beach play and swimming in the afternoon while I tried to sleep off my impending cold. 

Day 209 and 210

Day 209 - Last day of swim lessons.  Hannah moves up to the next level, side breathers and Haley gets to stay in Turtles.  The girls likely won't take lessons again until next Sping.  Hoepfully they will get to practice their new skills while we are on vacation.  They got to celebrate the last day of the session by getting popcorn after lessons and playing on the play structure.  They just discovered that they are allowed to play on the structure just today (after 3 years of taking lessons here!).  Of course I knew it was there, I just didn't divulge the information. And frinakly, I was never sure if it was open to the public, turns out that it is.  John kept on with the painting, so I accompanied the girls on a bike ride around the neighborhood. Now that Hannah is off training wheels and Haley is stronger on her bike, it is tough to keep up with them even when I am walking fast.  I'm happy to have the workout.  I had a nice time hanging out with them, they were very chatty.  Truth be told, I had taken my iPod with me, but I never did get to listen to more than a minute worth of a podcast since I stopped it everytime they talked to me, I didn't mind.

Day 210 - Recess Monkey again today! We saw them at Silver Lake which is where we first saw them last summer.  The kids played at the adjacent playground for the entire concert except for a brief stint in the Recess Monkey conga line during the monkey bar song.  More painting for John, a 10 mile run for me, and a little bit of bike riding for Hannah on our street.  I ran on the Burke Gilman, but under estimated when I would stop running and didn't get back to my car until near dark.  Note to self - start run earlier next time! The girls had wanted to repeat last night's twilight bike ride around the neighborhood, but I didn't get back in time and I'm feeling slightly guilty. 

I am officially completely up to date on my blog . . . just in time to get completely backlogged again!

Day 207 and 208

Day 207 - Daleway Spray Park and playground with church friends was the activity for the day.  Thanks to Karoline Simmons for taking these pics.  It was so hot out that I seriously thought about running through the sprinklers.  Last week for swim lessons.  John and I had our own together time tonight and enjoyed dinner out together while the kids stayed with Grami. This evening was one of those perfect summer evenings temperature wise, so we enjoyed our dinner outside on the patio of the restaurant.

Day 208 - Non-stop fun for the girls today.  We went down to Renton to Cindy, Nora and Katie's house. The girls enjoyed lunch and playtime then we took them to The Little Gym for a 3 hour Beach themed gymnastics camp.  Did they fall asleep during the hour drive back home?  Of course not!  After a brief 30 min rest at home we were back in the car on our way to meet Randa, Katelyn and Kyle at the Ranch Drive-in Bothell.  The kids enjoyed burgers and way too big dipped cones then we drove the 2 blocks over to the Bothell Library for a Recess Monkey Concert.  The girls love Recess Monkey and their concerts are great fun for the kids and active.  Kids are encouraged to get up, move around and dance.  By the end of the concert the kids were running around (literally) in the back of the crowd.  And this is why I love summer.  After getting the kids back home at 8:15, there was still plenty of sunlight for me to go out for a run.  My right calf and been bothering me the last two times I had run, so I had taken a few days off.  I went out to test my leg and all was well on my 4 mile run.  John stayed home and continued with his painting this evening.

Day 205 and 206 - Where are all the boaters?

Day 205 - We started the day at Kyle's 4th birthday party, so lots of running around and playing for the girls.  The weather was looking great, so we planned to spend saturday night on the boat.  Since we didn't get out on the boat until afternoon, we weren't sure where we were going to moor for the evening.  We figured all the popular places like Jetty Island would be full since it was such great weather.  Surprise surprise, Jetty Island was wide open.  We were ecstatic since that meant we had to use little fuel to get there and it is free to stay overnight.  Since the Jetty Island Ferry runs during July/Aug and there was a kite surfing contest, we were not alone on the island like we usually are.  Notice the kites in the background in the pic above.  There was great wind today for the kites.  Fortunately the wind was welcome as it helped to cool us off.  It was hard to find a spot on the beach where someone else wasn't right on top of us.  The tide was super high when we got there so we built a sand castle and then a wall/moat to try and block the water from getting to our castle.  We were sucessful and the whole contraption was still around the next day!  After dinner we caught the tail end of the ranger led camp fire.  It was perfect timing, the girls didn't have to sit through the previous 45 min of the murder mystery themed campfire stiry.  What is that anyway?  By the time we got there, the story was just ending and they were handing out sticks for marshmallow roasting.  What a nice surprise. Haley informed us she saw "two satellite plates" on the island.  None of us could figure out what she was talking about until we looked up on the visitor center and saw a satellite dish! I love that she is still young enough to say funny cute things like this.  We had a beautiful sunset this evening and only two other boats stayed overnight like us.

Day 206 - We hit the beach at a super low tide this morning.  There seemed to be a lot more green kelpy stuff on the beach compared to the last time we were on the island.  It's pretty gross to step on, but you get used to it.  The tide is so far out that you can't help but feel compeled to walk out to the water's edge.  It stays shallow so far even past that, so you can go out quite far and feel like you are standing in the middle of the sound.  It was hot enough this weekend that we were all in our bathing suits and took turns playing in the surf.  The last time we were on the island (Day 177), only the kids swam.  There wasn't enough wind today for the kite surfers.  We were on the beach until late afternoon, then had to go back to Dagmars to clean out and wash the boat. The cleaning is the not so fun part of taking out the boat for the weekend.

Satelite plate

Day 203 and 204

Day 203 - VBS day 4 then a marathon park session for the afternoon.  We went to Logan Park to eat lunch and play with MOPS friends, then it was on to Hickman Park to meet up with kindergarten buddies.  Later in the evening while Daddy painted and the kids made mud pies to sell in the backyard.

Day 204 - The days activities - VBS and swimming at a friend's pool. To prepare for camping later in the summer, we set-up Grandma and Papa's tent in our backyard and slept in it.  It was musty,crowded, and wet (in the morning) but I think it will do for our upcoming one night of camping.  The girls are very excited.  They don't consider sleeping on our boat camping, they have been demanding time in a tent and they will soon get it.

Day 202 - Slip N Slide

This was a great summer day.  The girls and I spent lots of time together doing fun activities.  We made dripless popsicles using Jello and we also baked chocolate ricotta muffins.  I've been wanting to buy a Slip N Slide this summer and finally did so today while the kids were at VBS.  The kids had lots of fun "discovering" how to play on a Slip N Slide.  They really wanted me to join them, but it just wasn't hot enough for me to want to dive onto the thing.  On top of all this, the girls had sim lessons.  John did his walking and painting and watching the kids while I did a hill workout, then we all went on a night walk near dusk which at this time of the year is about 9:30.

Day 200 and Day 201

Day 200 - A new week of VBS at a church just down the street.  Swim lessons. A 3 mile run for me.

Day 201 - After VBS we went shopping for running shoes for Hannah.  She is in love with these shoes and even learned to tie shoes this afternoon.  I have been delaying the purchase of shoes with laces for awhile now, just so we wouldn't have to deal with the whole shoe tying thing, but she is definitely ready now.  Hannah went straight to the backyard when we got home so she could try out here new shoes.  We kicked around the soccer ball for awhile.  We also got in some extra reading with mommy time.  Daddy went for a walk and worked on his painting project in the backyard while I went to a baby shower (without kids this time).

Day 199 - Aqua Sox

Thanks to the Sno-isle Library summer reading program, we got free tickets to an Everett Aquasox game.  The girls were excited to share this adventure with Katelyn and Kyle.  We sat in the outfield so the kids could run around.  Boy was it hot!  The kids spent most of their time wandering, eating ice cream, eating snacks, and running around.  Their favorite part of the outing?  Running around in an area with nets hanging down from the ceiling, probably a batting or pitching practice area we should have been in!  There was also face painting, Sponge Bob.  Their ice cream came in little plastic baseball caps, just like I remember from when I went to minor league games as a young girl.  I got in a 9 mile run eraly that morning and we also went to a picnic earlier in the day where the kids were running around a lot.

Day 196, 197 and 198

Day 196 - An full afternoon of swimming for the girls at a friend's house.  John has started the fun, fun project of repainting house.  This becomes his nearly daily activity for the next couple of weeks.

Day 197 - Neighborhood street play and bicycling for the girls, a walk for John, and a hill workout run for me.  What else would we do on a warm summer evening?

Day 198 - A repeat of Day 197, except for house cleaning/decluttering instead of running for me.  A birthday party for all of us in the afternoon.  It is a rare occassion when my girls are the oldest at a party.  This one was for a sweet 2 year old.  The girls managed to get in a little running around with the 2 and under crowd.

Day 195 - Track and Field

How on earth did it take me more than 3 years to figure out that there is a great track less than 2 miles from my house?  Speed workouts are part of half marathon training and the best place to do them is at a track.  I had been relying on tracks much farther away. I finally realized I could use this high school track a few weeks back, but hadn't had the tmie to go check it out until tonight.  This was a trip for all four of us. The track was great.  There were lots of people from different walks of life using it in various ways.  John did some walking laps.  I was too sore from my 3 mile run 2 days before!  That was surprising.  I had taken some time off running during vacation, but I had thought the hiking and swimming were helping to keep me conditioned.  I guess not.  The girls and I played with the T-ball set in the middle of the track.  It was a perfect warm summer evening playing with the kids.  It was also swim lesson day.

Day 193 and 194

Day 193 - Finally, a day with not much to write about. The kids had playtime with friends while the moms chatted and back to swim lessons. I got in a 3 mile run.

Day 194 - We spent the morning at Country Village catching up with old friends.  The girls enjoyed playtime outside in a playhouse, a playground, and at the duck pond.  There are vending machines for duck food so you don't have to feel guilty for feeding the ducks. The girls rode bikes on our street in the evening.

Day 192 - Cheesy Goodness

Today was our final day in Oregon.  Our stop at Sea Lion Caves happened in much the same way as our detour to the crooked tree (Day 190).  We drove past it, then I convinced John to go back.  I hated parting with the money to pay the entrance fee, but we figured would be one of those things the girls would remember most about the Oregon Coast.  This detour did not disappoint the girls and I have to say it was better than I had remembered.  Although the sea lions were father away than I remembered, the stick and smell were just as vivid as I recalled.  The girls got to pick a souvenier from the gift shop.  We are now the proud owners of a snow globe cube shaped thing and a purple sand thing.  A few more stops along the coast and then we said goodbye to the coast and headed inland to Tillamook for some grilled cheese and ice cream.  The 4-5 hours of driving the rest of the way home were painfully slow or so it felt.  We were ready to be home!

Day 191 - Dunes!

The highlights today were the redwoods north of Eureka, the corkscrew tree, the kitschy Trees of Mystery gift shop, beautiful coastline, Denmark, the dunes, dinner at Mo's, and playdough ice cream at BJs in Florence and even a dip in the hotel pool and hot tub just before closing.  It was a jam packed day, probably best described by pictures, but of course I have some commentary. 

Corkscrew Tree - we saw the sign as we passed by and all the girls ganged up on John and made him turn around to drive back to it.  We had to walk down a trail to find it, but it was well worth it.

Tree of Mystery - A giant talking Paul Bunyan and Babe his Blue Ox - enough said

Coastline - breathtaking

Denmark listed as a city on the map, but all we found there was the street signs and one defunct espresso stand/store.  There literally was nothing else there, I don't even think we saw any houses from the road.

Dunes - we didn't get there until 7pm and had to make sure we got back into town (Florence, OR) for dinner before the restaurants closed. This was one of the best sights on our trip.  The sand was silky soft.  We didn't even take our shoes with us.  As we walked up a steep hill from the parking lot all was calm . . . until we got to the crest of the hill and then it was sand blast time.  I made the mistake of having the girls put on sunscreen before we left our hotel . . . Big Mistake . . . especially having them use the sticky stick sunscreen.  They hadn't put on sunscreen earlier in the day like they should have, so I was going to "make-up" for that even though it was already early evening.  I was also not thinking about the fact that the beach was completely socked in by fog. Wishful thinking, I guess.  When we left Florence which is right on the water, the downtown was clear, but on and off all day we'd go through fog banks as we got right up next to the water, but a mile or so inland it would be clear.  I should have known the dunes would be socked in too, I was just hoping they wouldn't be.  Needless to say, the sunscreen was a great vehicle for the sand to stick to!  Haley was walking around with a sand unibrow for at least a day afterwards, even after swimming and a shower.  I hadn't noticed it, so didnt purposely wash it off and it just stuck there.  The dunes were so incredibly fun.  It felt like being in another world, sort of like being on the moon trying to walk around in it and climb the dunes.  It was so cool to watch how the sand formations behaved when we stepped on them. It felt like we were in a blizzard, but warmer and drier than a snow blizzard.  Make no mistake, it wasn't warm, but definitely warmer than snow. I got some great pics of the girls.

Mo's - for dinner John found a perfect place for us.  He had seen it advertised on a billboard, so I was wondering what we were in for, but it was just what the Dr ordered.  It was casual, kid freindly, cheap, popular, fast, and right on the water.  It was kind of like a casual Ivars.  We could not have found a more perfect type of place to eat in after being sandblasted and feeling tired and dirty.  We didn't know it, but it is an Oregan Coast tradition.  Shrimp salad and clam chowder - yum!

BJ's Playdough Ice Cream - we couldn't pass up the ice cream place across the street, though we should have, I was way too stuffed to eat ice cream, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  The girls had playdough ice cream.  It was genious.  It actually looked like there were streaks of real playdough in the ice cream.  The streaks were many different colors.  I think it was just colored sugar cookie dough similar to chocoloate chip cookie dough ice cream - why didn't I think of this, so clever!

Day 190 - The long slow drive home

Eel River

We started our trek up to WA today.  We plan to take 3 days and work our way up the Ca and OR coasts since we rarely travel this route.  The idea for this part of the trip came from our brief fly by trip through the CA coast back in April when the weather was too rough to drive back via I-5 (DAY 92 and 93) We met John's friend Mike in Phillipsville and he gave us a personal tour through Avenue of the Giants (giant redwood trees that it).  He found a great place on the river for us to swim.  The highlight of the day for the girls was Mike's brand new chocolate lab, Joy, that came along. I took a picture of the girls in their swisuits next to a huge tree because it was such an oddity A) that it was hot enough to hike in a swimsuit and B) that we were in the midst of such big trees on a random trail.  At another spot we did some river fording which no one minded because it was so hot. Haley and I were the only ones smart enough to be wearing Keens fo rthat activity.  John and Mike went in with running shoes.  We saw two water snakes in that area, but no one was too freaked out, even the girls.  We stayed at Mike's place in Fortuna for the night and the girls were in heavenly bliss pretending to be dog owners for a night.  "Joy joy" was a constant phrase out of their mouths.  It was fun to see their nuturing side. They are nuturing kids, but it

is rare to see them with someone/something younger and more helpless than they are. The kids have been asking for a dog ever since and as I'm writing this it is 2 weeks later.  They don't ask if we're getting a dog, they ask what kind we are going to get!