Netarts, OR

There are so many things I have missed -- St. Louis, Bear Lake (twice!), NYC!!! -- it's hard to know where to begin. So, I guess I will begin with what is happening now and try to fill in some of the missing blanks later.

Last night, I walked out on our peaceful balcony overlooking the ocean to see the full moon as bright orange as a pumpkin. I think it appeared that way due to all the smoke in the air from a fire burning along the Columbia River. We saw the bright red flames shooting up and drove through an area of thick smoke that turned the light of day dim like twilight earlier on our drive to Netarts, OR.

Every year for the past 10-years or so, my parents have taken a trip to the Oregon Coast in September so my dad can go crabbing. They take the trip with friends or my aunts and uncles. They eat crab every night and bring home tons of crab to prepare several Sunday feasts throughout the year for us. We have heard many stories about their Oregon trips and this year, they decided to rent a huge beach house and invite all of their kids and grandkids!

Sunday morning, the kids and I got in the van along with my sister Holly (Brian couldn't take off work) and we caravanned behind my parents who were driving my dad's new blue Subaru and my brother with his wife and two kids driving their black truck. We made a 522 mile drive into an all day affair by making so many bathroom stops. But we didn't care because, we are on VACATION!

We gained an hour when we crossed into Oregon, so by the time we arrived in the quaint country town of Pendleton, OR, it was 4:30pm PT. We walked across the street to Shari's Diner and enjoyed a lovely meal all together, then the kids swam for hours in the hotel pool that was stocked with fun pool noodles and beach balls. After a wonderful night of sleep, and a delicious breakfast (among the many offerings, there were even egg white veggie omelettes and healthy turkey sausage), we were back on the road for a beautiful day of driving along the Columbia River. We passed some of the prettiest landscape in the world and so many cool bridges and stopped to admire Multnomah Falls. Around 4:00pm, we arrived in Tillamook, OR where we purchased crabbing licenses for everyone and went grocery shopping. Then, we continued down the road another 10-minutes to Netarts where we found our beach house right on the edge of the ocean.

I have to admit, my expectations for this trip were pretty high. This always sounded like a cool place when my parents talked about their trips. But, my expectations are exceeded in every way already!

Our beach house is gorgeous, three-stories with an amazing view. The first story is covered parking. The second story is four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The third story is an open floor plan with vaulted ceilings, a modern kitchen, office, dining area, living room with a giant sectional and flatscreen tv and the whole wall facing the ocean is floor to ceiling windows with a deck running the length of the house. So, it is a gorgeous view sitting indoors, a lovely view from the deck, or I can walk down the street and be right on the beach -- all three choices are perfect! The third floor also has another bathroom, another bedroom, and a rear deck with a hot tub. I feel like I am in paradise. So happy to get to be here with my kids and my parents.

I get my own peaceful bedroom. My brother and his wife have the room next door. My parents have the master suite next to that, and five of the six grandkids are sleeping in bunkbeds in the fourth bedroom. My sister and Sophie are sharing the bedroom on the third floor. Katie and Isaac have already been in heaven exploring the beach and sitting in the hot tub. My dad pushed off in his boat at 6:30am with Ian and my brother to catch crabs at low tide. The guy selling the licenses said the crabbing is the best it has ever been! I guess we'll see. Looking forward to a week by the ocean!