On July 30th - August 1st I went camping with a couple of friends up at Jordanelle Lake. It was really fun! My dad, shockingly, allowed us to steal his truck, pop in some Britney Spears and ABBA, and make our way up the canyon.
The first day was so much fun. We got there around 5 or 6, and set up camp. April was our designated camp cook. We had delicious barbecue chicken and rice. Everything was going smoothly, much to my surprise. 4 girls camping, and only 1 who sort of knew what she was doing is never a good thing! After we cleaned up we ran up to the bathrooms and changed, then hit the water. In case you didn't know, even at the end of July, a lake still is REALLY COLD. We learned that very quickly. We had some awesome flotation devices however, so it made it all worth it. We didn't stay long since the sun was going down and we were ready to dance and play games.The next day we played in the lake some more, ran down to the store to grab some things we'd forgotten, had a dance party, did some hiking, put on fake tattoos (Don't worry, those pics will come soon.) We had PB&J for lunch, played in the lake some more, and got very, very burnt. It was really fun. At one point we ended up stranded in the middle of the lake and swam all the way back, it took us at least 45 min. to swim back dragging these big floaty pink seats along with us. That was pretty intense. The next morning we packed up and came home, still in one piece, and very red. Definitely something I will want to do again next summer.
The weekend following this excursion, I packed up once again and headed off to the Oregon Coast. We woke up bright and early at 4:30 AM, leaving around 5. It was a very long, boring drive to Lakeview, Oregon; my hometown. I love my family, but 10 hours with them stuck in a cramped car can be a little too much. We finally reached Lakeview and spent 2 days there, arriving Sat. afternoon and leaving Monday morning. It was another long 8 hours to get to our cabin, but we were very grateful to make it there. The cabin was absolutely gorgeous. It had 4 rooms, so my parents, and 2 brothers and sister-in-laws got their own rooms. Lindsey and I shared a bed. It had running water, showers, TOILETS, a full kitchen, tv, hot tub, and barn equipped with animals too. We were really pleased until we realized the water ran out very quickly. Apparently that cabin isn't used to accomadating such a large family.
Shortly after we got settled at the cabin we ran for the coast. It was just what we needed. You could definitely tell a difference in the attitude once we got our feet in that icy water. We spent hours there getting soaked, searching for sea shells, looking at crabs, both dead and alive, and just enjoying every moment of being on vacation. (Monday)
The next day, Tuesday, we went to a great little down called Bandon, where there were some great tourist shops filled with fun toys, and crabbing. The boys were very proud of themselves - they caught a gimp crab that was big enough to keep, and about 5 little tiny baby crabs :) However, just the experience was worth it. We got to see lots of seals, which was very new for us.
Wednesday we went a new beach, and found little miniature sand dollars - about the size of a dime - and ran into a few fully grown LIVE jellyfish. They were so weird!!! I didn't expect to see them so close to shore. We loved looking at the rocks and the tide pools. We also had a BBQ on the beach, and learned that little kids, sand, and food do NOT mix well. We all came home with sand in our teeth. Not a very fun thing to bite down and crunch on something very hard.
Thursday we spent driving up to the aquarium. It was really neat to see all the different sea animals. It's crazy to think those things actually live in the ocean. And yes, I did touch a shark. I was very proud of myself. It was maybe a foot long, but it was a shark. We also got to touch starfish, and sea anemones. The little kids loved it. On the drive home we stopped at some fun little spots that had great views, and took pictures, but we were all ready to get back to the cabin and into that hot tub.
Friday we went back to the beach, and back to Bandon as well. We ate at a wonderful little fish and chips place. I tried it, even though I'm not a big fish eater at all, and found I actually liked theirs!! We got some great sea shells, and souveniers. Overall, it was a really fun trip. Saturday we packed up, went back to Lakeview, then drove home on Sunday.
Since we've been home everyone has started school. Cody is now in 4th grade, Lindsey is a sophomore, and I'm a freshman at UVU. It's weird getting back into school, but it's been fun. I'm excited to get through it though, and start working in what I really love.
