At the Beach

While DJ was in town, we decided to take a trip out to the beach. "We" ended up being myself, Derrick, DJ, our friend Julia, and Jade. This was Jade's first beach trip so we were very excited to get her out and let her run around.

Usually when we head out to the beach, my family always seems to head to Seaside. I'm not sure why, but that's always the way it's been. But we decided to break tradition and head toward Cannon Beach instead this time. The change in routine was due to two main factors: 1.) We figured Cannon Beach would be less crowded and therefore more fun for Jade, who still barks at strangers and doesn't like being limited by her leash, and 2.) the day we chose to go ended up having a very low tide that morning and Cannon Beach has an amazing tide pool area during low tide.

The morning started out cloudy, which is not unusual. Oregon beaches sometimes feel like they come with a "rainy day" guarantee, but not this time. By lunchtime the clouds had pretty much blown by and it ended up being a very nice day. The wind on the beach made it chilly while we were on the sand but for the times we ventured into town, it was a pleasant, balmy Friday.

When we got there, first thing we did was head out to the sandy area. DJ, who had sprained his ankle earlier in the week and was having trouble walking on the sand, claimed a location and we laid out the blanket for him to sit and enjoy the view. Then Derrick, Julia and I took Jade out to her first meeting with the ocean. It took her a little while (and Derrick showing her how) but she eventually started playing in the waves like a true lab. I couldn't help but laugh when she would bark and try to bite the breaking waves. Silly dog!

We also made a brief stop to see some of the critters in the tide pool area. It was pretty neat. I liked the cave with all the starfish in it. I've never seen so many in one place, not even in my many trips to various aquariums around the country.


Derrick got a really cool pirate ship kite awhile ago from mom and Don and hadn't had a chance to fly it yet (it needed a lot of wind to get it up), so him and Julia put it together and took it out for a fly. Everyone thought it was really cool. A lot of people commented on it when they walked by and I even saw an elder couple take a picture of it!

I brought a smaller kite along for DJ to fly. It was small enough that it didn't require him to have to move from his spot on the blanket. At one point, Derrick gave him the pirate ship to steer for awhile and so DJ attached his kite to Jade's collar and she walked around flying a kite too. It was really funny.

Jade enjoyed playing in the sand as much as playing in the water. She'd chase after her Frisbee (covering her face in sand in the process) and then start digging holes. She usually gets in trouble for digging in the back yard, so she must have felt like she was in doggie heaven to be allowed to dig all she wanted here. We didn't even complain when the dirt she dug out kept landing on the blanket.

Eventually we got hungry. I had brought along stuff to make sandwiches for lunch, but Derrick had just gotten paid for some work he had done for mom and felt generous enough to take us out for lunch. Jade was tired, so we left her in the car (with the windows rolled most the way down, of course!) and she napped while we ate. Since Derrick was paying, he got to choose the location and we ended up at a Brew Pub. It was perfect because he wanted a burger, I wanted clam chowder and he was able to drink a beer.

We had a lot of fun. Well, we always do when we're together. My brothers are so goofy.

After lunch, Derrick, Julia and I took Jade back out for more fun on the beach. DJ decided he was tired and took his turn to sleep in the car. Julia and I sat on the blanket (me reading, her people-watching) while Derrick and Jade did more wave chasing. Every now and then Jade would run back up to make sure we were still there and decide I needed to get a little of the beach on me. First she'd roll around in the sand until she was covered and then she'd then proceed to rub herself against me from her head to her tail, getting me both sandy and wet. It made Julia and me laugh.And of course, Julia and I couldn't leave town without raiding a candy store for salt water taffy.

It was a great day. As we were packing up to head home, I looked at Julia and said, "You know what the best part is?"

"What?" she asked.

"That today isn't even Saturday!" We both realized that not only had we had a fun and very relaxing day at the beach, but we both still had two more days of the weekend left.

The drive home was quiet, as both boys and Jade were fast asleep in the back seat and Julia and I were tired. It's amazing how exhausting being outside can end up being. I did get a sunburn too. The beach was cold enough that I wore a sweatshirt over my sundress and put a towel over my legs while I read, but that still left my face uncovered. I had brought some sunscreen with me, but it really doesn't do much good from the car. So, I ended the day pink faced and sore. It's been a long time since I've had a burn that was bad enough to peel, but that's exactly what I did this time. I forgot how annoying that is.

And we've all decided unanimously that Cannon Beach will be our new beach destination.

By the way, the pictures here are only the highlights. To view the entire album of pics, click on the following picture and it will take you to my online album.

Cannon Beach