A fun weekend at the coast

Although the weather forcast looked grim, over the weekend we took Peyton to the Oregon coast for the very first time. Micah and I have been there tons of times, but Peyton is a novice to what our beautiful coast brings. We were so lucky to stay at the Adobe resort in Yachats, thanks to a gift certificate from my dear mother and father in law. Our room was incredible! It was a huge second floor room that overlooked the ocean which Peyton was extatic about. She absolutely loved waking up each morning and greeting the ocean and then telling the beach goodnight before bed. On Saturday, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which although was crowded was still lots of fun. Peyton loved "kissing" the fish in the tanks even though that meant she was really kissing the glass of the tank when the fish swam up to her. She also got to touch a starfish, the highlight of the day! We returned to our hotel and took our first walk on the beach which was pretty funny. All Peyton could talk about was the beach and when we asked her if she wanted to go for a walk, she said "yeah" with some of her greatest enthusiam. However, when we actually put our toes in the sand, my how the story changed. Every morsel of wet sand the crept to the top of her shoe almost brought her to tears. While yelling "oh no" and "yucky" she tried to brush every piece off her shoes. She didn't like walking in the sand; she didn't like picking up rocks or shells; she was skittish when the water crept forward; and there was NO WAY she was stepping on any of the sea foam that washed ashore. Micah and I ended up carrying her almost the entire time during our beach "walk." Once we were back in the grass, all was good again and she was happy as a clam talking about the beach again from afar. Sunday we visited the Sea Lion caves, which is the largest sea lion cave in the world, and thus produces the world's largest stinky smell. I think that Micah and Peyton enjoyed it but, couldn't take my sweatshirt off of my nose without gagging! The brochure says that it's a must see, but in all honesty, I could have passed on the whole thing. After that, we headed to Eugene for a stop at Trader Joe's and a disappointing trip to Abercrombie; then continued down the highway until we were home. All in all it was a great trip. I am looking forward to Peyton's next trip to the beach in June when we head back to Kauai!! The photos are of: Micah and Peyton on our way to the beach; me and Peyton on the beach, note her thrilled expression; Peyton on the beach mid "yucky"; Peyton at the sealion caves; the way that she spent most of her time in the car on the way to the coast; after she got all strapped in to the backpack for some strolling around town; touching a starfish; "kissing" a fish; and watching the ocean from our hotel room.