Scrubs and a Calculator: Oregon Coast

The Morris family’s annual summer vacation is to go camping on the Oregon coast. I had never been to the Oregon coast and I was excited to get to go somewhere I had heard so much about. I have not been camping very many times in my life. Some might even say I am not very good at roughing it. I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to getting dirty. I was a little nervous about camping with the Morris family who has been many times. I was worried I would look like a fish out of water. I am pleased to say that camping is much different than I envisioned it to be. There were flushing toilets and hot showers. We had delicious food and had fun adventures each day. I am definitely looking forward to going again next year. Here is a recap of the trip…

Day 1- Dave and I left Utah and embarked on the long drive. My friend from work let us borrow her Harry Potter books on CD. This made the drive quite enjoyable. We were able to listen to books 2 and 3 on our drive to and from OR. I am new to Harry Potter and love them! Dave was a great driver and drove most of the way while I slept. We got to the campsite after dark. Dave’s family had set a tent up for us so we wouldn’t have to in the dark. My cousin Julie gave Dave and I a double decker air mattress for our wedding. (I think she and I are on the same page as far as our roughing it abilities are concerned.) This air mattress is massive which is why it is so comfortable. We could not get it through the doors of the 4 man tent that had been set up for us. We took down the tent and set up our 6 man tent so the air mattress would fit inside. Pitching the 6 man tent was nothing short of hilarious!! You totally had to be there, but I was practically crying I was laughing so hard. I still laugh about this when I think about it. We went to bed shortly after and had a wonderful night’s sleep on our comfy air mattress. This is a picture of our campsite and some of the salt flats we passed on our drive. Dave and I’s tent is the green one.

Day 2- We had a delicious breakfast in bed thanks to Davis and headed to a nearby beach. It was a pretty sunny day. I had nothing to compare it to at this point, but everyone kept telling me how nice and warm it was for an Oregon beach. Dave, Jake and I built a sandcastle. (Jake and Dave did most of the work.) It was a pretty sweet sandcastle. We roasted hotdogs on the beach for lunch and played on the beach the rest of the day. We had s’mores by the campfire that night. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip each night.

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Dave is slowly converting all of his nephews. Last year Landon participated at Breakfast in Bed

Kallie and Liz were great friends since they avoided the cold water like it was a disease

Day 3- We went to the Paul Bunyon monument. There is a giant statue of Paul Bunyon and his blue ox babe in the middle of the Redwoods. The Paul Bunyon statue is crazy. It talks to you and joins in your conversation, but I could not figure out where the person was who was controlling his voice was. Maybe I’ll figure this out next time. After visiting this monument, we set out for another beach. The weather at this beach was a lot different from the day before. It was much more windy and cold so we did not stay for too long. That night we watched a beautiful sunset on the beach. Oregon really has beautiful beaches!

Is the ox a boy or a girl?

Is Dad having fun yet?

Dave’s classy no undershirt look

Even better, no undershirt flying a rainbow kite…

The previous two pictures are in Crescent City. The Japanese tidal wave did major damage to this harbor

Still in love, even after a year of marriage

Day 4- We went to the Redwood forest at Jedediah Smith State Park. I have always wanted to go to the Redwood forest and see the gigantic trees. I can officially cross it off my bucket list. We had a picnic and then enjoyed the afternoon along the riverside. Dave, Jake, and Shane jumped off a rock and had a lot of fun. The little kids played in the water and caught a tadpole.