Suitcase Life: Brides & Beaches

Columbus to Oregon seems like a pretty straight shot, but apparently flying down to Georgia first sounds much better to Delta. (rude) But I did manage to scooby-doo all the flight attendants into giving me extra cookies ‘for my nephew.’ (ok, most of them were for my nephew)

Mission Accomplished.

I’ve always cried watching the Love Actually opening scene with all the tearful airport arrivals (I’m puddling just thinking about it). My nephew managed to cause a similar scene when he ran up to give me the biggest hug ever at PDX. I know I just saw this little bug in July on my road trip, but everyday I don’t get to see him is too long.
This boy truly holds my heart.

Why was I in Oregon? (other than to see my family and adorable nephew of course) I had a wedding to go to! I have known this girl since I was born practically. She and my sister were childhood friends, but once everyone moved away, our relationship grew. We bonded over singleness, LOST, small town blues and figuring out how to ‘adult’. (obviously I’m the only one with the single problem now)

Our moms were friends and always seemed to be pregnant together. Naturally, all of us kids became friends.

My brother and I were feeling how good we looked and insisted on a family photo shoot before heading to the wedding.

My nephew has spidey sense when you point a camera at him.
He always knows….

We saw people we hadn’t seen in over twenty years. It is weird, but oddly calming to be around people who have known you your entire life.

She was a beautiful bride and the wedding was perfect. Tractors, guns, line dancing and all.

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My mother figured since all of us were in town, we might as well have a family vacation. It was a pretty big deal since we hadn’t all been together in the same house in over five years. But first, I needed a day in my hometown with my sis.

I had to go to one of my old college spots, Bom Dia Coffee. The chai is so delicious, as are the avocado bagels.

Jackson’s Corner had a new location I wanted to see, so my sis & I went there and got a slice and a brew while we waited for my grandpa to finish his appointment.

It was finally time, my mother had planned a weekend trip to the Oregon Coast for the whole family. To get us excited, she got us ‘vacation socks.’

We were headed to Seaside, Oregon but first we had to stop in Cannon Beach. If you take anything from this blog, you need to understand how important it is to try the clam chowder at Mo’s. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it!! IT IS AMAZING!! Plus the view ain’t bad.

We needed to walk off our humongous, but delicious lunch. Haystack rock was calling me…

This is a pretty famous spot on the Oregon Coast. If you google those words, Haystack has its own subcategory. Plus, it’s one of the locations in The Goonies. Goonies never say die!!!

I’m a big fan of jump shots. Therefore, I made my family do them.
My sister looks like she just won a car.

I cannot jump very high, so I hide it by spreading out my limbs.
Illusions Dad, you don’t have time for my illusions!!
After too many attempts to admit, my mom managed to make it an inch off the ground, but not without great enthusiasm.
My brother is an acrobat in spirit. He can do anything athletic. Some of us were not too keen on this whole jumpy thing…

It was a lovely walk, but Seaside was calling our name

Before we left, I knew I had to do the Mermaid shot. It was a long time coming, and it was now or never. (really, the tide was coming in) In hindsight, I probably should have worn shoes to climb on the sharp barnacles.
(If I still had my fin, I wouldn’t have this problem)

1989 Mother Tour Comes to a Close

We finally made it!! Our beloved home State of Oregon!!!

Yes, I did screech my tires, pull over and run up to the sign and hug it.
We had fun in California, but nothing quite compares to the ocean air, the fresh water, the incredibly nice people…

Almost as soon as we crossed over the border, I stopped at Dutch Bros. I couldn’t wait to get an Iced Kicker! As I finished paying, the teenage girl handed me my coffee and said, “How are you doing today?”

I almost started crying. I missed this! People actually caring about others. She was considerate and polite and didn’t even realize how rare of a find she was in this country, let alone her age group. Once again, Oregon proves its worth.

My Mom loves the old bridges in Oregon, so she decided to sketch one out to paint later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was going to be our last day traveling. We left Arcata that morning and ran through the redwood forest. All that was left now was to enjoy the Oregon Coast line on the way up to Florence. There was no way I would be driving to Oregon and not getting a bowl of Mo’s Chowder…but that comes later.

What I had initially planned, months before this whole trip, was to visit as many light houses as possible on the California/Oregon coast. I failed miserably at this. I overbooked myself, thinking I could do a zillion things, but driving eats up so much of the day!

We did manage to see one, Cape Blanco Light house, located just outside Port Orford, Oregon.

It’s part of Cape Blanco State Park, home to the windiest, steepest, gravelliest roads ever.

Another attempt at watercolors, this looks almost identical to one I did…when I was seven.

As we climbed further north, my Dad kept calling, asking when we would be home. He was getting very impatient since we were a day behind schedule (thanks a lot San Francisco).

But we couldn’t help pulling over to soak up as much of this gorgeous coastline as we could!!

I’ve always loved how outrageously graphic Oregon warning signs are.

We even stopped at a bookstore in Gold Beach, Oregon. It was a dollar sale, how could we resist?? We ended up buying a book on tape to keep us awake. BEST IDEA EVER. I can’t believe we hadn’t been doing this the whole time instead of playing the alphabet game a billion times (and Taylor’s 1989 album of course).

Driving through trees and misty corners gets a little creepier when you’re listening to Stephen King’s book Salem’s Lot read to you in very convincing voices. (it’s about vampires)

Luckily, we escaped from King’s creepy clutches by reaching Mo’s!!

We’ve been going to Mo’s for over twenty years, because it’s that good. The clam chowder is the reason you come; the service, atmosphere and clam strips are why you stay.

Because we are the nicest people ever, we brought a case of chowder base home for my Dad.

After a very long day of driving, we finally made it home to Central Oregon. I was so happy to see my Dad and my brother again!

This was an incredible trip. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it. Although we had some hang ups and wished we could’ve stayed longer in places, every moment spent in that car with my Mom was wonderful. We hadn’t spent 15 days straight with each other for almost ten years! Not only did our mother-daughter relationship survive, but I think our friendship as two women really grew.

Travelling together really tests a relationship. You experience a lot of discomfort and discover new things that may annoy you about a person. It can also show you how they handle a crisis, what kind of music gets them in a good mood, and it reveals the goofiness that exhaustion brings, creating the best jokes on the planet.

So choose your co-pilots wisely. Make sure your personalities will compliment each other. If you are a planner, and your friend likes to wing it, communicate before you start driving what kind of schedule you’d like to keep. If you’re on a budget, but they want to wine & dine the whole way, that needs to be addressed as well. It can all go swimmingly as long as you both communicate everything you expect from the trip.

Beginner’s Road Trip Checklist:

• killer mixtape (books on tape highly recommended)
• good co-pilot (must be willing to chat it up when it’s dark)
• road snacks (nothing smelly or crumbly)
• water water water
• general plan of where you wanna go. (this can be wibbly wobbley)
• Zero Expectations, just a goal to HAVE FUN!!!