Cannon Beach 2012

In mid-August we had a bit of a child care crisis. A couple days passed and soon we had straightened everything out. Part of our plan was to take one last "summer" trip in our RV - one way to eliminate child care issues was to take off work and be with our girl!

Little did I know how well-planned this trip would be. Shortly before our trip, my boss announced she was leaving and everything at work turned quickly upside down. We had a sudden death in the family. Our friend was hospitalized at 34 weeks pregnant. My 84 year old Grandma hit a deer,  ... I could go on, but I won't!

In just seven days, Bill and I attended four funerals. Things got straightened out at work. Taryn safely delivered a beautiful baby girl named Harper at 34 weeks and both baby and Mama are doing well. Grandma is OK and hoping to get her car fixed. And after all that - we skipped town!!!

The beautiful thing about this trip was we had no time to plan. We literally packed up the night before and left. Seriously, this is the way to do it! No meal planning, no lists, no grocery shopping, no stress!

We stayed at the Cannon Beach RV Resort. It is a really nice park, full hookups, wifi, cable, bathrooms, showers, store, playground, laundry and even a heated swimming pool! We stayed Sunday through Thursday and had a great time!

Our fun this trip included:

- We had lots of things to entertain Elyse and this trip we are proud to say we had very little Caillou viewing. We brought her lots of coloring books, a puzzle, magnadoodle, play laptop and books.

- Me obsessing over trying to get the Apple TV to work in the park (fail);

- Trips to outlet malls. Our little gal was such a good shopper. (For Evelyn and Marcie, we went to a kitchen outlet and replenished all of our potholders, dishtowels and dishrags. I don't think I've done this in over ten years).

Posing for me at the Bass Outlet while Daddy tried on pants.

This picture is a good lesson in capturing your kids in the moment. If I had tried to get Elyse to smile,

I would have missed out on this precious face.

- playing on the warm sand with Haystack Rock in the background;

Another lesson... leave the stroller when heading to the beach. 

It was windy, but nice and the sand was really warm. 

I still have sand on my camera. This was not the time to change lenses - that is for sure! 

- Our girl was the RV park greeter- whenever anyone walks by our site Elyse runs up and says HI. Small talk and then BYE and See you soon! Same goes for exiting restaurants. She's brought lots of smiles to the people around her!

Water poured into leftover ice from Daddy's cup is super cool! 

- she doesn't like showering at home and it wasn't any better in a campground shower. She much preferred bathing in our little RV bathtub. I think all 100 sites must have heard her cries.

- putting on our bathing suit over our clothes is good times.

- we were the campground hillbillies stringing the cable TV cord through the window of our screen door because we don't have a jack for cable yet.

- Seaside is not the happy place from my childhood memories. We had a great lunch there at a Mexican joint called The Stand and really enjoyed feeding the seals at the aquarium, but other than that, it has gotten pretty rundown.

When told to smile for Daddy, she gave him a kiss instead.

- must rig up something to lessen the hazard of the cupboard that hangs over the foot of our bed. I knocked my head on it so hard crawling into bed, I was literally in tears.

- while reading Elyse a book at bedtime, we'd lay on the bed with our heads on the pillow. I'd catch her looking over at me mid-story with the broadest smile. Those moments were honestly the sweetest and could literally make my heart melt.

- Cannon Beach sure has good pizza! We had some from two different places and were not disappointed!

- even though I never could figure out how to get my downloaded movies onto the TV, at least it meant cuddle time after Elyse went to bed as we watched movies on the iPad.

- Libby was really good. She was great in the truck and at our campsite. A great traveling dog. Not a bad deal when she got to sneak up on Elyse's bed at night for a snuggle.

- One morning, Bill drove into town and brought Elyse and I apple fritters from the Cannon Beach Bakery. Sweet!

- We only did a campfire one night and the s'mores hit the spot!

 She saw these Hello Kitty sparkly shoes while we were at Famous Footwear. She loved them. And even though they are still about a half size too big, she insists on wearing them.

- We had a couple tough nap days due to traveling, but as long as we got back to the RV at a decent time, Elyse slept like a champ.

- General Cannon Beach tip- lots of places are closed on Tuesday (like the bakery) and some both Tuesday and Wednesday. Lame.

- TripAdvisor remains our go-to for recommendations for places to eat. We have landed in some great spots we'd never think of trying out. The app on my phone makes it super easy!

- We found a dresser at an antique store just down from where we ate breakfast in Astoria. It is so great - pictures coming soon!

- Last tip. Plan another getaway!