We first took a trip to Long Beach, Washington where we went when I was pregnant with Tallan. It was great to return to a place we knew we loved! Here is a link to the place we stayed at: http://www.bloomerestates.com/long-beach-wa-vacation-rentals-lodging/seaview-wa-ocean-view/index.html
Tallan made himself at home with a movie. Yes. It was a VHS. They really do still exist :)
Elisa started crawling!
She also gave her brother some love bites when he was right in her face encouraging her with some "Yay, baby! Go, go" comments.
We left home at 8:30am and made it to Long Beach by 3:30pm with a lunch stop, a gas stop, and an emergency bathroom break. I'd say we made fabulous time!! We walked down to the beach the same day as the sunshine was too great to miss. It wasn't exactly the oceanfront we were expecting....probably a good 2 km trek through the bush to get there, but we made it!!
Tallan and Elisa got busy trying to bury themselves in the sand.
Tallan and Elisa got busy trying to bury themselves in the sand.
But, it was pitiful so daddy took matters into his own hands. It was cute, until he started driving away.
We had enough of the "private path" to the beach so we decided to take the longer public access road home. I guess Tallan had enough sitting on the way down (which, by the way, he was amazing! didn't complain at all and he kept trying to comfort poor crying Elisa). He decided he didn't want to sit in the stroller on the way back to our place from the beach so he ran along side her like her very own bodyguard. There will be many years of that to come!! After he stops attacking her himself, of course...
Day 2 brings us more beach. This time we visit slightly up the peninsula closer to the main boulevard in Long Beach. Tallan brings his wagon of sand toys to our spot on the beach. It's serious business! Out of the way, folks. Man at work.
Elisa just chills out and maintains her beautiful beach babe status.
Mike and Tallan return from frolicking in the ocean. The water was way too cold for Elisa and my taste!
Along the main boulevard in Long Beach is a bunch of neat little multi-purpose stores. We stopped in this candy shop, toy store, and bakery only to find one of the most interesting treats we have ever seen. Only in the good old U. S of A.
There was a sweet little gift shop with lots of odd toys, souvenirs, and kites where we found this awesome parrot hat for Tallan. We didn't pay the $9 for it, but it was definately a pic moment!
There were so many cool hats there but we ran out of batteries on our camera. Not before getting a pic of me in this hat that apparently had the power to give me insane eyes/face :)
There are lots of kite shops on the Long Beach peninsula and we bought a simple kite for Tallan to fly with daddy. It took a little bit of work, but once it was up, it flew beautifully on its own completely maintenance free.
A little beach embrace with my sweet girl who needed something to hold onto as she gets used to standing up :) I'll take it!!
Even when the job includes clearing snotty noses!
Here are some great pics of Tallan through daddy's eyes :)
Tallan and Elisa have fun on the daddy ride!
And then the fun ends...
Apparently an all-terrain stroller doesn't include sand. Mike got a great workout trying to push and pull our mountain buggy through the sand like a rickshaw! I think the look on his face says it all :)
Here is a bit of the jungle grass we walked through our first night in long beach. This was the end of it as the beach began, but it was thick and much higher along our walk! It is hilarious now, but not so much then...
Time for a trip out to greet the ocean waves!
Elisa and I sat back, relaxed and enjoyed some snacks. Elisa, as always, was most interested in the snacks part :)
"Wahhhh!" Elisa quickly finds that lunging at the picnic bag from the beach log does not result in the most desirable outcome.
Elisa and I get annoyed with Tallan for salting our goldfish crackers with sand.
After watching a colourful beach towel run around the beach for a while, our cute little culprit reveals himself!
Daddy and Tallan have a blast wetting their toes and doing a dance in the ocean!
With Tallan away frolicking amongst the waves, Elisa finally gets a chance to play with the sand toys without Tallan hoarding them all and transporting them from spot to spot all over the beach in his little wagon. And our little beach bunny sure loves playing with them! In the first picture, if you replaced the sand toy with a beer can in her hand, it looks like the signature Blatchford belch to me :) But no. No beers please.
Despite having many cloudy days on our vacation (and some passing rain), it was really nice just to be on the beach. We had lots of space (all the locals probably don't even bother with the beach unless the weather is perfect) and we just loved it even if we had to wear sweaters to be comfortable!
At our first vacation home, they had a closet full of toys and this cute little ride on lion that the kids loved, even though it wasn't quite big enough to share and ride on together.
On our last night at the Long Beach home, my friend Alan and his wife Rachel came up to visit us. They are both medical doctors in Portland, Oregon and drove up to Long Beach after work on Thursday. It was so good to see them and have a nice visit - too bad it was so short! They got to meet Tallan and Elisa in the morning and we took a couple of pics, but mostly our kids were thinking, "who are these people?" Yes, we even had to bribe Tallan with a container of Dibbs to sit in the shot!
The next day, we left Long Beach and headed further south down the Oregon Coast. We ended up stopping for a moment at a viewing spot off the highway because Elisa was losing her mind being strapped into her carseat again! But oh, it was beautiful just to stop and enjoy the view. How we love the beaches there!
While stopped for a few moments, Tallan tried to hijack the car. No way, Lady Gaga. Back away from the wheel...
"No," he says emphatically, "I'm driving!" Alright, I see you're serious about this driving business. But don't get us a ticket - they're expensive down here. Next, it's difficult to drive when you can only see sky over the dash. Invest in some telephone books or something...
When we arrived in Lincoln City, we stayed here: http://www.oliviabeachcottagerentals.com/vacation-rental-home.asp?PageDataID=28465
We dare say that we actually liked the beaches better in Oregon than we did in southern Washington. Both were wonderful, but the beaches in Oregon were so scenic! On our first night, we drove out to a beach just a few minutes south of where we were staying and got to watch seals!!
I also got to do some shopping in Lincoln City, so I may be biased in that sense for which place I loved more :) We bought a pizza from a small pizza parlour called Humble Pie (delicious) and ate it on the beach as we watched the seals. But, Mike was right, pushing the stroller in the sand was no piece of cake!! I think I was practically horizontal.
The next day, we went to check out a playground in a nearby park. It was really neat. Multiple climbing structures - all toddler friendly. And they had these really neat swings made out of old tires! They were pretty comfy for adults too!
Tallan fell in love with this bouncy train. He was serious about driving it though. In fact, I think we were kicked off because we weren't obeying his rules well enough! Here we have Mr. Conductor's serious face.
And this was our last picture before our camera bit the dust. Literally. We think sand got trapped in the lens or something, but it stopped working. No worries - there are still more pics of our trips to the Aquarium and the Zoo - they were just taken by our video camera so they aren't the best quality. I'll post those pics separately as this post is getting too long!!
To be continued in the next post!
We had enough of the "private path" to the beach so we decided to take the longer public access road home. I guess Tallan had enough sitting on the way down (which, by the way, he was amazing! didn't complain at all and he kept trying to comfort poor crying Elisa). He decided he didn't want to sit in the stroller on the way back to our place from the beach so he ran along side her like her very own bodyguard. There will be many years of that to come!! After he stops attacking her himself, of course...
Day 2 brings us more beach. This time we visit slightly up the peninsula closer to the main boulevard in Long Beach. Tallan brings his wagon of sand toys to our spot on the beach. It's serious business! Out of the way, folks. Man at work.
Elisa just chills out and maintains her beautiful beach babe status.
Mike and Tallan return from frolicking in the ocean. The water was way too cold for Elisa and my taste!
Along the main boulevard in Long Beach is a bunch of neat little multi-purpose stores. We stopped in this candy shop, toy store, and bakery only to find one of the most interesting treats we have ever seen. Only in the good old U. S of A.
So of course Mike had to buy one and try it. I think the pictures speak for themselves.
There was a sweet little gift shop with lots of odd toys, souvenirs, and kites where we found this awesome parrot hat for Tallan. We didn't pay the $9 for it, but it was definately a pic moment!
There were so many cool hats there but we ran out of batteries on our camera. Not before getting a pic of me in this hat that apparently had the power to give me insane eyes/face :)
There are lots of kite shops on the Long Beach peninsula and we bought a simple kite for Tallan to fly with daddy. It took a little bit of work, but once it was up, it flew beautifully on its own completely maintenance free.
A little beach embrace with my sweet girl who needed something to hold onto as she gets used to standing up :) I'll take it!!
Even when the job includes clearing snotty noses!
Here are some great pics of Tallan through daddy's eyes :)
Tallan and Elisa have fun on the daddy ride!
And then the fun ends...
Apparently an all-terrain stroller doesn't include sand. Mike got a great workout trying to push and pull our mountain buggy through the sand like a rickshaw! I think the look on his face says it all :)
Here is a bit of the jungle grass we walked through our first night in long beach. This was the end of it as the beach began, but it was thick and much higher along our walk! It is hilarious now, but not so much then...
Time for a trip out to greet the ocean waves!
Elisa and I sat back, relaxed and enjoyed some snacks. Elisa, as always, was most interested in the snacks part :)
"Wahhhh!" Elisa quickly finds that lunging at the picnic bag from the beach log does not result in the most desirable outcome.
Elisa and I get annoyed with Tallan for salting our goldfish crackers with sand.
After watching a colourful beach towel run around the beach for a while, our cute little culprit reveals himself!
Daddy and Tallan have a blast wetting their toes and doing a dance in the ocean!
With Tallan away frolicking amongst the waves, Elisa finally gets a chance to play with the sand toys without Tallan hoarding them all and transporting them from spot to spot all over the beach in his little wagon. And our little beach bunny sure loves playing with them! In the first picture, if you replaced the sand toy with a beer can in her hand, it looks like the signature Blatchford belch to me :) But no. No beers please.
Despite having many cloudy days on our vacation (and some passing rain), it was really nice just to be on the beach. We had lots of space (all the locals probably don't even bother with the beach unless the weather is perfect) and we just loved it even if we had to wear sweaters to be comfortable!
At our first vacation home, they had a closet full of toys and this cute little ride on lion that the kids loved, even though it wasn't quite big enough to share and ride on together.
On our last night at the Long Beach home, my friend Alan and his wife Rachel came up to visit us. They are both medical doctors in Portland, Oregon and drove up to Long Beach after work on Thursday. It was so good to see them and have a nice visit - too bad it was so short! They got to meet Tallan and Elisa in the morning and we took a couple of pics, but mostly our kids were thinking, "who are these people?" Yes, we even had to bribe Tallan with a container of Dibbs to sit in the shot!
The next day, we left Long Beach and headed further south down the Oregon Coast. We ended up stopping for a moment at a viewing spot off the highway because Elisa was losing her mind being strapped into her carseat again! But oh, it was beautiful just to stop and enjoy the view. How we love the beaches there!
While stopped for a few moments, Tallan tried to hijack the car. No way, Lady Gaga. Back away from the wheel...
"No," he says emphatically, "I'm driving!" Alright, I see you're serious about this driving business. But don't get us a ticket - they're expensive down here. Next, it's difficult to drive when you can only see sky over the dash. Invest in some telephone books or something...
When we arrived in Lincoln City, we stayed here: http://www.oliviabeachcottagerentals.com/vacation-rental-home.asp?PageDataID=28465We dare say that we actually liked the beaches better in Oregon than we did in southern Washington. Both were wonderful, but the beaches in Oregon were so scenic! On our first night, we drove out to a beach just a few minutes south of where we were staying and got to watch seals!!
The next day, we went to check out a playground in a nearby park. It was really neat. Multiple climbing structures - all toddler friendly. And they had these really neat swings made out of old tires! They were pretty comfy for adults too!
Tallan fell in love with this bouncy train. He was serious about driving it though. In fact, I think we were kicked off because we weren't obeying his rules well enough! Here we have Mr. Conductor's serious face.
And this was our last picture before our camera bit the dust. Literally. We think sand got trapped in the lens or something, but it stopped working. No worries - there are still more pics of our trips to the Aquarium and the Zoo - they were just taken by our video camera so they aren't the best quality. I'll post those pics separately as this post is getting too long!!
To be continued in the next post!
No comments:
Post a Comment