The wedding was absolutely perfect for Greg and I. We were able to have a beautiful ceremony surrounded by 50 of our closest family and friends right off the river in Richland, Washington. The weather was beautiful, much to our surprise considering the weeks before had consisted of rain, grey clouds and wind! However, Greg did promise me a beautiful day, and a beautiful day is what I received. Our ceremony was perfect, complete with our written vows and hour glass sand ceremony.
This was then followed by a puppet show...wait did I say puppet show? Yes, I said puppet show. Much to our surprise our Pastor put on a puppet show as entertainment while tables took turns making their way through the food line. It took me a while to calm down from the wedding surprise, but once I saw the smiles on the childrens face- both the 8 year old children as well as the 58 year old children- I chalked it up to being one of the things that made our wedding OUR wedding.
I hardly remember eating before we were out the door for pictures. We got every configuration imaginable with parents, grandparents, bridal party, daughter, friends, group photos, siblings...oh yeah and then a couple of us. Lets just say our cheeks hurt at the end of the photo session.
This was then followed by the cutting of our amazing cheesecake we opted to make instead of having a traditional wedding cake. Lets just say there was none leftover at the end of the day.
We were given a wonderful farewell complete with a decorated vehicle for good luck as we drove off to the wine country of Zillah for a much needed couple days of rest and relaxation...and some wonderful wine!
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13 days later we were off with a bang! With 51.5 feet of truck and trailer we definitely took up our fair share of the highway. We were off for 10 days of beach hopping down the Oregon Coast and on to the Redwood National Forest in California with no worries, concerns or responsibilities. Yeah Right! We hadn't even made it to the Tri Cities when our first tire blew out on 395. 20 minutes later we were back on the road and ready for some sleep before our long journey to Seaside, OR the following morning. By 8:00 the next morning we were underway. Other than just having a long drive everything went relatively peacefully. Breanna watched a couple movies and read her book while I transitioned between conversations with Greg and reading my Kindle. This was until we hit Portland. All I can say is I'm so greatful I wasn't the one having to maneuver through all of the traffic and responsible for switching lanes between on and off ramps, as I'm sure were the rest of the highway commuters. A few hours later we arrived in Seaside and for the next 3 days we were beach bound between Seaside and Cannon Beach. The weather was quite misty, but that didn't keep us from going chest deep in the ocean and checking out the much anticipated sand castle competition that is held at Cannon Beach every year. By far our favorite sculpture was a scene from the ever addicting game 'Angry Birds.'
Over those three days we managed to also find 15 complete sand dollars that were just getting washed up by the surf. After these three days, the rest of the vacation is kind of a blur. We managed to visit 6 different beaches in all. We hit multiple light houses and tide pools where Breanna got to feed the urchin and anemones. We visted two different aquariums, one in which we got to pet a tiger shark and were entertained by a show put on but some quite clever sea lions. We visited Depot Bay and the Devils Punch Bowl and took a bus ride on the Oregon Dunes. We got to go deep underground and observe the happenings inside a sea lion cave and upon making our way to the top we were able to observe a whale spouting at the surface. The evenings were spent roasting hot dogs and brawts over an open fire, only to be followed by more roasting, but this time with marshmellows in pursuit of making the perfect smore!
The last couple days were filled with viewing of the magesty known as the Redwoods. Everyone who's ever seen them speak of their grandeur, but until you've stood next to one and feel about the size of a grain of rice, words just don't quite do it justice. We took a sky rail to an observatory at the top of a bluff and were able to witness miles and miles of beauty after which we drove the truck through a a nation forest that dwarfed an othewise rather large truck. To witness and be amongst trees that have survived a couple of different ice ages just put us all in awe of their resilience and strength.
Our last day was spent back in Lincoln City for the kite festival. Massive kites were elevated by the sheer power of the wind while smaller kites danced together in a choreographed harmony among the clouds. This was the final day for Greg and Breanna to perfect their sand castle and it was a huge hit! Many people stopped to admire their handy work and take pictures of their masterpiece.
This was also Ikeas final day to leave her mark on the sand and surf. She would run in figure 8's, lapping up water as she ran through it, chasing the waves back out to sea and then run away when they decided to pay back the favor.
By the end of the day, we were all exhausted and ready to return home, promising to return again soon. However, the return trip brought along some surprises of it's own. We blew not one but two tires just outside the Dalles and had to wait nearly 3 hours before being able to return to the road. We made it home after dropping Breanna off in Pasco at nearly 1:30 in the morning. We stayed true to the tradition of vacationing, that you burn the candle at both ends, and crash upon stepping foot back into your humble abode. The sign of a wonderful vacation is one where you feel you need a vacation as soon as you return home, and the mundane schedule of work, grocery shopping, and doing dishes is a much welcomed pace...at least until we regain our strength to do it all over again!
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