Birthday, Anniversary, and Camping oh my!

My Birthday came and went, and the realization yet again, that I'm a year older. I went through the usual motions, but this year, I went to work. For the first time in my working life, I worked on my birthday. I was bitter about it, and made it a point to remind everyone nearby repeatedly of my displeasure with the entire arrangement. Not just on the day of, but for the last couple of weeks leading up to the date. It was my choice however, as I wanted to spend Niceguy's and my Anniversary camping at the beach. Trade-offs had to be made.

I got a gyro from our favorite Mediterranean restaurant for lunch, and a quesadilla from our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. The gyro as always, was amazing, the quesadilla, needed attention. Next time. Next time....

I told Niceguy I wanted a cupcake with a candle in it for my birthday, since I knew the two of us would not eat an entire cake. Neither of us likes icing. So I wanted something small and birthday-esque to close out the evening. We got to talking and went to Walmart to get stuff for our camping trip, and before long, I'd forgotten about my cupcake....

The next day, with a "Happy Anniversary" kiss and the most handsome chauffeur, I was dropped off at work for a half-day of hell, while Niceguy took the truck to get an oil change and packed up with all the gear needed for our trip. He picked up Ellie, his parents' dog, and looped around to pick me up at lunch hour. We were off. Full tank of gas, happy puppy, groovy tunes, and stories to tell about my morning at work, which shockingly, wasn't that bad.

We stopped a couple of times to get lunch and sodas, take potty and water breaks for Ellie, and before long, we were at the beach.

I checked us in at the registration booth and off we went to our campsite. Upon arrival to the campsite, there was a stereo "Oh hell no...." from both of us as we turned the truck around and began cruising the park for another spot. Our "large tent-site" that was meant to hold at LEAST a 10x10 tent, was barely big enough for a 6x6 tent. We needed a spot big enough for two 13x10 tents. We marked several spots on the map, and headed back up. Lucky for us, all the spots we'd picked were in a loop of the park that hadn't been advertised online yet. So we could have any one we wanted! YAY!

So we were now in a gigantic spot, and got to unpacking the gear.

We have A LOT of gear! And when we're supplying for others, we bring EVERYTHING. Just in case....
 

So after figuring out where everything was, we got to setting up the tents. Even though our companions weren't joining us until the following day, we wanted to get everything ready so we wouldn't have to worry about it.

 Dun dun dun.......

Yet again, a tent with a broken corner. That's twice now..... You can see the spot where we attempted to hammer a stake through the strap and the tent. Yea, that didn't work. Not at all. And naturally, we didn't think to bring one of the extra tents. So off we were to get a new tent.

We were already having a great time. :-)

On our way in to visit Walmart, we get hit with the wildest freak hail storm. It was absolutely crazy. As soon as it started, I grabbed BOTH of our cell-phones and started filming. Because Google reduces the quality of the videos down to dirt, we've put them on our Flickr account which is for family only. If you don't have access, sorry.

Crazy Hail Storm

And then as quickly as it had began........It ended.

After getting a new tent, Anniversary dinner at Newport Cafe, some firewood, and general other stuff we'd forgotten, we were on our way back.

Our new tent is huge!

Since we didn't know which bed had the hole in it, we brought both! Funny thing though, they both had holes.... Regardless, as you can tell, there was enough room to set up both, and they were just tossed in there. With creative adjusting, we could have fit three queen-size airbeds.

When the one on the left went flat, we tossed it. It only took an hour, so we knew it was beyond patching.




Niceguy got to the fun fire part while I continued moving the gear from the red tent to the blue and getting everything organized.

Ellie was comfortable already, but made occasional trips in to the tent to check on me. She really was the perfect camping buddy.

We went down for a walk on the beach later that evening, allowing Ellie some time to run, and us a chance to explore.

We caught a glimpse of the sunset, amidst the clouds.

The next day, we took a quick walk on the beach with Ellie, and got another nice panoramic shot.

Then we made our typical coffee/tea run. We grabbed some more firewood, and decided to have a quick run on the beach with Ellie.  Niceguy decided to do a great sand ballet and instead of chewing on sand on his way down, performed the most amazing somersault. I giggled almost all the way back to the campground.

Our companions were due in later in the day, so we headed to Lincoln City for some time at Robert's Books and lunch in Depot Bay at Bonepile BBQ. Bonepile is NEVER a disappointment, and we always leave stuffed. Homemade goodness all around! Yet again, I had the pulled pork, and yet again, I ate too much.



Niceguy had the brisket and practically rolled from his chair when we left. Oh well, one of the books we picked up should help that. Relax and nap if we have time.

Ellie seemed itchin' for another run, so we went for another walk on the beach. I apologize for the video skipping. My phone decided it no longer wanted to work for video.

Ellie and Niceguy

Back to the campsite, we just get the fire going, when our friends show up. No nap for us. Add four more to the table, two kiddos and two more adults. We're in for a wild ride!  I apologize, but all four of them were camera-shy, so we don't have any pictures of them.

We relax for a bit while they get situated, and then the guys head in to town to get lots of firewood and the fixin's for dinner.



Naturally the first thing the kiddos spot is the biggest beetle I've ever seen. So a picture must be taken!

The kiddos, their dad's girlfriend and I, head out for a walk around the campground while we wait for Niceguy and our friend to return. When we get back, we further help to unload their stuff, and I'm handed a bag of Birthday gifts from them. Inside, is a bottle of my favorite liquor, a box of homemade vegan doughnuts, and another box with 8 vegan cupcakes, all with candles in them..... I seriously almost cried. Just awesome. =)


Our friends are vegetarians, so vegan hotdogs, tofu and grilled veggies, and then hotdogs for Niceguy and I, and we're all having a great time. I am also a huge fan of tofu, and was allowed to help myself to a bit of the leftovers. S'mores, work stories, chit-chat, and ghost stories for the kids as soon as it was dark. We all turn in after a night of fun, friends, and full bellies.

Ellie insisted on sleeping with us. So we let her, for a little while. She seemed so comfy in the sleeping bag with the pillows....






The next day, we're greeted with fresh coffee and tea first thing in the morning. Okay, that was awesome. We relax, do a quick walk on the beach, where Graceful Jess decided to grace everyone with her mud-ballet. I yet again, tweaked my ankle. (Yes, the same one.) I did not fall though. Just slid through the mud a bit. Anyways, we spent some time on the beach. The kiddos and Ellie got to play a bit, and then we split up to head in to town for lunch.

Niceguy and I grab some awesome junk food and then are on our way in search of a spot recommended to us by a local that we know quite well. It's so secret, we were actually asked not to tell anyone. So we won't tell ya where it is, but it was awesome. If you're lucky, maybe we'll show you someday.












We find the awesome secret spot, and head back to town to meet up with our friends who then follow us back.

We went down on the beach and realized we were the only people there. Can you imagine that? Have you ever been on a public beach and been the ONLY people on it? We were the only people there for a good 45 minutes.  Anyways.....

There were tide-pools! They had fish and actual sea-life! Star-fish! Seal-rocks were everywhere! It was awesome! The kids got to do some climbing, Ellie did some swimming, and us adults were freaking out and getting all giddy every time we saw a fish or hermit crab move in the water when we were looking!

Look in the sunny spot of this image, upper right, and you'll spot a couple sucker fish.

LOL, it was truly awesome, and Niceguy and I have every intention of returning very soon.

Pretty panoramic shot of the beach. Niceguy is very proud of this picture.

We headed back to town, grabbed some firewood, and another run on the beach with everyone, then back to the campground.

Our friends decided to head back in to town to pick up Pizza for dinner instead of doing burgers, so pizza and more s'mores.

They gave me a stick. I had fun. *shrug*  ;-) So what if my characters look drunk?

We played UNO with the kiddos until after dark, and then everyone headed in for an early-ish night.

The next morning everyone was up early, and we dismantled our little tent city. We said goodbye to our friends, and Niceguy, Ellie, and I headed up to Depot Bay to pay one last visit to Bonepile. We really do love that place. It was just before opening, so we drove around Depot Bay, which we'd never done before. Lots of houses for sale. Wild....

Unfortunately, Bonepile did appear as though they were closed, with a gigantic "SOLD OUT" sign on the door. Bummer...... So we headed up to Lincoln City for a quick lunch, and to let Ellie run on the beach one last time this trip.

What's a trip without a crazy? Whoa! Some shop, somewhere, is out of Cowboy's gear!

It was cold, but we all had a wonderful time. Ellie I'm sure, was happy to be home. I passed out only minutes from town, and Niceguy dropped me off at home to nap while he took Ellie home.

All in all, a great trip. We had a wonderful time, and are really looking forward to the next. Unfortunately, our friends who went with us, this was a first trip for one of them, and she does not plan to take a second. That's okay, at least we were able to make her first trip an easy and memorable one.

Bed time!

Love to all!
~~~