Nehalem Bay State Park

This year for our annual camping trip with Jen and Rene we went to Nehalem Bay State Park in Oregon.  We always look forward to our camping trip with them!  When we got there we were really worried because we had no idea how we were going to be able to get our trailers into our spaces but we managed, with a lot of back and forth and tiny turns.  The kids hit it off again right away.  If we weren't at the beach then they were riding bikes, playing Pokemon Go (they walked over 4 miles playing that game) and playing card/board games.  This year was really nice because we were able to sit and hang out (the adults) and send the kids off around the campground with a walkie talkie.  The did so great keeping us informed about their location and what they were doing.  

My only complaint, and unfortunately it's a big one, was the wind.  The weather would've been great except for the endless wind.  It's like that on the west coast beaches though.  It's very hit and miss.  More often then not you'll end up with wind.  This wind was COLD!  I have no idea how the kids managed to play in the waves and dig around for hours in the sand with nothing but their swimsuits.  Every time we went to the beach I set up my wind blocking umbrella and huddled in my sweatshirt and long pants.  Daddy did a much better job playing than I did. 

 The kids had no qualms with getting wet!  Ethan is off to the left and Ryan is on the right.

 Daddy borrowed a skim board from Uncle Pat.  They all had fun trying it!

 There were tiny fish in the pools that they thought were fun to try to catch.

 Then Dillon decided one of the pools was warm enough to go underwater.

 So, of course, Carson had to go under also!

 One day we headed down to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  The kids got to see the cheese getting sliced and sealed into the individual bags.

 Then we got to try a bunch of different kinds of cheese.  The only one my kids REALLY didn't like was the garlic and chilli cheese (I think that's what it was called).

 We ate lunch at the cafe.  The kids thought it was really good, the grilled cheese was delicious! Before we ate we were looking through the gift store.  There are really two sections so we went through one and found the keychains and such for Kayda but we couldn't find pins.  So Daddy took off with the boys to look for pins.  When he came back to figure out what was going on he told the kids to stay with Jen.  Well, they were trying to get in line for the cafe so she wanted he and Carson to go with her to the line.  Dillon was quite adamant about Daddy telling him to stay RIGHT there and it took quite a bit of convincing to get him to move 20ft over to the line!

 Of course you can't go to Tillamook without getting some ice cream.  Unfortunately, the scoops were so big that none of us could finish our cones.  We only got single scoops!

 I walked out into the water with the camera, trying to get a picture of their faces.  I figured I'd get a little wet since I was walking into the ocean.  But I was in shorts so I thought it'd be minimal.  Then a wave came.  The wave was big enough, and sudden enough, that I nearly landed in the water with the camera.  Fortunately, I kept my feet but I got wet all the way up to my belly.  The kids thought it was hilarious.

 Carson's face cracks me up!  That water is COLD!

 Another day we headed North to Cannon Beach.  The kids immediately resumed their beach play.  Those shovels were a great investment!

 They found something! Almost immediately the kids noticed some little critters.  We asked around and found out they were "Mole crabs" or "sand crabs" as my Dad used to call them.  I hadn't realized how big they could get.  Some were as big as my thumb!  The kids had fun digging those up and pointing them out.  They may pick them up for a second and then watch them dive back down into the sand.

 This is one of the larger sand crabs

 Carson's version of building is defensive.  Lots of obstacles for the water!

 We were able to be there around low tide so we walked around Haystack rock and saw some critters. As always we encourage the kids to touch.

 Kayda would help start one and then get bored and start making something else.   Meanwhile, the boys were entertained for quite some time working on details of the original. They were building walls to protect the villagers!

Here's the crew!  Dillon, Ethan, Ryan, Carson, Kayda in front.   They did awesome!  Next time we'll go somewhere warmer!

On the drive home one of the trailer tires audibly popped.  When we got pulled over it was completely shredded.  All the pieces were still there but you could see the cables that are normally in the rubber and the material reinforcing the sidewalls.  It took about 45 minutes to get it changed and then go double check all the tire pressure (which I had done before the trip).  Definitely delayed us getting home but the kids patiently watched a movie in the car while Daddy and I dealt with it.  As we were finishing up we saw a van pulling over just a head of us on the shoulder.  Their tire had done the same thing so there must've been something out in the road. Hopefully I'll remember to add a picture.