In his happy place....

Fishing at Timothy Lake can't be beat!

More Summer Happenings

August has been busy and full of fun. There was a 5K obstacle course fund raiser, an ever expanding repertoire of cooking skills (crepes!) , a few familiar faces stepping in to be junior judges at a car show and a visit from Gram and Pop. And the month of August isn't even over yet!

More beach photos

Two beautiful spots near Manzanita: Oswald West State Park and the hike to the top of Neahkahnie Mountain.
Oswald West is also referred to as "short sands". It's a long hike in but completely worth it. It's a nice spot for surfing  but we decided to skip surf boards in favor of smaller and lighter boogie boards. We did bring wet suits and the water was perfectly fine for our Oregonian selves. Wetsuits are light to carry in but very heavy once soaked with water. In fact, no matter what we bring in to short sands, the load always feels unmanageable on the way back. As a result, the hike back out always ends with me dreaming of a Dark and Stormy*.
The photo of me with the boys is at the top of the hike and the next photo shows the view below. When you climb to the very top, the view takes your breath away. The last portion of the climb is essentially a pier of large (but stable) rocks and looking down make my stomach do a bit of a flip flop. But after a few seconds, I was relaxed enough to truly enjoy the view. 

Dark and Stormy:
2 ounces Gosling's or Myers's dark rum

5 ounces ginger beer (or ginger ale)
Lime wedge

Adventures on the Oregon coast

It was a great week of outdoor fun! Digging in the sand, boogie boarding, collecting rocks, exploring caves,  playing Monopoly, visiting with friends....most of all, enjoying the relaxed pace of vacation. The Oregon coast has all the rugged beauty you expect to see in the Pacific Northwest. It's not usually hot and sunny (like other beach places) but August is pretty good. Even when we woke to gray, overcast skies, we usually ended up seeing the sun pop out just after lunch. And by now, we know the drill....sweatshirts, jeans, shorts, t-shirts...and , of course, wetsuits if you plan to spend any amount of time in the water.

Hooray for summer!