Last Thursday I left on an almost week long vacation to the Oregon Coast for a family reunion. Mr. B's family lives in Seattle so I see them very often but it has been at least three years since my side of the family has gotten together. They all drove up from California and we drove down from Washington and had a rollicking good time on the Oregon Coast.
We stopped on the Washington side of the Columbia River to stretch our legs at a spot called Dismal Nitch where the Lewis and Clark expedition was stuck for six days during a storm before sighting the Pacific Ocean. I thought it was rather lovely but I had the benefit of a car and a trunk full of snacks.
We camped the first night and got rained out but pulled through the next morning for a visit to Tillamook before driving the rest of the way down to our beach house.
This is where I spent a good portion of my vacation while the kids built sandcastles and layered themselves in sand and ocean water, or flew kites, depending on the kid. I had a good book in my tote bag and some knitting needles close at hand and was generally in a state of happy relaxation.
Each night the family gathered on the sand dunes to watch the sun go down over the Pacific before trundling inside for board games and general hilarity. I laughed so hard I cried, made fun of my siblings (and my mom), hung out with my nieces and nephew, and went to bed each night with my hair full of sand. It was glorious.
