8.03.2008

5 States, 4 Peeps, 2 Dogs and 1 Hippie (Final Blog)









Life is zooming by and I still have to finish sharing my trip. Blog's are happening and being the anal person that I am, I must finish what I have started before I can blog on. Anyways.......on to Washington. It's funny how when you are little you don't have any real appreciation for what surrounds you. I'm thankful my parents took me camping on a regular basis. Back then, it was just fun, now, I love it and am aware of how content I am when I am outside. On our way to Washington we passed through the Columbia River Gorge in eastern Washington. What a sight. The river is one of the largest in the world. Cortny and I scrambled to take pics from the back seat. We arrived @ the beach around 3 p.m. that afternoon and headed right for the water. I remember years ago when we first started going to the property, everything was low enough that you could see the ocean from where we parked our camper. Today the pines and bushes are huge and to get to the beach you have to pass through by way of path that has been carved/cut out like a tunnel. I love it. When you are out on the beach the waves are breaking, the wind is blowing and the seagulls are screeching and then when you enter the tunnel where everything gets quiet and the air is still. It's as if you been catapulted into another place altogether. As soon as we arrived we laid claim to where are tents would go and got busy putting them up. I took a walk on the beach w/Dani Jo and we let Skully run free. What a riot to watch him run up and down picking up dead crab legs (ewww), chasing after seagulls and sniffing everything around him. When he went to sleep that night....he never moved, he was exhausted. Cortny, Rich and I went to Ocean Shores which is about 15 minutes away and very touristy. We ate dinner @ a restaurant that was right on the beach. When we finished we were watching the sun set and decided to jump in the car and drive along the beach to get a closer look. My dad talks about this phenomenon that natures creates when the conditions are just right. The sky is clear and when the sun dips down into the water to say goodnight, if you watch and don't blink your eyes you will see a purple flash. A few years ago I was fortunate to see it, but I must admit before then I thought he was pulling my leg. The three of us waited, hoping it would make an appearance. Although, I didn't see it (because I blinked), Rich did and now dad has one more witness for his defense against those who say he's a nut head. While we were sitting in the car waiting for this delightful occurrence a van drove by that looked like it had been around since the 60's. The guy in it did as well. I waved my hand, being the friendly, jovial person that I am (most of the time). Well......let me tell you........sometimes it's better not to be.........he whipped his van around and proceeded to hand me a piece of paper w/an address on it and said w/ a smile "There's always a party going on here." What the World!!!! I smiled and said "O.k., thanks". Hit on by a hippie! I'm not sure whether to be flattered or offended. Cort and Rich thought it was hilarious saying I still have it. O.K.,........let's think about that........I attract 50 something year old men whose brains are minus several million cells because they've been partying since the 60's. You tell me.....would you be overjoyed? I think not! It makes for a great blog though. When we arrived back at the property we said hellos and I introduced Cortny and Rich to my cousins and aunt. We were exhausted from the long drive and headed for our tents. I LOVE MY NEW TENT!! It only sleeps two but Skully and I were like to little bugs in a rug. My sister Lori and her Bo arrived on Friday. I was anxious to see her. When we were sitting on the beach an eagle landed by the shoreline and was looking for a meal. How awesome is that. We all just watched and were aware of how fortunate we were to see this magnificent bird. One of the few endangered species that humans have been able to correct after almost causing their extinction. Lori ended up being my backup-dance partner on karaoke night. Dad laughed at both of us and said we still had the moves (the hippie would have loved them :). Remember the dances back then, the jerk, go-go, hitchin' a ride? Just like ridin' a bike....you never forget. However, I was pretty winded when I finished and felt it the next day. I was quite a ham when I was younger and whenever we would get together w/our cousins we would put on plays. While we were sitting around the fire one night, my cousin Charlie said "Remember those plays we would put on and you always had to be the boss?" Another cousin only heard the words play and Tami and chimed in "Are you talking about how Tami always had to be the boss?" You get the picture. I was bossy! I like to think that time has tempered that a bit and the need to be the center of every one's universe has faded to a purple flash. Saturday and Sunday brought rain, but for the most part didn't damper any one's spirits. I was ready to go home though. Most everyone around me had a partner and I was acutely aware of how much I missed the 'hub'. It was going on two weeks. When you couple that with the last two years and how rarely we saw one another you can imagine how I was ready to head home. We left on Sunday, mid-morning. After smuggling Skully and Lola in a hotel in Boise, Idaho we were able to take a hot shower and sleep in a real bed that night. We arrived home on Monday afternoon around 4 p.m. The 'hub' was waiting outside. What a welcome sight. That night we looked at photos and shared our stories w/him. I hope one day that he is able to go on my fly-fishing trip. I'm not sleeping well at night, I need to be in my tent w/the sound of a river or the ocean as my background noise. My bed, the fan and the 'hubs' occasional snorts aren't quite the same (however his snorts sound a bit like the moose we heard one night outside our tents). We are planning an overnight hike in the Grand Canyon for the fall. I can't wait!! Right now I am a slave to my ka-billions of boxes that need to be unpacked. It will do., I am thankful....and when I become sad because there is so many travels yet to be made....I will think about the hippie.....that outta snap me out of it.

2 comments:

cortny said...

i'm not sleeping well either! maybe we need one of those corny nature sounds cds to fall asleep to. stocking stuffer!

Tam said...

tried that, it made it worse