In the morning we got everyone ready and went over to Pig ‘n Pancake for breakfast.
After breakfast, we headed over to the Seaside carousel. I had read that one of the first things Seaside did to attract tourists back in the day was install a carousel and an arcade. That was really smart because there’s a lot of rain on the Oregon Coast!
After the carousel we did laser tag. We had the whole room to ourselves, which was great. Ammon, who was too little for a vest, ran around tackling Abe. Clarissa was terrified and needed me to hold her most of the time.
Abe and the girls came up with funny names for their laser-tag personas. Abe was “Toeface,” Lydia was “Something,” and Mary was “Deadflower.” Deadflower is very competitive and won both games. Later when we were remembering laser tag, Mary said nostalgically, “Remember when I won laser tag BOTH times!” …and smiled widely at such a happy thought.
Afterwards we went to the arcade. Of course, at one point we lost Ammon. Abe had gone to tell him we were done, and Ammon ran out of the mall while Abe walked to the entrance of the arcade in the other aisle. We ran around the mall frantically looking for Ammon until some sweet Grandma entered from the street holding his hand. Ammon was sobbing about how his daddy ran away from him and lost him. The grandma was saying soothingly, “It’s okay, honey, we’ll find your family.” Sigh. This is how life with three-year-old Ammon goes. We honestly don’t need arcades or laser tags in our lives–just keeping him alive is an emotional roller coaster!
After the arcade we went home for a potty break and then I popped into the nearby outlet to get Clarissa some clothes and shoes. She has one pair of shoes that fit and we were in constant danger of losing one or both the whole trip long. Having another pair just gave me peace of mind. (And while I was there I bought her a dress because none of those fit either. She’s just growing so fast!)
After that we rented a pram bike and biked along the coast. Oh my gosh, it was so fun! I was worried that Clarissa would announce she was “done” and spend the whole ride trying to climb out, but she actually stayed put until the last ten minutes of the ride. Abe and I both held her down to keep her safe, and we all got back in one piece.
On our bike ride, we stopped at Lewis and Clark’s salt works. This is where they sent a party to make salt to preserve fish and meat for the winter.
After the bike ride we were all hungry since we had skipped lunch. We went to Nonni’s Italian restaurant for dinner. Abe and I took turns chasing Clarissa down the street while the other ate.
Then we walked down to the beach and got some Tillamook ice cream en route. I learned that I should never waste calories on flavors that aren’t chocolate, caramel, or lemon.
Afterward we let the kids play at the beach until bed time. It was a perfect day.