Category Archives: Travel

Wordless Wednesday: San Diego

When you land in San Diego, you really land in San Diego. I’m here on business for a couple of days and trying to see as many palm trees as possible through the windows of the convention center.

San Diego

A Magical Place: Camp Westwind Day 1

A few weeks ago we spent Memorial day weekend at Camp Westwind. We had a wonderful time exploring, hiking, playing games and making new friends. Sadly it ended in the worst way imaginable but, with a couple of weeks behind me, I feel as though I am now ready to share the happier parts of our weekend.

Camp Westwind is located just outside Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast. The camp is accessible only by barge (or canoe) over the Salmon River at high tide or a 2 mile walk in from highway 101. We arrived with the main group early on a Friday morning to catch the barge across the river. It was raining and a little miserable and I found myself wondering if our choice for a 3 day weekend at camp with relative strangers was a good one. The boys kept themselves busy skipping rocks and finding friends while we waited for the barge.

After a short wait the boys and I found ourselves on the very first ride across the river while Kei stayed behind to help load the luggage on the barge.

After we reached the other side of the river, our small group started walking up to camp. It was on this walk that I met some new friends who told me they had been coming to Westwind for years and that it’s a magical place. I remained skeptical while my legs grew weary of the walk along the dirt road. I’ve never been fully comfortable in new environments, especially those that include shared bathrooms and cabins and the prospect of meeting about 50 new people. But these new friends with their warm welcome gave me hope that it would be less scary than I imagined.

And, you know what? It wasn’t scary at all and it was even more than a little bit magical. We made new friends, enjoyed long walks along the beach, explored tide pools and hiked up (what felt like) mountains. Our little family enjoyed three days of feeling disconnected from the real world, figuratively and literally (I couldn’t get a phone signal). It was like being stranded on a deserted island, but with three good meals a day and a keg at night.

Here are some photos from day 1, including a a baby seal sighting that made me grateful for my new zoom lens.

No need to check your eyesight – that’s Thomas running with a friend, not Samuel.

This boat came all the way from Japan.

Back soon with photos from Day 2 when the sun made a rare appearance on the Oregon coast.

Not So Sunny, Sunriver

I think this might have been the very first year that we’ve actually planned a Spring Break location. Spring Break seems to sneak up on us and every year I find myself wishing we’d done something fun. So, on a whim (and after a few drinks on Superbowl Sunday) I signed up to organize a group family vacation to Sunriver, Oregon.

This was our second trip to Sunriver. Last year we stopped for a couple of nights as part of our Great Oregon Road Trip. We went in August. It was sunny and warm (although bug-filled). This year was much different. I suppose I should have realized that heading to a higher altitude in March was not going to bring me the warm weather I craved, but I truly didn’t expect snow. Of course my “friends” at work told me that snow was normal over Spring Break AFTER I returned.

Still, we didn’t let the weather dampen our spirits. The Mums (and one of the dads) all headed up on Wednesday afternoon, with the rest of the Dads joining us on Friday. We stayed in a large vacation home that didn’t feel too crowded, even with the full group eight adults and seven kids. We spent our time playing board games, swimming in the SHARC indoor pool, taking a trip down the tubing hill, playing tennis in hail (yes, hail) and relaxing in the hot tub while the kids were occupied with a movie. It was a wonderful chance to connect with old friends and let the kids loose to explore – when it wasn’t snowing, raining or hailing, that is.

And I took about 20 photos. That’s well below my average for a four day vacation. I think I need to get out of the winter photo rut and start shooting again soon.

Here are the few I did manage to take of a great vacation with great friends – but next time, let’s try for Hawaii.

 

Boys Will Be Boys

We returned home yesterday afternoon following a brief Spring Break adventure in Sunriver, Oregon. The biggest part of adventure turned out to be predicting the weather from minute to minute. We’d move from a brief moment of sunshine to rain, then hail and snow. Apparently Sunriver is not the destination for Spring Break if you’re looking for a warm weather recharge.

Still, we managed to squeeze in a bunch of activities to keep seven children entertained and I even challenged my husband to a couple of games of tennis while we dodged a light hail storm. He won, but I blame the distraction of the hail storm.

I’m back at work today and trying to turn the switch in my brain from vacation mode to work mode. It’s an uphill battle.

I haven’t had a chance to edit all of my photos from the trip but this one stood out to me. Who needs a toy gun when you have fingers and the ability to make someone walk the plank? I promise I don’t teach them this stuff – it’s just boys being boys.