running on the beach

Last week was spring break in Portland. We were feeling a bit overwhelmed with memorial service details (me), and homework (Iz) during most of the week, so when our friends Chris and Hannah asked us to join them in Long Beach for a few days, we jumped at the opportunity. Two whole mornings of sleeping in. Three days of eating, movie watching, bakery shopping, eating, eating and, of course, running on the beach... ahhhhh. My daughter likes to run on the beach. Something about being barefoot on the sand says RUN to her. This fact became obvious as I went through some old and new photos of our many beach trips.

















It has the same effect on Bailey...





... but then any open space has this effect on Bailey.



Notice the beautiful weather? Most people think it rains a lot at the beach, but the clouds have parted on most of our excursions over the years.

If I’ve inspired you to travel to the west coast, I recommend the Oregon beaches over Washington’s. In Washington they allow people to drive their cars on the beach, which, in my opinion is just not right. We spent too much energy trying to keep dogs and kids away from fast moving cars and trucks.



If you do take a trip to Washington’s coast, make sure you drive up to Oysterville (located 14 miles north of Long Beach on the peninsula). On a sunny spring day, this charming little town could make me sell the house, pack my bags and move to a little house on Willapa Bay... oyster capital of the world.