Fun with Nature

Ah...the great outdoors.

Now, I am one of those in between girls. I do not wear makeup everyday- special occasions are more my thing. My husband was shocked when he discovered that I don't own a hair dryer and I would rather sleep than deal with the aforementioned issues every morning. Or at least have time for a longer hot shower...more on those later!

On the other hand, I don't really like dirt that much and the thought of anything more than a day hike where carrying more than snacks and reading material is also a no thankyou.

So where does this leave me? Car camping! My husband and I tend to camp in Oregon because through their well designed (Washington take note) web site I can easily search for the amenities that I require:

1. Showers (Oregon is great because at most places it is FREE HOT showers)
2. Toilets (no vaulted outhouses- EW!)

Other than that I am quite content to spend 7 days sleeping on an air mattress and consume an entire bag of marshmallows on my quest to make the perfect 'smore. I'm getting quite close...but as they say in the library world "more research is required".

This year we split our time between Cape Lookout and Devil's Lake. The former is one of our standbys. It's right on the beach, literally the other side of a sand dune, and is conveniently located 12 miles outside Tillamook. Yes, that Tillamook of the famed cheese and ice creams and butters and fudge and so much yumminess! We ate most of our meals there. The Blue Heron is worth hitting, we did a nice wine tasting and they have excellent brie. Just to prove that "it's a small world after all" we ended up next to another library employee that I know from another branch. It was a weird "don't I know you" moment outside the bathroom.

Next we headed to Lincoln City where we kayaked and relaxed on the beach. It was warmer here so we were able to spend more time by the ocean. Ahhh...the ocean...there really is no good way to record the ocean, you just have to be there to fully hear all the sounds. There were a ton of kite fliers and I got to abuse the Outlet Mall to my satisfaction.

All in all it was a nice relaxing week for the Dear Husband and I to recharge ye olde batteries before heading back to work.