Southbeach Camping Weekend June 6-June 8, 2008

FRIDAY

Tracey & I loaded up & hooked up our trailers, and took off towards Corvallis in the POURING rain to pick up Bill & Sean and head to the coast. The forecast for the weekend was wet, wet, wet! We decided to pack every pair of mud boots, rain coat and tarp that we owned, and make the best of it.



As we neared the coast, the rain dropped to a drizzle, and allowed us some time to set up camp, and then set up our fire tarps, so we could all gather under the tarps to enjoy a fire. We had two canopies, and a one big dining fly between the two...we're getting pretty good at this tarp stuff!!

We built a fire, and about that time, Jen & Brady showed up at camp. We played with the kids while they set up camp, and we enjoyed a nice fire and some great play time despite the drizzly showers every now & then. Brady & Sean played with the kids in the field behind our site....and Alyona learned how to swing a baseball bat. With Sean & Brady's help, Ryan learned that he could hit the ball more consistently with his right arm than with his left. He is right eye dominant, even though his is left handed. He hit the ball almost every time after he switched sides. He needs to work on the power, but the hitting is certainly there. He also shoots right handed due to the same fact. After the baseball fun, Declan & Jason were playing with a rope, and it turned into tug of war.....needless to say, Jason against Declan was a bit unfair, so Kim joined in to help Jason. Pretty soon, Kristin & Alexis joined in...Alexis quickly changing sides from the girls to the boys to help her brother. Ryan soon joined in, and then I decided it was time to help against Ryan. We were doing great, until Ryan let GO of the rope. Oh well, it was still lots of fun!

We enjoyed a fire after the kids went to bed, despite the quick shower Sean received when the tarp filled with water, and dumped down the back of Sean while he was sitting in the lawn chair. I'm not sure I've seen him move that fast before!! Everyone headed to bed around 11, and we still had fun despite the rain!


SATURDAY--



We woke to a break in the clouds, and a few small showers. That quickly dried off, and proved to be a beautiful day! The kids played more ball, and we went to the visitor center at the front of the park for a free lunch, as Oregon State parks were having a 'free night' celebration on Saturday. We enjoyed some great hot dogs, chips, and pop. After lunch, we had a nap, and then a walk to the beach. The kids had so much fun playing in the water....and Sean announced to them "Mom said to stay dry, but Shawnna said go ahead and get wet"....so get wet they did!! Who can go to the beach or a river and not get wet??!!!

We headed back to camp, and had great Hobo dinners for supper. Sean, Tracey, Declan & Alexis went to the night program on fossils, and the rest of us stayed at camp and hung around the fire. We skipped cobbler since we had dinner so late...and opted for a few marshmallows. The kids and some of the adults went to bed...Sean, Bill & I sat around the fire until 1am, and then we headed off to our warm trailers. No clouds to keep the heat in!

SUNDAY--



Happy Birthday Bill!! The kids gave Bill his gifts shortly after we got a fire going. He had a nice birthday, with some fun cards from Tanya & Alyona.

The sun was shining beautifully, and we headed off to the Tide Pool Talk at Seal Rock wayside park. It was a great beach with tons of tide pools. We learned lots, saw lots, and had fun exploring on our own, as well as with the ranger. We spent well over an hour there and as the wind picked up, we headed back to camp for lunch.

We were supposed to pack up and go home, but it was SO nice, and SO hard to pack, that we decided to hang out with Jen & Brady one more day. Since Bill's truck was already at HP, we figured we'd get up early enough to get him to work by 8am, and the head home to unpack & get things done while Bill was at work. SO, we decided to stay. Sean & Tracey headed home about 1:30, leaving Declan & Kim to spend the last night with us, as everyone else had a night over in our trailer. They had so much fun. We had a nice nap, while Jen & Brady took the kids to the park. Afterward, we cleaned up camp a bit, had a nice fire and pizza pies for supper. Afterward, we made ice cream in the ice cream balls, and hot apple pies over the fire. It was lots of fun as the boys "bowled", as well as played soccer with the ice cream balls!!

At 10 we headed back to camp, to get ready for bed, and knowing we would have an early morning.

We woke a bit before 6, woke our kids (the O'Hara kids were almost impossible to wake!), tore down camp, and headed to Corvallis. We were almost out of town after dropping Bill off when he called and we realized we had his keys. That was close!

We headed home, tried to back the trailer in (it just wasn't my day)--so hopefully Bill will finish up when he gets home.

Overall, a great weekend, good company, and great fun!