I know, I know. ANOTHER post about our Seattle friends. That is, TD, Kathleen, Lucy, Charlotte and Marsden. And this time we got to meet Gizmo the wonder dog.
During our travels down the Green River, the Ds told us all about a home they had purchased in Seabrook, Washington - a little planned community right on the coast. Troy and I had been there before, years ago, on a family trip with the adults in my family. We really enjoyed the quaint little place, especially as it it nestled so cozily in the forests of the northwest. I love it there so much. I feel like it's my home planet up there. So the Ds mentioned that they were going to be staying there for a couple of weeks at the end of September and wondered if we might want to join them. I was cautious, not wanting to overstep our welcome or use up too many "friend tickets" if you know what I mean. They insisted though that we were very welcome.
The biggest worry about us going was that all six kids would need to be online, attending school, plus the dads would need to be working. That was a lot of bandwidth to require and there was no way to test it out before we got there - and getting there was no small feat either! Seabrook takes quite a bit longer to get to than Seattle - it's about 14 hours to drive there. It kind of seemed risky but we really just wanted to go so we really just did. We figured that if it was too big of a failure we could take a day off and drive home during the week.
Off we went! We took off on a Friday night, stayed at a motel just outside of Boise, where we experienced the joy of waiting too long to find a good place to have dinner and ending up eating gas station food from Maverick for dinner. We did not feel great as we went to bed that night. A fresh start in the morning made all the difference and we headed towards Portland via the Columbia River Gorge. That was a very lovely drive.
We landed in Seabrook in the early afternoon and found ourselves in paradise. The Ds kept apologizing for the cool cloudy and sometimes rainy weather and we kept telling them we couldn't be happier about the weather. So heavenly for us desert dwellers.
Again, I feel that it would be best to just break this post down by subject rather than post the day-to-day. Here's what the trip entailed and why it was so awesome.
#1 - Sea Otter House
The home that the Durhams purchased can only be described as delightful. It's so cute and cozy and comfortable. The house itself has two bedrooms and a couple of bathrooms and a very nice kitchen a livingroom. It also has a wraparound porch which is perfect for lounging on while spending the day in online school. There is also a garage with a small apartment upstairs, which is where we stayed. One bedroom and one bathroom, plus a great little kitchenette and living room with a pullout couch. We were very comfortable there - we made our own breakfasts and lunches and then we all ate together for dinner in the big house. This house is a gem.
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| Enjoying the Cozy Comforts |
#2 - School Actually Worked
We enjoyed our Saturday and Sunday together, walking on the beach and playing games. But Monday morning we took a big gulp and jumped into school. What was a little bit of a pain but probably helped us was the fact that we were in the Pacific Time zone and our school was happening in the Mountain Time Zone. So that reduced the number of hours that all six kids had to be online at once but it did mean that we had to be up extra early. The kids were such champs. They totally got up and totally did the school work they needed to. I did have to kind of run from kid to kid helping them out and bringing them stuff and all that but I also found myself with some down time in the mornings. I may have taken a nap or two after getting the kids started on their stuff. We never did have problems having enough bandwidth for all the internet requirements.
#3 - The Ocean
Something I just love about the Ds is how important it is to them to get outside and exercise and enjoy nature. They make it a huge priority in their lives. And being so very close to the ocean - a 5 minute walk away - we made sure to get to the shore every single day, usually more than once. We'd go for a walk through the neighborhood or through the trails in the woods and end up by the water. We had so much fun. I myself never got in the water - it really was a little too chilly. But the kids all did - they full-on went swimming! Lucy did some surfing and other kids did a little boogie boarding. It was cold and fresh and wonderful. Okay, the sand was totally littered with crab shells that Gizmo loved rolling in. The ocean is my favorite place.
#4 - Gizmo the Wonder Dog
We have heard a lot about Gizmo over the past few years - this sweet little dog literally showed up on the D's front porch three years ago and turned out to be the best dog on the planet. We all fell in love with him. He's quite small but very energetic and really doesn't bark a whole lot. He loves playing tug-of-war and wrestling. But also he loves snuggling. He climbs right up on your lap and snuggles in and it's just the best. We have a little Gizmo envy, to tell you the truth. What a great dog.
#5 - The Woods
One thing that is so great about Seabrook is that it's right by the ocean but is also on a hillside that is densely wooded with beautiful old cedar trees. There are mazes of pathways everywhere that are so fun to explore. There's still a trail leading down to the shore where people build little gnome houses out of found materials and are so cute. I could walk those trails forever. And we kind of did. We seriously went for about 5 walks a day.
#6 - Puzzles with Charlotte
We were so relieved to make it through the week of school that the second weekend felt extra relaxing. We did watch a little tv but mostly we focused on doing a couple of really fun puzzles. Not much more to say but it was really fun for me. Charlotte, their middle child, was my fellow puzzle fiend. We bonded over frustrating puzzles and satisfying ones as well. After we got back we sent her a puzzle we've enjoyed.
#7 - Ice Cream at The Sweet Life
Seabrook has a candy shop that it stuffed to the rafters with treats of every shape and size. And I mean that literally - there were 12" gummy bears. It was quite the collection of confections and we sampled a few things. The best, though, was the ice cream. Peaches and cream and huckleberry and mocha chip. I think I went so many times that the people who work there started to question my life choices. Emma and I snuck off once for our own treat after a rough school day. Marsden lobbied to go there on a daily basis. He only won twice.
#8 - The Kid Pack
Return of the kid pack! It actually took a day or two before the gang felt totally back to normal, and due to the pressures of school there wasn't quite the free time that we had before. But the kids still adore each other and had a lot of time circled up again. Of course this time the oldest two wanted a little more alone time. They didn't get a ton but did get a little. Kathleen and I tried not to talk too much about it but it was a topic of conversation more than once.
#9 - Pickleball
I've heard of pickleball before but didn't really know what it was and certainly had never played it before. Seabrook has a few courts and the Ds had a set of paddles and balls. They taught us how to play and I instantly loved it. I need to pick up the equipment and get us playing more pickleball. I loved it! You don't have to be especially coordinated to play it, thank heavens.
#10 - Crio Brew
We were introduced to my new favorite thing. Crio Bru. It's this lovely warm beverage made by roasting cocoa beans, grinding them, and then brewing them like coffee. You add just a little cream and sugar and oh my gosh it's just heaven. The Ds told us about it over the summer and were kind enough to let us try some. I am now a fan and heavy consumer of Crio Bru. I love hot chocolate but that is so sweet and has so many calories and often makes me feel a little ill. Crio Bru is just right. Thank you, Ds.
#11 - A Saturday Outing
On our second Saturday there the Ds wanted to show us one of their favorite beaches. It was about an hour away, so we packed up food and climbed in the cars. Of course, that turned out to be the rainiest day. We made a stop about a half hour away to see the world's oldest pine tree - it was freaking huge. And it was absolutely dumping rain. We got absolutely soaking wet. Drenched to the skin. And...we decided that a beach trip would maybe have to be part of our next visit to Seabrook. Even the trip to the pine tree was really fun though.
Well, by Saturday evening the rain had cleared up enough for us to enjoy more pickleball and order some pizza from a food truck. We had avoided eating out all week (I mean besides the ice cream) - Kathleen and I really enjoyed cooking dinners with and for each other. Well, I think she did. I know I did. She's a great cook and I was happy with the recipes that I brought. That was actually really fun. But it was also a treat to order some massive pizzas and then go play ball while we waiting for them. Walking back to Sea Otter house we got to witness the amazing spectacle of a full rainbow gleaming in the sunset. Magical!
We spent the evening watching a few episodes of Parks and Rec and finishing up a puzzle. Finally we decided we might need to pack up and clean up a bit. We tore ourselves away to go get ready for the trip home, which would be starting at about 5:00 the next morning.
Those sweet Ds actually got up and met us outside to say goodbye. What sweet friends they are. It's so amazing that they were nice enough to have us for the entire week and I was thrilled that things seemed as fun as ever. It was tough to leave, especially not knowing when our next encounter might be.
The journey home...well...it kind of sucked. I take that back. It completely sucked. We had decided to stop outside of Portland to take a peek at a beautiful waterfall just by the side of the road called Multnomah Falls. We had to wait a bit to get in, and this turned out to be a blessing because it gave us time to see the before and after of one of our tires - how it was slightly flat when we parked and when we got back it was really really flat. Bad news.
We didn't have many choices. We could have put the spare on, but we would then have to have the flat tire in the car with us. Or we could stop every hour or two to fill up the tire. What a blessing that we had a small air compressor in the car with us - if we had had to rely on gas station compressors we would have been in big trouble. Turns out there aren't many of those around any more. So we were very lucky that we were had that compressor and could fill up our own tire. But it made for a very VERY long day. Now, we did stop for the waterfall viewing, but will all of the stops put together it added about three hours to our trip. By the time we finally made it home it was close to midnight and the kids had school the next day. We had some tired kids that week but they all swear it was worth it and said they would definitely do it again. In fact they would like to leave in the morning.
Thank you again, you wonderful Ds. We love you.
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