Camping :: Rained Out!

Everyone under 5 feet tall was VERY excited fo rthe Cub Scouts annual Family Camping Trip. Grace told everyone who would listen - I go camping and sweep in da tent in da sweeping bag. Jeff took Friday off so we could get going as soon as the van was loaded up.

We made it to Cannon Beach by noon and had a tasty lunch at Corner Grille at the Cannon Beach Hotel. They let us sit on the patio with Rogue, and even brought him a bowl of fresh water. Bayley said it was the best burger he'd ever had - 1/2 pound Angus patty, applewood bacon, Tillamook cheddar. The kid was in heaven. After eating, we walked the short path to the beach and soaked in enough sunshine to sport sunkissed pink for the rest of the weekend.

We trekked down to Nehalem and secured out favorite campsite. In no time we had the chairs around the campfire and the tent under the trees. The boys went off to explore and quickly found a shortcut up the dunes to the beach. One of Hayden's friends was there and led us to a very tame deer. She let everyone look at her...until Grace ran towards her.

Grace wore herself out hiking the boys' beach path. By the time it started to get dark, she was ready to crash. She and I got cozy in the tent while the boys went off to Bayley's den leader's campsite for glowsticks. I think Grace would have fallen asleep straight away, but they left Rogue in the tent with us, and he did not want to lie down.

Once the boys were back, we all nestled in for the night. It was a little bumpy at first, which is to be expected considering there were 5 of us on the equivalent of two double beds! But most everyone drifted off, including the dog. And then it started to rain. At first I thought it would be a passing shower, but it didn't let up.

Somewhere around 4, Grace started screaming. I figured, hey, she made it this far! Way better than Seattle. Once she was consoled, she went right back to sleep...vertically on the air mattress. Which kicked Jeff into the space between the mattresses! He soon found out what made Grace throw a fit when the wind jostled the rain guard on the tent and a drop of water splattered him.

Just after 6, Jeff was over the entire thing. We thought up a couple of plans...and then decided to go with the fastest retreat. We tossed some muffins at the kids (including the still sleeping Grace!) and packed up everything as fast as we could. Bayley helped out by rolling all the sleeping bags up for us. We strapped the kids in the van, tore down the tent, tossed it in a garbage bag and headed for home!

The kids were disappointed they'd get to miss their favorite activities...but they knew they wouldn't enjoy climbing dunes in the rain! By the time we got home, we saw on Facebook the days events were cancelled. I'm so glad we left when we did!