Sunday morning was another bright and early morning and an all-day drive. We said goodbye to my parents and drove our way across Idaho and Oregon. It was a very long drive, but we did it! The girls did amazing! Most of the way was skies filled with smoke from all the fires and I was grateful to get to the coast and trees. We made a stop to see the elk before driving into North Bend. We met up with Nona and Pops and had some pizza for dinner in our hotel room.
Most of the family wasn't arriving until Monday evening and so we made the most of our day with just our little family. We went to Sunset Bay to get our first dip into the ocean water. We played in the sand and wandered around. We then went back to our hotel room to eat some leftover pizza for lunch and get our swimming suits and went back to the beach for more fun.
Nate and Paige kept busy beach combing and looking for fossils. Baylor collected a bucket full of jellyfish while McCall and I had fun making sandcastles.
This little one fell asleep as soon as we got in the car and took a good nap in our hotel room until it was time to go to Bill and Dorie's house. We met up at Anna's house and ate some dinner before going over with all the cousins.
We all loved being at Bill and Dorie's house. The girls had fun with cousins, jumping on the trampoline, and going on the zip line. I loved visiting and just sitting back and enjoying the evening with family.
Tuesday morning, we made our way to Hall Lake. We were one of the first ones there and it was so still and so pretty. A giant sand dune leads right into a lake. The view from the top of the sand dune is stunning: the view of the lake, sand dunes for miles, and a peak of the ocean. We spent into the afternoon running down the sand dune into the lake, playing in the water, kayaking, and visiting with family.
These two got to go with cousins to see the new live action Moana and Nate, McCall, and I went shopping with Anna for dinner, visited at Bill and Dorie's house, and got everything ready for dinner before the movie was done.
It was another wonderful evening at Bill and Dorie's house. We loved having a fire every evening to keep us warm and the kids all kept each other entertained.
Wednesday was filled with so many Coos Bay musts and an adventure filled day. First up was meeting up at the marina in Charleston. We were one of the first ones there, so we wandered through the boats. We saw schools of fish and jellyfish in the water, a seal pop up his head, and a white heron walk right by us and catch a fish out of the water.
Then we all went to this cave but first there was the Coast Guard doing trainings, so we saw the helicopter go right by us and a guy drop down from a rope. On his way up, he saw us all and gave us a wave.
Then we made our way through the short cave to a beach. The tide was coming in so it made me a little nervous and so this was a quick stop. The girls saw some cool shell fossils in the rocks and found some crabs.
Most of the family had lunch at the marina but since we packed a lunch, we made our way to Shore Acres, which was the next stop on the agenda. We saw a momma deer and her baby right when we got there and slowly ate our lunch and wandered through the gardens.
We eventually met up with family along the path of the cliffs at Shore Acres. It was nice to be back up with family, exploring the rocks, and the gorgeous views.
This was by far the most entertaining moment for the day which was seeing how many of the kids could fit through this hole in the rocks. Cade was by far the most entertaining to watch! :)
The whole gang!
Family photo op on the tree.
We went ahead of everyone else since we already had wandered through the gardens and made our way to Cape Arago. On the way, we stop to see the sea lions.
Then we were in pure tide pool heaven for the next couple of hours until it was time to head back for dinner.
Aaron and his kids eventually caught up to us and joined in the fun of the tide pool hunt. We found starfish, so many crabs, little fish, mussels, sea anemone to poke, and we even found some sea urchins that were small but could give your finger a little hug, and even some intact sea urchin shells.
The best find of the day was gum boot. We had no ideas what it was when we saw it but looked it up and it was the weirdest thing to touch and see but way cool at the same time.
Then it was back to Bill and Dorie's for dinner and some evening family time. There was a big group that went down to the bay to throw rocks and sticks into the mud. It was another wonderful day and evening spent with family.
Thursday was our last day on the coast with family. :( It always goes by way too fast. We had a slow morning, and we ended up doing our own thing until lunch. Paige and I walked across the big bridge (it is close to a mile long). It was pretty cool and I'm glad that I did it. The most unnerving part is when you get to the middle and big logging trucks are zooming past you. Nate took the younger two girls, and they played at a little park on the other side of the bridge.
Then we wandered on the boardwalk in Coos Bay and Uncle Mike joined us.
Then we met up with everyone at Shake 'n Burger for lunch. Nate got a gigantic burger, and we got the most delicious black pepper garlic fries. Then we made our way to Sunset Bay to spend time with family on the beach, and we even got stopped on a bridge so that a boat could pass through.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach: beach combing, looking for more fossils, finding little sea creatures, building sandcastles, bocce ball, and swimming in the ocean water.
Then we had quite the dinner for our last family meal: homemade clam chowder and bread, albacore wrapped in bacon, and fried clams. It was another wonderful evening spent with family, and I even did a slideshow of past Bill and Dale moments together and it was sweet to all be gathered together to reflect on wonderful memories of the past. We had the best crew chase after us as we left for the evening.
Then it was the last long drive, early Friday morning, back to good old Kent, Washington. It was two weeks of family time and so many adventures and way more memories made.
It is always good to be home but we miss family and loved all the time spent together!
