Two Campouts - Part One

I know we haven't posted in close to three weeks. We're not dead or giving up on the blog, I've just been really busy at work and play.

The past two weekends we went camping. I'd like to contrast the two campouts. Let's start things off on the postive side.

Oregon Coast Campout

For the Memorial Day weekend, we drove down to Lincoln City and camped at Devils Lake.This was not only our first time to the Oregon coast, but also the boys' first time seeing an ocean. One of the major draws in our moving to Portland was that Cynthia could enjoy her love of mountains and I could enjoy my love of beaches. Needless to say, it was a highly anticipated trip.

We all had a great time - even Cynthia who claims she likes 'the idea' of camping but not necessarily the actual experience.

Devil's Lake is a pretty nice lake and it's only a few hundred feet from the ocean. The boys caught a few small bullhead while we were there...always nice to actually catch something.

We've wanted a tent for years now and a sale at REI finally made it possible for us to get a great tent for a decent price. It's a 2-room 6-person tent with vestibules at both entrances, so you can store all your gear outside and not have it get wet in rain - important quality here. I couldn't be happier with it.

While at REI the boys saw these wicked cool LED flashlights that have a LED glowstick on the other end of the flashlight (there's also a whistle on it). I agreed to get them because we can identify all family members at night very easily, but mostly we just played Jedi with them. Tee hee.

Friday night was the first time we got down to the beach. I was ecstatic in this shot. If Jordan looks cold, it's because he is. It was a little cold and windy on the beach until...

Saturday morning which was a beautiful sunny day at the beach. Jackets still on though; hey, it's not SoCal! We discovered that Jordan loves the beach as much as his Dad, but Carter is deathly afraid of the water. This is kind of weird because Carter loves getting wet anywhere else. He claims it's because he didn't have a swimsuit (though I think it's because the waves reminded him of Poseidon), so we'll have to try again.

While in Lincoln City we visited the candy store. We picked up a pound of fresh salt water taffy and watched as peppermint suckers were being made. I wish I'd picked up more of that taffy, dang it.

TLC - The Lovely Cynthia. Need I say more?

Depoe Bay. Man, I love the colors of the ocean. So good to be back on the West Coast!

What is it with Carter being the Captain?

A Mammoth sculpture-doodad near McMinnville. Eat your heart out, Edward Scissorhands.