Ocean Shores

Shortly after our Orcas Island sprint we visited Ocean Shores, WA for the first time. I had heard quite a lot about the place. Not like a bunch of oohing and ahhing and, "you just have to visit," but just a lot of mentions of people we like to go there or grew up going there. So, I decided we should check it out with my mom and my sister's family for a little weekend getaway.

I grew up going to the Oregon coast. The beaches were not white and sparkly and the water was completely freezing, but all the same, we laid out in the sun (when it was showing itself), jumped around in the waves, and somehow didn't seem to mind the cold a bit. So, when I determined to venture out to the Washington coast, I didn't have fairytale allusions of what things should be like. However, what I discovered is that the Washington coast (a couple of hours north, at least) is sooo different from the Oregon coast ... either that, or my memory is so completely altered by time and pregnancies (you know, pregnancy brain??) that I am fully incapable of making an accurate comparison.

On a Friday afternoon we set out for the fairly brief car ride.

We arrived in the afternoon, but it was already super dark and foggy. All the same, we decided to get a quick glimpse of the beach, which was something of a disappointment, because actually seeing the beach--or at least the ocean--was quite a trick (even considering that we could drive straight out to the water). It was dark, windy, and downright nasty. After about twenty minutes of shivering with our hoodies pulled close (with the exception of a couple of kids who opted for getting soaking wet fully clothed) we headed back to the rental house.

Fortunately, the next day was clear so we tried the beach out again ...

The kids stripped down to their bathing suits,

And played in the sand, and even the water a little ...
While the grown ups attempted to stay warm.

With the exception of one grown up who opted for flying a kite (it was certainly windy enough).

Here he is.

He really quite enjoyed himself.

Then Brooks got into the fun! And they both enjoyed themselves quite a lot.

And then there's this kid, and he looks pretty full of enjoyment as well.

We didn't last long before moving our little group up from the water a ways in an effort not to die of hypothermia (okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit). There was a little less wind in our new spot and the sand was a smidgen warmer. Shockingly, there was a teen close by laying out in a tiny little bikini. Seriously??

This little kid is also enjoying himself. He decided to show his enjoyment by eating sand.

Okay, so here's the surprising confession ... I did not enjoy myself. How could I when I was much too busy being absolutely and completely frozen? That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the weekend. We did have fun hanging out, playing games, riding the six-seater bike, checking out the shops, etc., but to me the actual beach was very much not enjoyable. But who knows, maybe I'm just not a beach girl after all--at least not in the pacNW and not as a "grown up". I think next time, I'll suggest a lake instead;).

These next few pictures are really just a side note to the trip as a whole. After returning from the beach (or maybe from the shops ... can't really remember), we realized that we didn't have a key and no one else was back yet. We knew, however, that an upstairs door would be unlocked. I think before we had even suggested that he try it, Porter was already on his way up the side of the house. Of course, these pictures are not from that moment, but from his crazy parents asking him to re-enact the climb for the sake of picture taking.

And this last one, goes along with a somewhat lengthy story about why Kevin and I ended up buying a tent (maybe our fiftieth;), pillows, and sleeping bags, and sleeping outside for the weekend. Since I have too many blog entries to finish before Christmas, I won't go into details. I'll just say that it involved lots of black pet hair ... eeewww. Don't worry, the dead rat had nothing to do with it.