If you read my previous post you will remember I don’t really like camping. This trip really isn’t much different. We started later than I wanted to. I decided go up through Forest Grove and down to Seaside before cutting south to Cannon Beach. I thought the straighter roads would help with car sicknesses that plagues my family. I was wrong… I heard the window go down, a few coughs and sputters, the window go up and a small little “I’m sorry mom.” I looked out my side view mirror and saw the whole side of the car covered in throw up. I thought the pouring rain would wash it off. I was wrong… We had to hose off the car and the camp trailer when we got to camp.
It rained all that day. We did get to see a bit of the wild life. They like to come out when there is no one around to scare them because of the rain.
Finally, the sun came out.
It was still pretty cold though.
This was Ben’s first camping trip. He did great! So did his mom! He hardly ever got down. He ate solid foots. He slept in his play pen. He even tried walking in the ocean. He didn’t like that. He screamed his head off.
Hannah was the happiest person at camp. In general, she is the happiest person I know. She was even happy after she found out she didn’t get the part she wanted, but was still in the Fall Play…. She will be a mermaid sister. She laughed so much that we thought she was a little nuts. John then gave her a camp name… Little Nutz. LOL.
McKay mostly played with Myles. He came all the way from New Mexico to camp in the western Oregon rain. We blame him. LOL. Every time he has visited the weather has been wacky.
Lillian made friends with the little kids in the camp. This is a good thing since we left the dogs at home. We had waffled back and forth about bringing the dogs. Lillian cried because she felt she was leaving behind her only friends. I didn’t think I wanted 3 wet, smelly dogs in my tent.
Basically, John and I did all the cooking and cleaning up. Still, the little camp looked and functioned well. The Contest day started early…. and with more throwing up. Hannah poured some cereal and milk, took a bite, and stood up to “gracefully” throw up of to the side of camp. Myles thought it was the most amazing thing. LOL. I was a little worried about Hannah, but I let her go anyway… and she did great.
Saturday was the big Castle day. Kimber and I stayed at camp and made lunch for the castle people. We also had Ben and Lillian. John drove back home to Monmouth to a funeral. Everyone else joined the Jessops on their sand castle team. Sand castle start with forms (Jessops use felt roofing paper), sand and lots and lots of water. My family does the grunt work. They shovel sand, carry water, and stomp sand.
It is a lot of work!
Even Myles was on the team. It is hard word. It was pretty chilly too. Hannah and Myles learned to make sand balls.
my job is as support staff. I open water bottles, feed people snacks because their hands are dirty, talk to the crowd, and offer support. Kimber ran around taking all these pictures. Lillian played with the Jessops’ dog, Liz.
They start this at 7 in the morning and work until the time is up. There was some mis-communication and the Jessop team stopped work at the announced time while other teams continued. I guess they weren’t clear that they had extended the time limit. Darn it!
The main carvers are Ray, Isaac, Jacob, and Yvonne.
The surf was crazy!
Lillian often came by to entertain me.
Hannah is pretty entertaining too.
This arch creation by Isaac and Yvonne attracted a lot of attention… and no… nothing is in there holding things up… it’s all sand.
I think Ben liked it.
When it comes to tools, everything goes… forks, spatulas, spoons, trawls, pipes, straws, shovels, rakes…
Every once in a while I would get distracted and stare at the beautiful scenery.
The team surveying the work…
The over view of the finished work…
sand balls…
finishing touches.
finished from every angle…
Chad is looking good don’t you think? He has now lost 50 pounds in 13 weeks. He’s a little obsessive.
This is what they do with the sand balls…
Aren’t they cute!!?
They created a turtle in the sand hole…
This is Ray’s art work.
Myles may never want to do this again. He claimed himself to be a grunt.
Finished look of Ray’s castle.
The team placed 4th…. that is a step up from last year. They got $200 and a ribbon for participating.
Ben did a lot of watching this weekend.
Case came to visit it on Saturday. When I told his mom that we were going camping, she made reservations in a different camp ground. They drove up to see the castle and stayed to play for the afternoon and evening. Case found great pleasure in pushing the sand around with his nose. At one point he had a big booger hanging down, completely encased in sand. Chad asked him to look up and the wind blew the booger in his mouth. Case started CHEWING! We all started screaming!
John flew kites with Grace and Lillian.
Laura and Emma did Tai Bo on the beach while Chad did his beach workout.
They were very funny.
Finally Chad joined them and it looked more like Emma was teaching him to be a cheerleader. LOL.
I loved this shot.
This one too. Look! White girls can jump.
We also saw a hurt seal on the beach. Poor little thing. A ranger kept people from approaching the seal.
It wasn’t the best camping trip, but it was ok. After 4 days of rain and dirt and camping we headed home. We went all the way down to Newport. First we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese factory. You can’t go by without getting ice cream. Right? Then we met Shar Wight and family at Agate Beach to see the dock that washed up on the beach that had floated all the way from Japan.
Resigning as the General Manager of the Universe 