We spent the last 8 days on vacation. Kinda.
Vacation- noun, An extended period of recreation spent away from home.
Our trip definitely fit that definition. But I had to look up the word, because as I typed it, I was thinking more along the definition of…
Vacation- noun, a period of time away from ones normal, everyday activities, where one rests and relaxes and returns home refreshed and rejuvenated…
I am super thankful we have a huge travel trailer. It sleeps 11. It’s 1/3 the size of our home we lived in while Eric was in dental school! So when I say we went “camping” on our vacation, it’s not as bad as you might be thinking. We did that. A few times over the years and once with 6 children and that was the last time. We went to the Redwoods and woke up in our tent to an inch of water. Everything was soaked. And the forecast called for rain for like 6 months. So we rolled, and I’m really not kidding here, everything up and shoved it into the back of the car and drove home. And I did laundry for a week. And swore I was done camping. So Eric bought this big, fun RV to accommodate his camped out wife. And we use it all the time. It’s like having an extra little house. I have it well stocked with everything we need from food to diapers and everything in between. And what I forget, the children add to it. This time we brought along ALL of our bikes. That was 7 and a bike trailer. Enough food to make 243 meals, beach toys, clothes for all types of weather, because it was the northern Oregon coast and you never really know whether the sun will shine or the wind will blow or the rain will pelt you.
We picked Ft. Stephens. It’s an awesome State Park. And they have full hook ups which means we have all the water, electricity and sewage drainage we could use. The other option is “dry”camping. Meaning we only have the 70 gallons of water we bring, the electricity from the batteries and when the black tank (where the toilet empties) is full, well, it smells. And really, we can only dry camp for a few days. But this trip was an 8 day camp out, so having full hook ups was a necessity. Another reason for choosing this place was because of all the rich history it has. This area is THE END of the Lewis and Clark trail. and after having studied it over the past few years in school, it would make for a great “Field Trip”.
And it did. We had so much fun. There were amazing bike trails, forts to explore, museums to wander through, beaches to swim and play on and perfect weather. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.
Day 2 (going to post pics over a few posts to keep uploading time reasonable)
