We went camping this past weekend at Beverly Beach. This trip consisted of two nights away, a first since Chase’s arrival.
There was ample beach time (Oregon beach time is unique)…
And lots of of just relaxing in the campsite…
We slept good, we played hard, what more could you ask for?
We went on our first camping trip of the year two weeks ago. We considered going two nights but thought it better to start with just one. The whole idea started in my head when I found out the Oregon Trail Rally was starting on a Friday night near where I work. I figured, if we’re going to be out late anyway, why not go camping?
Friday
Gates at PIR opened at 3 pm and we got there around 4:30. The actual race wouldn’t begin until after 7 pm so we walked around and visited with the participants and watched as they made last minute adjustments.
While walking up and down the rows of cars, trailers and crew I spotted a unique last name that I recognized from a training class I went to. The last name belonged to a girl I met in Ohio and was really into racing at the time (2004). At that time she had attended some rallies but never drove or co-drove. Turns out, she now has a rally car and travels the west coast driving sideways! We spend quite a bit of time talking with her. She let Chase sit in her car.
After making a few rounds we found a shady spot (the weather was gorgeous) and relaxed until the racing began. Once it did, Chase was very interested in watching the cars. During one of the stages we stood so close we had to cover his ears whenever a car drove by. The whole event was fun for the whole family which was a relief.
At around 8:30 we started heading for the campground. We camped at Seaquest State Park in Washington about 45 miles west of Mt. Saint Helens. We were all asleep shortly after setting up our tents.
Chase slept in a tent inside a tent…
Saturday
One advantage to getting up early with Chase is you get to all the busy spots before other people have had breakfast. We ate breakfast, packed up the tent and were at the first view point at 7:45 am, and we moved pretty leisurely
First view point…
The other advantage is you get to take pictures in really good light…
We stopped at many of the viewpoints heading towards Mt Saint Helens. And also went on a few short walks. We ate our lunch near the Johnson Ridge Observatory which is at the end of HWY 504 and started our trip home shortly thereafter. We took our time getting back to Salem stopping at rest area and IKEA for at least an hour. The trip was a lot of fun and it was nice to have Sunday as a full rest day.
We travelled south last month for my sister’s wedding and took a few days to see some sites around Los Angeles. Our first stop was the farmers market to get some good kid food. We knew that eating out a lot would be expensive, especially if Chase was being picky so we stocked up on fruits and vegetables that we knew he liked. As far as farmers market’s go this one was pretty terrible, but it accomplished what we needed ( they did have California strawberries for $.88/lb).
The first “touristy” thing we visited was the Getty Center. In our guidebook it was listed as kid friendly and free (admission was free, but parking was $15). Chase had a great time climbing up and down the stairs. The entrance had 50 or so stairs to climb so we didn’t actually go into the center for twenty minutes while he played on them. Once inside, Megan and I enjoyed the exhibits, gardens and pools. The tricky part was trying to get Chase to nap when there was so much action going on. One nice thing about the Center was that the had strollers for families, unfortunately even these couldn’t get Chase to fall to sleep.
From the Getty Center we headed back towards Beverly Hills via Mulholland Drive. It is one of those iconic roads that you see in many movies. It has beautiful views of the valley and the ocean. Chase slept through the whole thing :)
On our second day in LA we headed west, to the beach. Parking is sparse near the beach but after looking for awhile we ended up parking right in front of Muscle Beach which happened to be one of the highlights to our visit. Very kid friendly. Very parent friendly. They had rings…
Tight ropes…
Segways…
Ok, that part wasn’t a highlight, but funny none the less. There were a few stereotypical ‘muscle dudes’ which was also fun to watch. Chase really enjoyed all the sun. We would stayed longer but were afraid of too much sun exposure for our little guy (we did lather him up every two hours).
Overall, our experience was really fun. Chase was happy most of the time and because we drove so much he also napped very well.
