On Friday we got a late start getting out of our airbnb, so by the time we got to Portland it was lunch time. We ate at Riyadh, the restaurant Abe and I loved from our last trip to Portland. Candace and I accidentally over-ordered, and we did our gosh darn best to eat it ALL up.
I was feeling really tired, and so even though we considered doing more city things after lunch, I asked Candace if it would be okay to just drive to the beach instead. Candace is the best friend to travel with you could possibly imagine and immediately agreed. So after lunch, we packed the kiddies up (I took Cadence with my kids) and drove to Hug Point State Park in Cannon Beach.
The drive was just what the doctor ordered. The kids were strapped down and content in the car, and I was in heaven with the amazing Oregon scenery. It struck me that next time Abe travels and I go on a trip with a friend, I should avoid cities entirely and just retreat into some gorgeous nature. It would be way less stressful and ten times more rejuvenating.
Candace went to Haystack Beach because that’s where she assumed I told her to go, so before we got that mix-up clear I spent an hour with my set of kids alone. Hug Point State Park is a great beach. It’s not too big or crowded, and the kids loved playing in the sand. Clarissa kept purposefully collapsing as she crawled, and every time she’d collapse she would stretch out all of her limbs and revel with her fingers and toes wiggling in the sand. It was adorable. The one thing I really hate about the beach, though, is that Clarissa always gets sand in her eyes and all over her face. That part is no fun.
Lydia ended up peeing on a log through her undies and spent the first fifteen minutes crying because she hated being dirty. I was, as usual it seems, too short with her and told her it was her own fault for not going in the bathroom right next to where we parked. (The minute we descended the stairs to the beach with ALL of the kids, Lydia announced she needed to pee. It felt almost impossible to me to round up all of the kids and bring them back up the stairs to the bathroom, so I asked her to just go herself. She refused. That’s when I told her to just pee on a nearby log, and she was so desperate that she had no time to pull down her undies before going.)
Finally Lydia calmed down and we all had a great time. One of the highlights for me was when Ammon came to me, peered down at the imprint of his footsteps in the sand, and cried, “Look! I make TRACKS!!” (The kids watch a lot of nature shows wherein animal tracks are discussed.) Thereafter Ammon had a great time hopping in the sand making “tracks” all over the place. He pretended to be a frog and a kangaroo while he hopped, and then we would examine his tracks trail. He was so over-the-top cute.
Then Candace and I got our locations sorted and Candace joined us with the rest of her kids. We visited and talked a lot about plastic surgery. I love the idea in theory of getting a tummy tuck. It sounds like such an awesome way to immediately lose all of the fat I’ve acquired over the child-bearing years. At the same time, I love feeling physically strong and energetic, and I think plastic surgery would interfere with that because you can’t exercise those muscles for a year afterward. My other main concern is that it’s not compatible with my understanding of Christian discipleship. Plastic surgery requires so much money and is so thoroughly appearances-oriented, and I just don’t see that as being in line with the values Jesus taught. But I indulge the occasional day dream anyway.
Then we caravaned to Tom’s Fish and chips in Cannon Beach. I stayed in the car while Candace kindly ordered for me, and we repeated the exercise at the ice cream shop down the road right after. It is awesome traveling with a friend, especially a friend like Candace.
After we finished up our dinner, we drove to the airport to pick Abe up from his flight. He arrived at 10pm, but it took us a while to find him because he was in departures instead of the arrival area. We kept assuring each other that we were in the same airport, but it was so confusing to keep driving loops and not see Abe. It was great when we finally figured that out.
When we got home, Candace’s crew and our kids were asleep. We transferred all of our kids to bed and then enjoyed some beautiful time outside enjoying the view from the air bnb. It was so great to be with Abe again.