springdellgirl

 Father's Day Trip to Cape Disappointment

This year for Tyler's Father's Day celebration we went on a trip to the coast. Tyler's mom and his step-father have been working for the National Parks Service as Light House Keepers at the Cape Disappointment State Park. They have been providing tours of the lighthouse and my father in law has also been keeping trails intact for hikers amongst other tasks. We were excited to see where they had been working and to learn more about Washington State history and ...of course...enjoy the ocean.

Reilly ended up not being able to go with us. Her week long Dance Camp ended up being that week unfortunately. The cabins and campgrounds there fill up very quickly for the summer and we had only this one opening to go so we had to go without her. It was VERY STRANGE to be minus one child on a vacation. The entire time I kept looking around for where she had wandered off to. Luckily my mom saved the day and came and stayed with her until camp started and then took her to camp at Gonzaga. She also by the sound of it spoiled her rotten and became the hero of the Dance Team by helping them out with their craft projects. My mom is awesome!! Thanks so much for all that you have done for us!! We love you.

Back to our trip. We drove through the night to arrive there early in the morning (it is the best way to travel for us) The day we arrived was rainy, windy, and cold. We made good time and arrived extra early so we crossed the bridge into Astoria, OR so Tyler (a big Goonies fan) could see where The Goonies was filmed and see the Goonies House. It is now a private residence but there was a sign that said that "Goonies" could walk up to the house on foot. Well, Tyler drew the line at that...fan or not...he wasn't about to do that. But he wasn't above stalking the house from the road and zooming in for pictures. See below.

 There it is in all it's grainy glory at about 5:30 am. GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE!!

Another interesting sight was spotted in Long Beach. Before we drove to Astoria I had to pee like you couldn't believe...driving through the night whilst consuming vast quantities of caffinated beverages to stay awake will do that to you. Word to the wise...there are zero...I repeat zero... 24 hour gas stations, grocery stores, anything...anywhere in that neck of the world. Zip. Zero. Zilch. As we drove through Long Beach desperately looking for anything to be open... a gruesome sight caught our eyes. Tyler was like "Check that out!" In between two store fronts, on a set of stairs, were two people seriously going at it...doing the deed...right before our very eyes. Wouldn't you know it all the kids woke up just in time for the show. Luckily not a one knew what was happening. I would've had Tyler circle the block another time for another looksie...because you just don't see that every day now do you?...but I was getting desperate. Nothing was open...no park bathrooms, no beach bathrooms, absolutely nothing. I was just telling Tyler to find a nice dark corner when low and behold we spied a port-a-potty. By then the gruesome twosome had finished and shuffled on. It got the trip off to an exciting start.

When we arrive at where Grandma Judie and Grandpa Joel were staying it was about 40 below, 60 mile an hour winds and a driving rain. Luckily Grandpa Joel had hot pancakes and fresh local strawberries waiting for us and some much needed hot mint tea for me. (Another word to the wise...getting to the Cape Disappointment State Park is VERY windey. If you suffer at all from car sickness...prepare. I was green as can be. My nephew Dane would've have been sicker than a dog. Although I do feel it might be blamed on the maroon mini-van we were traveling in. To long time readers of this blog...yes the curse is still in effect. Maroon mini-van rental = puking Johnsons.)

Nothing is more restorative to the body than fresh sea air and we Johnsons... like the Goonies....never say die!! So out into the wet wild we went.

What a glorious sight we beheld. There is nothing that stirs the human soul more than the sight of the sea. I can't explain it. When it's been a long time since I've been to the ocean I seriously LONG for it. The ocean has a pull on the hearts of men and women.

We were a little bit chilly but gloriously happy to be there!! It doesn't matter the weather. The ocean is a beautiful sight. And it doesn't matter the temperature. I have Ellersick blood running through my veins and true to my blood and our absolute love of water no matter how cold. I ran directly into the ocean. Much to the shock of those around me. That was the sign my children had been waiting for and into the ocean they ran. Much to their Grandma's dismay and worry about undertows and riptides. But we kept a close eye on them and only one went swimming...take a guess who? Oh yeah. It was Bryn. It didn't take her too long to run into the water...plop into the icy surf...and yell "I swimming!!"

The boy felt the call of the sea and couldn't deny it. Soon he was up to his knees in the icy water with a thrilling grin on his face.

This one wasn't so sure. Ailey is our most timid child. She fears quite a few things. Heights, bridges, and she thought the ocean. She liked to stay close to Grandma looking for shells and other interesting things on the beach. But then...I came for her. She couldn't get away. I grabbed her hand and ran as fast as I could dragging her into the water. And guess what? SHE LOVED IT!! As I knew she would. Sometimes Ailey just needs a big push. Then there was no stopping her.

Bryn's joy was absolutely a pleasure to behold. It was all new to her. Check out this video. It will make your day. Ignore Tyler's finger in the corner. This was Bryn just finally figuring it all out. She was so excited. This is how excited she was over a little puddle on the beach. Times that by a million and you will get how excited she was by the actual ocean.

Grandma and Grandpa had buckets and sand toys perfect for collecting shells and other interesting items to be found on the beach and for playing in the sand. Ailey and Bryn were in HEAVEN.

Speaking of interesting things that were washing up on the beach...lots of tsunami debris. Here my father-in-law is holding up a buoy with Japanese writing on it. There were a lot of Japanese bottles, buoys, a Japanese golf ball...just tons of stuff. My mother and father-in-law were on the news a few days before because they spotted a Japanese dingy floating in from the lighthouse. They had to guard it on the beach to keep people away from it and ended up being on the news.

It didn't take too long for the sun to come out and for the weather to turn beautiful. Perfect to take some pictures.

Here we are with Tyler's Mom Judie

Grandpa and Grandma with the grandkids

Ahh...feels so good.

Kameron had fun writing in the sand

My favorite message!!

We checked into our cute little cabin. It was just the right amount of "camping" for me. Unfortunately there were no bathrooms and you had to use the campground bathrooms and that was just a bit "too much camping" for me. Especially with a 3 year old who has to pee constantly.

Here's a little look inside our cabin:

It slept the five of us very easily. We could've crammed Reilly in as well without any problem. It was super cozy and cute.

 Kam chillin' in the cabin. You can also rent a Yurt...which would be super fun. I mean who wouldn't want to say that they have spent a night in a yurt? Those were also closer to the nicer bathrooms.

Of course this is where I would like to stay the next time we go. The historic lighthouse caretaker's home. You can rent this for $400 a night (we would need to bring some friends or family with us), has bathrooms, a kitchen and even a ghost. Can't beat that!!

 We also went here which was very interesting if you are into history and museums...which I happen to be. I learned a lot. They also have all kinds of fun hands-on interactive things for the kids to do. They could touch nearly everything which makes it a lot more fun for them.

Bryn ran around madly touching things...she had a marvelous time.

Kam liked to look at things he was interested in at his own pace.

Ailey was loving the whole thing. She was super into it and was madly filling out all the paper work and quiz that they gave her to earn her "Junior Ranger" badge. She stayed right with Grandma and listened to all the extra knowledge Grandma had to share. The museum was interesting to the kids because it was all about Washington History and Lewis and Clark. They have both studied WA history in school...especially Kam.

Having passed the test and taking the oath to be an official Junior Ranger

It was pretty cool. The kids had to really pay attention and fill out a big questionnaire to earn the badge and patch. Kameron can actually wear that patch on his scout uniform sash thing. Cool. As for Bryn...let's just say she was an honorary junior ranger. :)

 Man we missed having Reilly there with us. She would've loved every minute of the vacation.

This is the other light house at Cape Disappointment. There are two. This one is the North Head Lighthouse. Both lighthouses are still in use.

 We explored the old fort there as well. This was a fort that was used to defend this area from Civil War times through WWII. It was fascinating. You could see the places where the cannons used to be located. Very cool.

Grandpa took us hiking

 This is a hike that he took us off the beaten path. It was on a trail that he has been maintaining. It wound around the cove and took us up a hidden stone staircase to an old battery tower...all the while over looking the most gorgeous views. You can't believe the size of some of the fallen trees that Joel has had to saw through. He is a great hiking guide. Bryn was unbelievable. She hiked the entire time all on her own even after having run down the beach looking at things for about 3-4 miles. Seriously. She is a little dynamo.

 There are several other hikes that would be so much fun to come back and do. Next time we will definitely bring our bikes. There were some fantastic biking trails.

 We ate the most amazing seafood while we were there. Hands down the best steamed clams I have EVER had. Holy moly. Fabulous fish and chips, chowder, crab...so good!!

 We loved this place. OleBob's Seafood Market and Cafe. I had done a bunch of research on the Internet before coming and this place got rave reviews. Judie and Joel said that this was the place that all the locals recommended as well. Talk about fresh...the fishermen were coming in the back door from the marina (right behind the market) in their rubber fishing boots dropping off the catch of the day as we were walking in. FABULOUS!! We will definitely be back.

It was fun to catch up with Judie and Joel and meet all their friends. They have definitely enjoyed their stay and they have been asked to come back in the fall and do it all over again. I guess fall is a great time to visit Cape Disappointment...better weather...etc. So we will be making another trip then.

 This is the lighthouse that Judie and Joel have been working at. The actual Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. It is the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast. It protects ships from the treacherous area known as The Graveyard of the Pacific.

 It is located in the most beautiful area. So stunningly gorgeous. Lots of wildlife. A bear was spotted the day before and it is a great spot for whale watching.

It doesn't get much prettier than this!!

 Grandpa Joel gave us the "official tour". He does a great job!! Brynnie had to stay at the bottom with Grandma. She is too young to go up to the top. You have to be 7 or older. Also, you cannot wear flip flops. You must have proper shoes to make the climb to the top of the lighthouse.

Kam making the climb. Not for the claustrophobic or Acrophobic (fear of heights). I suffer from these occasionally but wasn't bothered a bit. Ailey...phobia girl...had no problem. Oddly it was Tyler who never suffers from either of these who felt it while making the climb. Weird.

 I cannot for the life of me describe how unbelievable beautiful it was up in the glass tower. Pictures and words cannot describe. I never wanted to leave. I wanted to stay there forever soaking it all in. Fabulous. Fabulous. If you ever have a chance to go up in a lighthouse I HIGHLY recommend it. For whatever reason I felt very Anne of Green Gables up there.

Joel still giving us the tour...so interesting. He also told us the ghost story while we were up there. Apparently the old lighthouse caretaker from the 20's had a wife who never got used to living out there all isolated with the constant wind and crashing waves. She was miserable. One day she took her coat, kissed her husband, took her dog for a walk down the path to the lighthouse, and leaped off the cliff into the sea. (She had to be a fool because I would've LOVED to live out there with Tyler in that rad house and beautiful spot). Anyway...the story goes that she haunts the place...the house, lighthouse, and surrounding area. I asked Joel if he had ever seen anything weird. He said no but that sometimes you just get the strangest feeling that you aren't alone...a feeling that makes you look over your shoulder and no one is there. Now my father-in-law is NOT a fanciful man. He is a 100% practical man. So when he says that he has felt something...I BELIEVE. :)

Anytime that we weren't on the beach Bryn was put out. She wanted to be down in the sand and the surf ALL.THE.TIME. This was her famous saying... it always either began with "Uh Mommy...", "Uh Daddy...", "Uh Grandma...", "Uh Grandpa..." "I need to have some sand on my toe!!" (Her version of "I want to put my feet in the sand.")

We tried to oblige her wishes as much as possible. This was Tyler's favorite beach...Waikiki Beach. It is where Lewis and Clark came ashore when they finished their expedition. It is also the only "Swim-Safe" beach in the area and it was fun to watch all the surfers out there. Next time if the weather is better it would be so much fun to actually "swim in the ocean."

Grandpa Joel loves the Ocean just as much as we do. He was in the water nearly as much as we were.  Love that guy!!

Check out that smile!!

 He played and played with the kids. Dug big holes for them to wade in. Got totally wet and sandy having fun with the kids and boy do they love him. He also makes amazing toys and had twin penguins for Ailey and Bryn when we got there. Bryn thinks he is invincible. We went into a gift shop that had a bunch of toys and she told the woman at the counter "Grandpa made all these toys!!"

Grandma fed us well and kept a good eye on the kids so that Tyler and I could run around and have some fun too. We had a really nice time visiting with both of them.

Trying to drag Kameron out of the ocean was nearly impossible. He flat out refused to come out of the water. The kid is part fish.

 It was impossible to get a good picture of Bryn because she always looked like this...see below...madly on the run!!

Ailey with Bryn...doing her Mermaid pose

 We drove home via Portland. We didn't have much time but we did drive around to get a feel for the city...located the temple, stopped at a few shops and places that I wanted to go to...and went to eat at a place I have being wanting to try. Cafe Yumm.

My friend Janyse has been talking my ear off about this place and how much I would love it. She even brought back some of their famous "Yumm Sauce" and made me lunch with it. So, of course, I was excited to try it out for myself. This is the perfect place for my family of vegetarians and good for non vegetarians. It was DIVINE. (One thing I absolutely love about Seattle and Portland are all the vegetarian food options!! Fabulous!! Come on Spokane get with the program.)

 That dangerously addictive sauce

 I loved Portland!! I've been there before but for some reason it seemed all "new". Tyler and I definitely need to do that trip sans kids. There are so many quirky places and fun things to do. It would be a great little romantic getaway.

Our ride home was long and hellish. Somewhere along the route I caught a HORRIBLE cold and so did Kameron and we were miserable. It seemed to take forever to get home and we were so happy when we did. I love to travel but I especially love coming home!!


 “Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.”--Robert Henri

( I whole-heartedly agree!!)