there and back again

the adventures of our family

wednesday, may 5, 2010

with the van packed and ready to go, we headed out the door just after ten. garden watered, bills payed and a few american dollars in our pocket. our first destination was target for some groceries and the play area. following that we made a stop at the thrift store for some new books. and lastly, REI for a new sleeping bag for sophie. it was here that our first encounter with losing your child happened. as i was talking with the sales clerk i could see over his shoulder a rather desperate looking scott with eyes darting into every corner of the store. shortly afterward, a message over the loud speaker for all clerks to start looking for a little girl age three named sophie. eventually found hiding under the carts at the front of the store, she proudly jumped out and shouted, "you found me!" to the clerk. with a great game of hide and go seek under our belts, sleeping bag in hand and sweaty armpits, we started back on the road. our destination that night was deception pass on Whidbey Island.

thursday 6,

our first look at how early our days would be starting. with light streaming into the camper van the girls woke early with big smiles ready to start their adventure. it was cold and scott sat shoulder to shoulder with me as we discussed the possibilities of making it all the way to California. instead the decision was made to skip our next washington destination and quickly get to oregon. our thoughts were that whidbey island best be discovered and explored in a trip all on its own.

scott was wondering what we got ourselves into!

bridge to Whidbey Island

we headed to keystone and took the ferry to port townsend. from there we drove down the east side of the olympic national park and out to olympia. once at olympia we took the I5 to kelso then off to astoria and camped that night at fort stevens state park.

heading across to Port Townsend

lunch break in the sunshine

some of my favorite interactions

we had a great campsite and soon found out that oregon state parks have free showers, we were so excited. we quickly made friends with the gentleman, dave, who tented across from us and shared stories around the campfire once the girls had gone to bed. off to a great adventure.

what home looked like for the next nine nights

friday 7,

penny and i slept in the tent while scott and sophie slept in the van. our goal was to allow the girls to sleep as long as they could without the other one waking them up. this would be our sleeping arrangement for the rest of the trip. this morning penny was up first, so so was i. we made a little fire and enjoyed the sun filtering in through the trees. the morning moved slowly and we enjoyed time playing around the campsite. most other travelers were on their way by the time we moved out. scott and i smiled as we had no idea of the time and we could have cared less...this is what happens when you don't own a cell phone or a watch!

our drive this day took us passed some of our favorite spots. seaside, we made a stop here and purchased a wet suit for sophie at the same store we bought our surf boards five year ago. the next stop was cannon beach. windy and beautiful we played for hours. the sign of a good day= sand in the eyes, nose and mouth, soaking wet clothes, lots of pictures, red sun burnt cheeks and sore tummies from laughing. back in the van, with two little girls without clothes on, we finshed the day with a drive to cape lookout state park.

seaside surf shop

cannon beach

dreaming of a new home one day

saturday 8,

cape lookout state park. D70. my favorite spot.

will continue the adventure tomorrow.