Summer 2017: Oregon Coast with the Kids

This is a very late, much over-due trip report from our mini-vacation with the kids to the Oregon coast. This happened back in 2017, when we were still living in Portland, and the kids (Zoe turning 10 and Felix was 7) were with us for the summer holidays. This happened over three years ago!!!

Our first stop was the Evergreen Wings & Waves indoor waterpark.

This place was very cool, with an air and space theme. Unfortunately, I was barely able to walk, and on pain medication for sciatica, so I didn’t want to go down watersides or even swim. I parked myself in a chair and enjoyed a book, while Dan played with the kids.

Our main destination was Seaside Oregon, where we spent two nights at The Quality Inn. The hotel was cheap and cheerful, fitting our needs for a family friendly hotel that was walking distance from the beach.

The best part is it was located next door to Bigfoot’s Steakhouse, which besides having an awesome theme, had delicious food. Bigfoot is not just real, but really, really popular in the Pacific Northwest. I’m also learning that the legend is alive in Colorado, so I guess Bigfoot migrates with the seasons?

Our main purpose in Seaside was to enjoy the beach. Admittedly, I’m accustomed to vacationing in sunny climates, so the chill of the Pacific Northwest wasn’t very “Beachy” to me, but I kept bundled up, and the kids really enjoyed playing in the sand and water. It was a simple pleasures type of weekend trip.

There are plenty of activities in Seaside, including a sizable touristy shopping area with a “college-students-on-spring-break” vibe.

Of course, there was also the Lewis and Clark statue. Oregon is full of nods to the Lewis and Clark expedition. This one commemorates the end of the expedition that concluded at the Oregon Coast.

We ate breakfast at the Pig’n Pancake. Dan and I had eaten here before on our first trip to Seaside, nearly a year prior, when we helped with a beach cleanup. We knew that we had to bring the kids. If you visit, arrive early, as it is very popular and the waits are long.

I saw this cute puffin as we were walking to the Pig’n Pancake.

We headed to the nearby Cannon Beach to see the famous rocks.

Before ending our trip, we drove to Washington State. The drive included crossing the beautiful Astoria- Megler Bridge, and making a quick dip into Astoria, where I had my eyes peeled for the filming locations of my favorite childhood movie: The Goonies.

Our destination was Long Beach, Washington, where we were allowed to drive our Ram 1500 on the sand. This was a huge deal for Dan and Felix, and if I’m being honest, I think Zoe and I enjoyed it too. How many places can you drive on the beach? It was like we were filming a car commercial.

The sunset on Long Beach was gorgeous.

We headed back to Portland with a dinner stop at the Columbia River Roadhouse. The previous summer, we discovered Logan’s Roadhouse in Orlando, and roadhouses have become a bit of a family joke. Joking aside, we love them - good food and a slightly rowdy atmosphere. This one even had a pinball arcade!

It was a wonderful two-night summer trip to the Oregon Coast.

Social Distancing in Littleton: Week 21

On the Covid-19 front, there have not been any significant changes in Colorado. I’m grateful that the mask mandate is still in effect, and I hope that it will be extended beyond the initial thirty days. Whether or not they agree with the mandate, most people seem to be complying, and there is less aggression when we are in stores. People generally seem calm, which is a relief. Truly, life feels more or less normal.

One thing that has really bothered me is the spike in mask conspiracy theories. A new one that I read about involves a hashtag= “save our children,” and links the wearing of masks to a child sex trafficking and pedophilia. Really? It goes deeper, to a conspiracy that powerful people ( democratic politicians/Bill Gates/Celebrities like Tom Hanks) are in on it, somehow harvesting the power from children that is emitted when they are extremely fearful, including acts of cannibalism with children. How can anyone believe this crap???

It makes me even more angry that these conspiracies serve to undermine the vital importance of wearing masks and public safety. They also distract from more important issues like the BLM movement and the upcoming election. It’s maddening. Dan is tired of hearing me complain about it, and quite honestly, I’ve spent too much energy getting worked up over it, so I’m going to distancing myself from reading about the conspiracies. I’m optimistic that more people are level-headed and see through this nonsense.

This week was low-key and fairly normal. We ran errands and ate out a few times, including a “new-to-us” Vietnamese restaurant, where I tried Vietnamese-style iced coffee. It tastes similar to Thai iced coffee, but a little less sweet.

I don’t have a picture of it, but I made the most amazing fresh blueberry crumble. It was delicious, and I even made it with half the recommended sugar. It will happen again and soon.

Dan went golfing with a few of the guys in our neighborhood. I have to share pictures that he took of our local golf course. This is just a short distance from our house and it is gorgeous! It reminds me of Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas.

In most exciting news, Wednesday was my birthday. I worked, as usual, but Dan spoiled me rotten.

The big package was a Cornhole set, which I’ve been wanting for a few years. I’m surprisingly good at it! I also received several cool kitchen gadgets- many from my Amazon Wishlist, fuzzy socks, a cook book, another outdoor game where you throw a ball on a trampoline ( looks fun), a cleaning gadget ( I’m old, I like cleaning gadgets), a ceramic cotton ball holder shaped like a rabbit, and a box of rock candy, which I recently mentioned was a must-have purchase during childhood Disneyland trips. So many friends and family sent messages and I was much loved on my birthday.

Tom delighted in the box that one of my presents came in. It can be your birthday too Tom!

There is an extra-special treat for this coming weekend, which I will reveal next week. I’ve probably never been this spoiled on my birthday! :-)

Which brings me to some funny emotions that I’ve been having this week. My birthday is always a time when I miss my mom a bit more intensely than other times of the year, and last night, we were watching the fabulous new Anna Kendrick series “Love Life”- specifically an episode regarding Kendrick’s character Darby and her relationship with her mom. Even though my relationship with my mom was nothing like Darby’s, there were themes about simply needing your mom. It made me really, really sad and I couldn’t stop crying. I’m grateful to have a husband who loves me enough to make my birthday incredibly special, but I still miss and need my mom. It’s tough.

On the great news front, last night we had the announcement that Biden has picked Kamala Harris to run as his VP. I’m thrilled and optimistic.

I’m ending on a happy note with cute pictures of the cats. This week, Tom started a new behavior of stealing stuffed animals off of my bookshelf. Naturally, those animals have been moved to a safe, “Tom Free” zone, but it was very funny to catch him being a thief.

Slinky is living his best life by licking the leftovers from a bowl of whipped cream. He licked it completely clean.

Book Review- Gretchen Anthony' The Kids are Gonna Ask

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with a copy of Gretchen Anthony’s novel, The Kids are Gonna Ask, in exchange for an honest review.

Seventeen-year-old twins, Thomas and Savannah McClair, have been raised by their grandmother, Maggie, after their mom was killed in a tragic accident. Their mom, Bess never told them who their father was, a secret that she kept from everyone.

The twins have started a podcast where they invite dinner guests into their home, and interview them over a meal. Their podcast has a small following, until one episode goes viral, an episode when they mention the desire to know about their father. They are contacted by a high-profile producer to create a new show that follows the search to discover the identity of their birth father. The twins are thrust into the spotlight, which includes being placed in the middle of the controversy over privacy rights.

I enjoyed Anthony’s debut novel, Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners, and I was excited to read her follow-up. The Kids are Gonna Ask didn’t disappoint. Anthony has a wonderful strength in writing endearing characters, and her stories have a lot of heart. It was the perfect type of read for these pessimistic Covid-times. This isn’t to say that her stories are trite or that her characters are perfect. For example, Maggie has to deal with some lingering anger she has towards her dead daughter, which is difficult as she is also grieving for and has a tremendous amount of love for Bess. The emotions are complex.

Although I know who my birth father was, he died when I was four. I could easily relate to the twins feelings of not knowing their parent, and have a whole missing piece of themselves. I can count the things I know about my dad on one hand. More to that, there is a chapter when Savannah is relating to Nadine, the daughter of the McClair’s personal chef. Both girls have lost their mother, and they mention how difficult it is, because it always creates an awkward situation. No one knows how to act or speak around children who have lost their parents. I have felt this the most. The twins lost their mother to a front-page new accident, where as Nadine lost her mom to a drug overdose, she only needs to share this info with the people she trusts. I lost my father more in the way of the twins, but just because everyone at school knew, didn’t make it easier. Divorce is fairly common, but I didn’t know anyone who had a dead parent.

The Kids are Gonna Ask dives into the idea of paternity secrets and privacy rights. Do the twins have the right to publicly air their search? What will they discover? They have to contend with criticism leveled towards their mother ignoring the paternal rights of their father. To add fuel to the fire, their producer seems to only care about controversy and ratings. It’s hard enough being a teenager, let alone being forced into the public eye.

Part of the story is set in Breckenridge, Colorado. I moved to Colorado in late 2019, and I have recently visited Breckenridge for the first time. It’s a beautiful area and I got a kick out of having a new connection to this place, and then having it appear in The Kids are Gonna Ask. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect! I love when a novel includes places that are familiar to me.

One of the pleasure of the story is the discovery that the reader has along with the McClair family. Anthony unfolds the secrets in a way that keeps the intrigue constant. I don’t want to give anything away, so I will stop here. The Kids are Gonna Ask is a thought-provoking story and the McClair family will steal your heart.