Thanksgiving Weekend at the Coast

Our Thanksgiving was very different this year, and one of the most fun we've had. We have lots to be thankful for, and being in the great outdoors that God has blessed us with was one way to appreciate our family, our friends, and our blessings.

Wednesday, November 21st


Our long holiday weekend started out on Wednesday morning with me taking Bill to Sean's to get a ride to work. From there, I headed to Salem to pick up Jen & the kids, as Brady & Bill both had to work a full day. Our plan was to head over to the coast, beat the traffic, get set up, and have a day with the kids. We arrived back at our place at 9:45, and Kristin & Ryan had finished up most of the "to do list" that we had to complete before departure. We finished up the list, loaded dogs, kids, and Mom's and were off to coast by 11:15-11:30. A quick run through the gas station put a real test to my maneuver abilities with the trailer, but we did great! Traffic on the way over was not bad, and we arrived a bit after 2:00. The sites we chose online, didn't show a huge playground right behind us and did show that the sites were both 40 ft long.....I'm guessing they were 30--as we barely fit the truck & trailer in the spot, and we hung over the parking block by 5 ft! The playground spots turned out to be a blessing, as while we were setting up, Ryan & Kristin were able to play with Jason on the playground....and later take Brooklyn over too. Jen was great with helping me get between two trees and a bush, and into the tight spot we had. It was nothing more than divine intervention that got me in that spot!!

Just as we were about to relax, get a fire started, and kick back, Ryan remembered that he forgot to put the turkey fryer pot back in the trailer....so, instead of relaxing, off to Walmart we ran to see if we could find a pot. We didn't find just a pot, but a whole new fryer kit....and behold, it was On Sale!!!!! We picked up gloves, hats, and fabric for scarves, and back to camp we headed, pulling in just before the guys. Jen & Brady set up their new trailer, Ryan made a fire, and we all enjoyed dinner together and then a nice fire after getting kids to bed. (OK, Bill went early too, due to a headache...). It was a beautiful clear night, with almost a full moon. It was getting pretty chilly!!

Thursday, November 22nd, Thanksgiving Day!




Thursday we woke to heavy frost and beautiful blue skies. Ryan's first mission for the day was to run over to the playground and see how fast he could slide on the frosty slide! He went pretty fast, and had a blast before he warmed up the slide, and didn't go fast at all due to the friction of wet bottomed pants!! Jen & Brady braved the crowds and headed out to pick up a few items they needed for the trailer, and the kids stayed with us. Brooklyn took a nice long nap, Ryan, Kristin & Jason played at the park as it warmed up to a balmy 40 degrees! I was very thankful that I had allowed the kids to pick out the cute gloves and hats they had at Walmart the day before....they certainly used them! We all had a light lunch after Jen & Brady got back, then Bill & I had a great nap. After our nap, Bill started the turkey fryer, and I got out the turkey to wash (which we had put in the trailer the night before, as it was thawing in the bed of the truck and would have frozen more had we left it!), when I realized there were some ice crystals inside. Off to the sink I went, and guess what? He wouldn't fit in the sink in the trailer...so off to the bathtub we went with a big pot!! I got to giggling while spraying him down, so had to get the camera for the great shot of the turkey getting showered for the big day!! We had a great dinner together, complete with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad and Jen's homemade pumpkin cheesecake....it was incredible. We all ended up in bed that night around 9--no fire since it was so cold outside.

Friday, November 23



We woke to 33 degrees, and it felt wonderful compared to the day before!! There was no frost to Ryan's dismay on his early trip to the playground (7:30), and he was back inside to read after his disappointing trip! After breakfast (Brady & Bill Potato Special) we headed to Carl Washburne to visit with Harry & Flo. We spent a little over an hour there, and then headed back to camp to enjoy (get this) Deep Fried Hot Dogs! We decided to not waste the turkey oil, and yes, we deep fried hot dogs. They were incredible. We took things a bit far with trying to deep fry the buns (yes they were great too--but I'm sure our cholesterol count is way out of wack!) and oh no, one more step, and we deep fried some twinkies. Well...let me just say, it was like something from the county fair....deep fried, cream filled, full of YUM! We all felt miserable later (poor Kristin emptied her tummy) and we decided we'd do the hot dogs again, but no buns, twinkies or anything that was "soakable"!! The evening was pretty warm, and we sat out quite awhile before heading to bed.

Saturday, November 24



We woke to 40 degrees...yeah!! It was cloudy, but warm. We enjoyed a morning fire, some great cornbread pancakes & sausage, and then were pretty lazy for the morning. We headed down to the beach and found that the tide was almost in. No beach to walk on. This weekend is the start of some very high tides, which means that there will be little beach this month & next. We played in the river until the ocean met where we were playing, and then we walked back to camp. Brady's Mom & Carl showed up, and we had a nice lunch of left overs, a nice visit, and then after Carl & Kathy left, we made a great pot of turkey chili over the fire, with french fries (yep, we got our monies worth out of that peanut oil!). It was a good meal, and we followed up dinner with the rest of the pumpkin cheesecake...a great ending to a great meal! We sent the kids to bed, and sat up until 10, enjoying our last night of campfire, and trying to figure out how we could do this full time! It was very quiet in camp tonight, since a lot of people headed home a day early due to the cold. We enjoyed the quiet, and the lack of people!

Sunday, November 26, 2007

We woke to another 33 degree morning, with frost. The dogs were quick to go out & come back in the trailer where it was nice & warm! We had breakfast inside this morning, bisquits and gravy, with banana nut muffins and bacon. After breakfast, we did dishes, and then headed outside for our morning fire, and to see if anyone had any new ideas on how we could stay, and not have to go home! We sat around the fire, then had lunch, and packed up to head home. We hit the road after 2, and by the time we got home, parked and get unhitched it was around 5. The house was a balmy 45 degrees, so the first order of business was to get a fire going. 12 loads of laundry are piled in the laundry room, (three already finished!) and we are already planning next years adventure for Thanksgiving! Why don't you think about joining us?!