Growing up, my family didn't have a lot of traditions. We had the usual holiday get-togethers where everyone congregated at my grandmother's home. When I was very young my grandparents
on my father’s side took a two-week holiday vacation at Diamond Lake in
Oregon. They rented a cabin and took
their boat. It was always a highlight of
my summer, but as they got older they stopped taking the trip.
When Doug and I married we were both in need of a new life
and new traditions. A few years in, he
had the opportunity to interview for a teaching position in Astoria, OR. We discussed sending him up to interview solo,
but we decided to take in impromptu family trip. We rented a very small car, reserved a spot
in a KOA ‘Kabin’ for a few days, stuck a cute little two-year-old Jillian into
her adventure seat and off we went. Doug
had not spent any time on the northern Oregon coast and I had hadn’t been there
in 20 years, so we explored and fell in love with the area. While we were there, we both imagined what
our lives would be like if we moved and it was wonderful. Doug didn’t get the job and we were actually
kind-of heart broken, but we understood that the time was not right and we had
other things left to do in Nevada.
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| Hug Point State Park, 2012 |
The following year we went back. Doug had applied for a job in a different
town, but we still went up to Astoria to visit.
He didn’t get that job either, but we continued to explore and fall in
love with the area. This time we spent
some time in the ‘Kabin’ and we took our camping setup with the tents and
outdoor kitchen. Jillian was a little older and starting to understand the
beauty of the coast. We visited lighthouses, the Tillamook Cheese Factory, most
of Newport and continued to fall in love with the coast. Growing up in Oregon, I took many trips to
the coast. I always loved visiting, but
as I got older I appreciated the community and culture even more. Happily, Doug and Jillian were starting to
see it too. It felt like going home.
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| Cape Mears Lighthouse, 2013 |
The third year there was no job interview, we just went. We adjusted the trip a little and didn’t go
all the way up to Astoria. We Packed up the car with more camping equipment
that you can fathom! We grabbed our hoodies and jeans and spent a week enjoying
the coastal weather while Nevada was sitting in 100+ degree heat. The trip was fun, but we decided that we
needed to look into a tent trailer or a small trailer. It was taking upwards of two hours to set up
camp. Our fussy, now 4-year old was hard to wrangle and there was too much for
one person to do while the other entertained Jillian. Jillian was now starting
to really love the coast and looked forward to the trip. It had become our family tradition for sure!
Doug was developing a healthy taste for Rogue Ale’s and Jillian loved seeing
the sea lions lounging on the rocks, docks and beaches.
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| Beverly Beach State Park - Nature Tour, 2014 |
In the next year Doug did a ton of research and we visited
every RV Show that came our way. We
checked out Campers, Tent Trailers, RV’s and even wandered through the big 5th
Wheels and Class-A RV’s that were only a dream. Finally, in March of 2015 we
were in a place to purchase a tent trailer that we could pull with our current
small SUV. We drove down to Turlock, CA
to pick it up. We tested it out a few times prior to the Oregon trip and loved
it! So much easier to set up and take down. Less than a half hour compared to
the 2+ that the tent site took. Much of
the setup involved things that even Jillian could help with. Because of the
trailer, we were able to head all the way back up to Astoria and even extended
our trip to nine days! It was wonderful!
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| Beverly Beach State Park - Sunset walk, 2015 |
As we round the corner into spring, we are planning out our
vacation again. We have booked our
favorite spot in Fort Stephens State Park in Warrenton, OR and plan on taking
advantage of our Thousand trails membership along the rest of the coast. This
year we will go up through Bend and Central Oregon to get up north, hoping to
avoid the awful heat and humidity of the Central Valley and I-5 Corridor. We
plan to take 14 days this year, the most we have ever been away from home. Jillian is already starting to plan out her
toys and packing her must-haves for the trip.
She really wants to try her hand at fishing this year! Doug and I want
to take advantage of the amenities our membership to Thousand Trails gets us
and attempt crabbing.
With a lot of patience and other necessary events between,
we look forward to this year’s adventure! 56 days to go!
