With some extra money coming in, Richie and I had many lengthy discussions on how best to spend it. At the top of my list was a family trip. We'd never taken one with just our little family. Our trips have always been to visit his side of the family, or my side, or to take part in their yearly family vacations. They've all been wonderful! But since Miles turned 12, I've just been feeling this pull to make some memories with just our family. The little ones won't remember this (hence the blogging), but hopefully the older 3 can tuck away a few happy memories.
Our friends the Fogle's take this trip fairly often, we we basically copy and pasted their itinerary; making planning relatively easy. We booked an air-bnb place and drove the 8 hours it takes to get there. On the way, we stopped at Multnomah Falls. What a beautiful place! The whole ride really we couldn't get over how green everything is! We hiked a ways up the falls to get some wiggles out, but then it became clear quite fast not everyone was in favor of the unplanned hike. Back in the car we got. Everyone was happy once we reached our "hotel". Staying in a house versus an actual hotel room is
genius.
We heard from locals about the best beaches and also that it was fixing to rain that weekend. So we decided to pack in as many beaches as we could on Thursday. First up, a quick detour to see the lighthouse at Cape Meares and the Octopus Tree. Lighthouse was meh, Tree was pretty cool, the scenery was to die for.
Then we made our way to Oceanside. Because we went in April, the beaches weren't super "beachy" and warm. So the kids chased the waves a bit, but Miles and Richie mostly stuck to clam digging, while the girls searched for sea shells and worked on sand castles. Davy hated everything about it. It was cold, wet, and there was sand on his hands and feet. (He's my little sensory OCD kid it seems). Just as he was warming up to everything, Benson decided to try out the clam guns. In his best imitation of Dad and Miles he drove the metal cylinder right onto his toe. Off to urgent care we go. After 2 hours and $100, they sent us home with a band aid.
We grabbed some lunch and tried to check out some recommended tide pools in Ecola State Park. But after the drive to get there we found the road to Indian Beach was closed. We asked some park rangers, and they recommended close by Hug Point. I think this was the kid's favorite. The tide pools weren't as epic as hoped for, but we did see a starfish and plenty of sea anemones. The tide was out, so we got to explore little caves and outcroppings before the water rolled back in. Davy had warmed up to the scene by then and was loving it all.
The next day the first thing we hit was crabbing at Kelly's Marina. For a modest fee, Richie and the 4 oldest kids boarded a small boat and caught crabs for 2 hours. The boat was too small for us all, so I stayed back at the Marina with Davy. I didn't mind for the first hour and a half. Then the cold and boredom sunk in. You can only throw rocks off the dock for so long apparently. When Richie came back with the kids, they had only caught 1 crab big enough to keep. So we ordered some other sea delicacies to try- clams and oysters, and one more crab. They cook them up for you right there. I took a fed up Davy to the car to chill and he fell asleep instantly. Figures. Everyone tried all of the different foods, and we all agreed that we were glad we tried it, but have no interest in eating those things ever again.
After lunch we headed to Oswald state Park. To get to the beach, you have to go under a tunnel and walk a ways through what feels like Redwood forest. There are huge trees and bananas slugs and a river running through it all that empties out tight into the river. We splurged on some kites that were semi successful, but mostly the little boys just wanted to throw rocks into the mini river heading to the ocean.
Before we packed up the next day, we drug out the kayak and paddle boat our place furnished and tried them out on the lake right there. It was raining, and we probably shouldn't have even bothered, but the kids were bummed we weren't even going to get to try it. So we powered through for about 20 minutes, and then forced them in the car with the promise of ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese factory. It was a pretty cool place with a self-guided tour and delicious dairy products everywhere. A fantastic ending to our trip.
It cost money, time, effort planning etc. But it was 1,000% worth it. When I'm at home, I can only think of what needs to be done at home. When I'm someplace else, it's easier for me to be present and for me to let my hair down-so to speak. We stayed up late and watched movies every night, laughed a lot and everyone was more carefree. Whenever our time and money permit, I'm looking forward to the next Garner Family Vacation!
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