To The Sea {Summer 2022}

In late June we headed to one of my favorite places on earth, 

Rockaway Beach, Oregon

There we planned to stay for a week at an Airbnb a block from my grandparent's house, spending time with them, playing in the sand, and just coming down from a busy season with baseball, school and work. 

Our drive to the coast was long, as we hit traffic and road closures, but we finally made it around 9:00pm and stopped to see my grandparents before checking out our new digs for the week. 

Our Airbnb was perfect for us. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living area and big kitchen, just right for spending a week together at the coast. 

We visited the beach, fed the beach squirrels and ate a handful of meals out with my grandparents.  We stayed up late, slept in, and our only complaint was how hard our Airbnb beds were.  The kids brought their gaming systems which made them happy, and I brought both a puzzle and a stack of books, so I was happy. 

We stopped and shopped, as always, at Flamingo Jim's, getting trinket toys for Carly and Wyatt and some Rockaway Beach gear for the rest of us.  My favorite is Carly's and my matching sweatshirts. 

We took lots of walks, some altogether, some in smaller groups, and it felt so good to breathe that fresh Oregon air. 

It was so good to see my grandparents and spend time with them, although it was hard to see grandpa struggle to find his words and be so much quieter than he's ever been.

He's still funny, and definitely still has that twinkle in his eye, but I can't help feeling we're losing him bit by bit.  It's a paralyzing feeling, knowing there's nothing I can do to stop it.

I can only imagine how my grandma feels about it. The alzheimer's taking a little more of him each month, week, day.  She cares for him tirelessly, taking on all the responsibility of their lives, which has to be so hard after a lifetime of sharing it. 

I'm reading Lisa Genova's non-fiction book "Remember" which is all about memory (with an entire chapter dedicated to Alzheimer's) and while it's hard to read, it's also really good to know exactly what we're up against. 

Carly picked flowers everywhere we went, and grandma even put hers in a vase.

We spent one whole day in Lincoln City since my grandpa had a vision appointment there.  We met my grandparents for lunch, and then took Logan to the skate park.  Jack had a stomach ache (all the good eatin' at the beach!) so he and I sought out some Pepto bismal and he hung in the car.  

Once Logan was done skating (the Lincoln City skatepark is huge and super cool) we went to their outlet mall where the boys went together and Carly and I went together. Gosh we had fun. I took her into all the little souvenir shops and into her first Claire's, and oh my goodness did we have fun!!

That night we got Papa Murphy's pizza to cook for dinner at grandma & grandpa's house. 

Wyatt won this Spongebob from the arcade he and the twins played at with Josh
while Carly and I shopped. 

Also while we were there, the boys helped my grandma bring in all the wood that had been delivered.  They worked without complaint for a long time to get every last piece where she needed it. I was so happy we were able to provide that help for her. 

It's hard to be far away when I know if we were close we could help so much more on a daily basis. 

This little bird flew out of her nest,
landed right on Wyatt's chest while he
and Logan played football in the field next to grandma's house!

I love him.

I always love looking at grandma's flowers when we're there.

She's the reason I started growing dahlias!

We spent one entire afternoon on the beach in the sunshine, building sand castles, burying siblings and playing in the surf.  (Well... the kids did all that. I read my book! Hah!) Another thing I bought at Flamingo Jim's was seashells.  Probably 25+ seashells to lay out on the beach for her to find. When I told Wyatt what I was doing, he decided he wanted to help, so he lay them out and Jack took her on a "walk" to find them. Sweetest brothers. 

When we were done at the beach, we walked over for ice cream, which was one of our favorite things to do each afternoon.  They serve Tillamook ice cream in waffle cones, and let me tell you, that place smells amazing.  They make their cones fresh in the store. {Drool} 

The boys also each got a jumbo jawbreaker.
My tongue hurt just watching them work on them.

We played some games, including Uno and Cards Against Maturity, which always has us laughing.

Before we knew it, our week had ended, and it was time to say goodbye.

I think this is how and where I will always imagine my grandparents.  On their porch, waving and hollering "goodbye" and "drive safe" with the kids' windows down blowing kisses and shouting "I love you" to them. 

It's always hard to say goodbye. 

Thankfully our road trip home was much smoother than our road trip out. No traffic and no closed highways.

My favorite part of the trip home was the stop at Burgerville in The Dalles.  Burgerville is a Pacific Northwest thing, and one thing I really miss about living in Vancouver.

 

I had a cheeseburger and fries and a Cold Brew Milkshake. Holy yum. 

We came home exhausted but happy, 

filled with wonderful memories with my grandparents

and each other.

***