Never Mind the Rain

We took a road trip to the coast this weekend. It was adventure from the get-go. First, I must thank my co-worker who mentioned that I-84 was closed near Hood River due to a big rock slide. We drove to Biggs Junction and crossed over the Columbia River to Hwy 14. I personally love going up the Washington side, especially in the fall. Crossing at Biggs is a perfect place because the little towns provide a lot to look at. We stopped in Lyle at the Country Café for breakfast. Our server was a cute little waitress wearing a knitted beanie with the pippy-long-stocking braids hanging from it along with her rhinestone-on-the-butt jeans. Much cuteness. 

 

Back on the road, we hit major traffic that was heading the opposite way that had slowed down to a near stop for miles. Seems there was a little mud slide ahead but they had it cleared by the time we passed by. We passed thru early in the day and learned there was a fatal head-on in the afternoon. People in too big of a hurry, no doubt.

 

We spent Saturday just hanging out with the grand kids and had a great surprise visit with family who arrived for a home-cooked meal of lasagna, salad, and the best-ever homemade cookies. The very best part was the non-stop laughter. Our grand kids are truly wonderful people and have highly developed senses of humor. They kept us all in stitches.  I needed that. 

 

Early Sunday morning I called the park ranger at Cape Lookout to get the lowdown on the weather. The newscasters were reporting 45 mph winds with gusts up to 75 mph along with risk of flooding. To my surprise, the park ranger said "you should just come on out, this is normal weather and people come here just to watch the storms come in". Music to my ears! So we loaded up and headed to the beach.

 

When we arrived, it was very calm and dry. We got into our rented yurt ($38) early and the camp host assured us the storm really would be coming. A short walk down to the beach confirmed that. The kids pretended to be weather reporters and we recorded several "interviews" with them. In one clip on my phone, the youngest is talking while a gust sneaks up on him and all of a sudden he is no longer in the picture. Funny!

We have never camped in a yurt and I have to say it's really the way to go. It has electricity and heat. The beds are surprisingly comfy. My step-daughter planned accordingly by bringing a George Foreman grill and a very long extension cord, as cooking is not allowed inside the yurt. It could not have been more perfect. We wondered if using a coffee pot was considered cooking, and decided brewing is not cooking. We had hamburgers & chips after a lively game of Payday. Snuggling in by about 10pm, we got very little sleep as the storm worsened by the hour.  I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of it!

 

We left the beach early yesterday morning as we knew it would be a 7+ hour drive home. Driving along Hwy 14, we decided to cross over the river at The Dalles. Our favorite Thai place was closed so we went to Plan B which is always the Safeway deli. We shared a 2-entree dinner. As I was waiting for him to wash up I noticed a well-dressed old man picking through the sandwiches in a deli case. I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he shuffled three sandwiches around obviously trying to figure out which one to buy. I have no idea what his circumstances were but I instantly felt like the luckiest girl on earth for having such great people in my life and a pang of heartache for the old man.

 

I think I'm going to make it through another long winter. This long weekend provided a much needed escape and enough adventure to last me until the next road trip.

 

P.S. I got to use my new camera a little in between the pouring rain and wind. 

love, susan

A cast of weather reporters

loving the green

Luck was on our side this weekend

Captured the rain drops thru the sunshine!

Not anymore!

Happy campers

Barney