Our really ambitious plan was to park at Neptune Beach south of Yachats and walk to the Cook’s Ridge and Gwynn Creek Loop Trail. After hiking, I hoped to enjoy a sunny afternoon of playing at Neptune Beach.
First problem: Leif forgot his clothes and stuff in Russ’s car in Waldport.
Second problem: We lost Lola.
Third problem: The sun did not shine.
Let’s go back to the beginning.
It was supposed to be beautiful on the coast this past Wednesday, and our best friends invited us over to Waldport to go crabbing. I’m not big on crabbing but I really wanted to get in a coast hike, so we made plans to meet up. Russ was going to go over early in the morning with two boys to go crabbing with our friends. Then I was going to arrive later in the morning. The women and children were going to head down to Yachats to go hiking while the men stayed to crab. Russ had to head back home around 1:30 so he could coach that afternoon. I wanted to stay in Yachats and play on the beach after hiking and Char was going to head back to Waldport to crab with her husband after Russ left. Then I would bring the kids back after we played on the beach. Isn’t that a great plan? I thought so.
My morning started out smoothly. I arrived in Waldport with the oldest and youngest at about 10 am. The crabbing crew boated in and Char and I headed out with all the kids. It was cloudy and cold, but I was sure it would get warmer.
Halfway to Yachats, Leif realized he hadn’t grabbed his bag of clothes in Russ’s car (though he somehow remembered to grab the ipads, ahem). That meant he had only the jeans he was wearing for the rest of the day.
We arrived at Neptune Beach south of Yachats, and I had no cell service. I had forgotten to take screen shots of the hiking info, but we managed to find the trailhead and get started. In previous years, Lola used to drag behind the rest of the pack and whine. A lot. But lately she has been full of energy and excitement and running in the lead. That’s usually better than dragging behind and whining. She was ahead of Char and me as we labored up a hill. The other kids passed us as the trail started downhill because running down is the best part (if you aren’t old). Then we came to two forks in the road (in quick succession) and Lola was nowhere to be found. The kids hadn’t seen her.
She knows to stop and make sure we’re behind her. She knows to stop at forks in the trail.
But that day she didn’t.
And we spent the next however long trying to find her. She’s been lost many times before (the joy of fearless, independent, curious children), but this time we had too many directions to look. We needed to stay in communication with each other without cell phones. And we needed people to stay at the forks in case she turned up. A lot of time passed and we couldn’t find her. It had never taken that long. We were so close to calling in search and rescue because we didn’t know how to procede.
And then Char found her.
Lola was running and didn’t notice the fork. Then she heard Leif calling. That meant we were right behind her and she didn’t want to lose her place in the lead, so she kept running. Sigh. (The joy of competitive kids.) But she sat herself down and waited at the next fork in the road until Char found her.
We had been running up and down trails trying to find her. Everyone was tired. No one was in the mood to hike anymore. So we hiked back to the cars. [I’m still counting this as a hike, even though we didn’t finish the trail and I have not a single picture to commemorate it!]
The weather was still cold and cloudy, so we just drove back to Waldport instaed of staying at the beach. Leif was able to get his bag of stuff from Russ before he left. We ate lunch and relaxed at the dock.
Then I drove all the kids up to Newport in search of a beach while Char and John stayed to finish the crabbing.
It was not warm. It was not sunny. But the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Leif, Luke, and Monet got completely soaked in the waves (insane). Lola had her suit on but only got her legs wet. McKinnon and Levi mostly stayed out of the water and enjoyed the rocks and sand.
Later we cleaned up and met John and Char at Mo’s on the waterfront for clam chowder.
It was a special time with great friends, and now we have more stories to tell.
[I did have a long chat with Lola about hiking rules, and she will stay completely in sight at all times for the rest of the year.]
No comments:
Post a Comment