Portland to Astoria

     So we made it to Oregon.  This five week trip has been in the works for a year now.  Faris and I started talking about how we have to just "go do it" if we want to do things - there's no right time or even good time at this point in our lives.  And while it may seem a little odd or even irresponsible to some, it's our perfect normal.   I started reading Donald Miller's book "Through Painted Deserts" and he has a quote that explains it perfectly - he says "We are shaped by our experiences.  Our perception of joy, fear, pain, and beauty are sharpened or dulled by the way we rub against time.  My senses have become dull and this trip is an effort to sharpen them."

The flight was good, had to wrestle Mary Logue to sleep but she stayed down for thirty minutes then sat in my lap the rest of the time.  On the second flight I took up the whole row and wouldn't let anyone sit by us - I think I deserved a third seat if anyone on that plane did!   We were so happy to see Faris at the airport - Eli ran up to him but Mary Logue was very skeptical because of his mustache & gave him the once over for awhile before deciding he was OK and was "dada".  Faris & Hunter dropped us off at the hotel and we crashed while Faris took Hunter to Matt's - sad to see him go, really wanted him to stay with us for a day but we were no fun for the first day anyway - really tired. 
     Had breakfast at the hotel then set off for Astoria, the oldest development west of the Rockies where Lewis & Clark ended up.  It is a beautiful fishing and shipping town that has maintained its quaintness.  We had fish and chips at the Bowmaker, an old ship, then rode the "train" according to Eli (trolley)  which told us the history of Astoria.

Fish n/Chips

We hopped off the trolley to see the sea lions and do a little foot racing on the pier (Eli was early off the blocks but said he won anyway).

Eli is quick off the blocks

Checked into our campsite at Ft. Stevens State Park, a beautiful park right on the Pacific Ocean.  The Peter Iredale is shipwrecked on the beach and you can walk right up to it and play on it.

wreck of peter iredale from 1906!

The beach is stunning, especially at sunset - the sand is black and the flora is lush and green - unlike any scenery we've seen before.  Lots of ferns and huge western hemlocks make up the forest.  As Eli said, "it's impressable Mama".  Our campground is gorgeous and Penny (what Eli named our camper) is perfect.  We cooked up a great dinner before the kids fell apart.  Our first attempt at getting them to sleep was comical, as Mary Logue looked like the pop up mole at Chuck E Cheese - she kept popping up & looking around, she was so lost.  Finally got them down and ML slept 8 solid hours - not bad for the first night. 





     Today was rainy so we loaded up the bike trailer and explored the Battery Russell here at Ft. Stevens.  The kids are so happy and having a great time running around, playing in the dirt, and just being with us.

Our little home