Say Cheese!

I went to the Oregon Coast this weekend. I knew it would be an adventure from the moment we left the house! I was really excited to go and spend a relaxing weekend with my Mom, Deb and Darla. I love these ladies and we always have plenty of fun together. On the drive down I told my Mom that we should be Lewis & Clark for the weekend. I asked which she would prefer to be and she wanted to be Clark. So, I was Lewis. It took us FOR-EVER to get to Rockaway Beach. I was imagining Lewis and Clark wondering if they would ever stop walking. We knew we were a little ahead of Deb and Darla so we thought that we would stop for dinner. We wanted to go to Pizza Hut but when there were NO cars in the parking lot we decided that seemed like a bad idea so we kept driving. We ended up stopping at a tiny Taco Time. I'm not sure if it was the best choice but it worked.

This is the cabin we stayed in. It was let's see...cozy and vintage. We just know that there are a lot of stories inside of these walls. To be honest I just want to know who Vern and Ellen are because that isn't the owners name. Since we got in late we just unloaded all of our stuff. We had scrap booking stuff with us cuz we can't go anywhere without it. Mom built a fire to warm up the place and we went to bed. Now remember the cabin is cozy and we just got there so we slept with the bedroom doors open for a couple reasons 1-Heat the place. 2-Deb's door wouldn't shut and 3-It was a safety thing. A few hours go by when Darla says "Oh, crap girls." cue the Tsunami warning sirens. We all are confused Darla had received a text from her daughter telling us that we were in the middle of a Tsunami warning and we had to evacuate. This all happens within seconds. We quickly get dressed and decide to pack our stuff and go. We have no idea how fast it could come or even if we are in a dangerous location. We had all of our stuff (scrapbook stuff included) loaded in about 15 minutes. We get in the cars and Deb couldn't find the car keys. Finally, find them and Darla can't find her cell. Finally found that and off we go. We see that cars are headed south so that is the direction we headed. We didn't know where to go so we pull into the Shell station. The girls inside are in hysterics saying it is going to be a 500 foot wave. We found a guy driving a truck with flashing lights (that means he knows what to do) and he tells us to head up to the elementary school. Back in the cars but Deb couldn't escape Channel 8 news.

This is Deb being interviewed with her bed head and morning breath. We were laughing so hard. Then the news reporter headed to our car. She asked if this evacuation is something we had ever imagined. Really? Is that a good question? No, we didn't think this would happen.

We went into the school (we were the first to arrive) meet the Janitor and he took us to the library to the only TV with cable. We finally were able to find out what was going on. WOW! I don't even know what to say watching the destruction was nothing I could ever imagine. We sat in the library for a while but then the duck showed up. Yes, a pet duck. Named "Ducky" the owners just couldn't leave the duck behind. Let's just say compared to the others in the room our bed head didn't even register one lady looked at Deb and commented that Deb even took time to put on make-up. (she didn't) We eventually snuck up to Ms. Nugent's classroom. We had a good view of the water to see when the Tsunami hit.

Oh, did I mention that the Coast Guard command center was just outside the school it was. All I could think is the line from the movie the Guardian. "when God rips houses off of foundations we go in!"

Finally, at 9am Deb convinced us that we could leave. They wanted us to stay until 10 but we were rebels and snuck out the back door. We had things to do that didn't include sitting in a school all day. So, off we went to unload our cars and get dressed and go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory! I love tours and it was amazing! I felt like I was on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood!

Here is the line that makes the blocks of cheese. Did you know that it takes a gallon of milk to make a pound of cheese. It does. And my fav thing I learned was a slogan that Tillamook used that said "Careful with our cheese it's sharp!" I love it. Plus, I could say "say cheese" in every picture. Oh, and the free samples. YUM!

After the factory we went to the beach to take some pictures. I wore my new beach boots. I love them. I love them a lot actually. They were perfect for walking on the wet sand in the wind and rain.

Eventually, we made it back to the cabin. Deb, Darla and Mom made really cute cards. I sat on the couch and watched them. Then I sat a little more. It wasn't the most relaxing weekend but it was an adventure and I know the real Lewis and Clark would have approved.

Oh, I didn't mention that we had a delicious lunch at a place called Pirate's Cove! I'm not just saying it was good because of the name. It was great! I had a Salmon Club sandwich -delightful!