The day after Christmas, we reserved two cabins at Fort Stevens State Park near Seaside. It was a great activity to look forward to after all of the Christmas fun. That morning, we woke up to a leaky fridge, something that had been going on for a few weeks and we hadn’t been able to resolve. We decided we better not leave to go out of town with the risk of water damage, so Shane and I did some quick shopping for a new fridge while the boys stayed home and played with Grandma. By the time we left, it was a little bit later than we were hoping, but not too bad. We drove our car and Kelly followed behind us. About half way there, a little after we passed the last main signs of civilization, we noticed our gas light turned on. In all of the hustle and bustle, we hadn’t thought to fill up with gas! I checked the GPS, and the nearest gas station with either 20 miles ahead or 19 miles back, so we decided we might as well go forward. There were some pretty big hills, and we were pretty worried we were just going to run out of gas right up a hill, but luckily there were some good down-hills too.
After several prayers, we arrived at the spot where the GPS said there would be a gas station . . . and no gas station! We got a little nervous then, but fortunately the gas station was just 1/2 mile later. We pulled in, and although it was quite busy, we worried if it was even a gas station. It had old, old pumps, and no one was coming out to pump the gas. I finally headed inside, and it was quite the interesting stop, with a back room and a bunch of men sitting around in it, several guns for sale right above the register, and a only one man working, who was currently talking on the cell phone in a non-business conversation while ringing up customers. We were grateful though that they did have gas, and we got a few gallons ($20 worth!) just to make it to Seaside. Needless to say, it was quite the adventure to begin our trip!
We arrived around 4, and checked in to our cabins. They are “deluxe” cabins at the campground, so they have a single-over-double bunk bed in a small room, and a futon couch in the living room. They have a bathroom and shower, and a small kitchen with a fridge, sink, and microwave.
Despite the rain outside, it was nice and warm. We unpacked, then drove into Seaside to get some dinner at Dooger’s (yummy clam chowder!). After dinner, we walked along the sidewalk and realized the indoor carousel was still open, so we took the boys on a ride. They were the only ones on it, so they got to pick whatever they wanted to ride on. James and Landon sat on Santa’s sleigh, and Davis rode on a reindeer. I unfortunately didn’t have my camera. They started up the ride, and the boys were enjoying it, but soon Davis started to get a little nervous. He would look at us, but wasn’t smiling, and he held onto that reindeer for dear life! I think he was worried he was going to fall right off, even though he had a seat belt on him.
That night, we slept in one cabin, and Kent, Christie, Kelly, and his dog Emma slept in the other one. The beds aren’t super comfortable, but they’re okay. The main problem was James kept waking up, so I finally went in to sleep with him and Landon came out to sleep with Shane.
The next morning was a beautiful morning, so after some breakfast burritos, we decided to walk down to the beach. It’s a bit of a walk, but beautiful the whole way.
After our walk on the beach, we ate lunch, then packed up to go. We spent the afternoon in Seaside, walking along the main street and visiting several of the shops. The boys’ favorite was the candy store, where the employee told us the same joke she had told us in August when we were there visiting. :) The beach there had some swings on it, and the boys loved swinging on the beach. They thought that was pretty cool to have a playground on the beach.
It was a fun trip. We’re definitely going to stay in the cabins again!
