“Oh crap, she did it again!” Jim hastily rolled down the windows for a refreshing breath of fresh air, intent on dissipating the overwhelming scent of Aspens seemingly never ending gaseous emissions from the back seat. Our little family was heading to the beach for a fantastic three night getaway, taking advantage of a long Thanksgiving weekend. We’d started the day by enjoying a festive family dinner, leaving Aspen and Porter at his parents during dinner. We returned for them only to discover several pieces of drooled upon bits of something.  Opps.

Now, a mere two hours later, we were being gifted by the remains of whatever it was Aspen had gotten into (which we found out later from Jim’s mom was 1lb of sausage 🙁 )  Looking forward to a long weekend, we had decided to head west and see where we landed. Night one found us, in 40mph winds and torrential downpour at Beverly Beach State Park.  Not ones to be put off by the weather, it was, nonetheless, so bad this time around we only got in a short walk before hunkering down in to our cozy home on wheels for the evening.

The next day dawned somewhat brighter and we decided to search for drier skies further south, taking time to finally try out Local Ocean Seafood in Newport. Scenically located in historic Newport, Local Ocean sits across the street from the bustling harbor. So intent on watching the crabbing boats being loaded for the days launch, lunch seemed to arrive instantly, and Local Ocean lived up to the hype. We shared one of our favorite beers, Boneyard RPM IPA, fish tacos, panko crusted baked fish and chips, and the most amazing crab po’boy I could have imagined. Even the driving rain as we headed back to the truck didn’t diminish our happy bellies. That is, until we saw the parking ticket sticking from beneath our windshield wiper. Eager to get to lunch, we had both missed the “permit parking only” sign, located directly in front of our truck We could only laugh at our own stupidity, glad to say that, while not necessarily worth the $90 we had now, in essence paid, it had been one fantastic lunch!

We continued to be regularly gassed out as we drove even further south to Tillicum Beach Campground. Having only camped here once before, our long drive was rewarded by a nearly empty campground, and a fantastic site with ocean views. The temperature dipped further as we headed to the beach, thrilled to see blue sky poking through the clouds.

The next couple of days were perfection. No, it never did get warm enough to truly enjoy sitting outside, but by bundling up and taking advantage of deserted beach walks, we got in our share of fresh air and exercise. I continued my avoidance of the written word, both in the form of reading the book I had brought along, and in writing… for this blog or anything else. My mind has settled, having recently been a bit of a churning mess, but rather than delve into work, I chose, instead, to participate with Jim in a weekend of beer tasting, football, and movies. We spent hours walking on the beach with the dogs, bundling them into their coats, and donning our long underwear. We slept in, napped, and merely hung out, enjoying being together.

Our final morning dawned bright and very, very cold, with temperatures heading into the upper 20’s. The beach had never been lovelier, as the frost covered sand reflected the sky above. We relished our final walk before packing up and heading home. Rested, refreshed, and ready for the week ahead. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for ALL the good in my life. Sometimes, all you need is right there in front of you.