Camping - Day 1

Got back from vacation today – we had such a good time. To make it easier for readers to digest, I will break the vacation up into parts.

On Sunday, June 29th, Amanda, Danielle and I drove from Pasco, WA to the Oregon Coast.


We still had our awesome Trivial Pursuit cards – we found that many of the questions centered on golf, boxing, and Watergate. There was less card playing this day, however, as the drive was absolutely stunning. The only word I could think of as we drove through Oregon was “majestic.” God has blessed us with such a beautiful, diverse world – beaches, mountains, deserts, it’s all so gorgeous.




We met up with Amanda’s parents, her niece and her nephew (Kyah and Zane) to set up camp. I think it’s important to mention that I haven’t been camping since 1993, and haven’t been camping for more than one consecutive night probably since 1988. I’m not sure why that’s important, but I thought I’d mention it. Amanda, Danielle and I shared a tent, while Amanda’s parents shared with Kyah and Zane. Putting up the tents was an adventure – although I must say that putting up these new-fangled, modern tents is a lot easier than X+ years ago when I went to girls’ camp. And we did kind of cheat – we all brought air mattresses to sleep on – no way can I sleep on the ground. ☺ I really enjoyed the camping – I’ll now have to do it more often.





Our campground was right next to the beach – but the Oregon Coast beach, so it was freezing.



Amanda’s sister and her family (three cute boys, Lucas, Micah and David) joined us for the day and night activities, but since they have a 6-month old baby, they spent the nights at a nearby motel.

That first night we got a visit from a raccoon – whose name is still under discussion (is it Rocky? Rhonda? Rhoda?). The raccoon ate the majority of the food we brought (we, as in Amanda’s parents) – he (or she) opened coolers, boxes, etc. and ate raw chicken (how can that be good for anyone), pizza dough, Rhode’s dough, ham, cheese, and most of the chocolate for s’mores. We think the racoon’s lair (nest? den?) was in a grouping of bushes right by our camp because we could see the ½ eaten loaf of bread inside.

Why is it that the more difficult it is to get to the restroom during the night, the more often one has to go? I slept the furthest from the tent opening, so all I had to do was stand up, keep my balance without upsetting the air mattresses, crawl over Amanda – without bumping into Danielle – quietly unzip the door, find my shoes, and walk to the ladies room. Of course I’d have to repeat the process on the return trip. The first night, I tried and tried to NOT have to leave the tent, but sadly, it was not to be.

To be continued...