“We are Cute!’
“We are capable! We are smart! We are kind! We are determined!”
As we walked away from the beach, trudging through the sand back to the parking lot, we started a call and response. Stone smiled and yelled back these affirmations repeatedly.
We were down in Cannon Beach, Oregon. My friend Rachael asked me to go on an impromptu adventure the first week of July. In 2017, Rachael was supposed to walk down the aisle but her fiance bailed at the last minute. In an attempt to avoid creating a man-bashing post, I will only write that it’s fucked up for any one to do that to another person. The years of dedication to a relationship, sharing yourself with another human, planning and spending money on a special day all for it to be for not. Don’t be that person. And I guess on the same subject, don’t be that person that isn’t willing to be in 100%. It’s just a waste of everyone’s time.
Ok…. rant over. We picked the Oregon coast for our get away. It’s decently close, kid friendly, and full of sandy beaches compared to the usual rocky coast line of the PNW. We spent our first day in Seaside. I was always told that Seaside was a tourist trap. Realistically, aren’t all places? Tourist traps are only traps if you allow them to be. Rachael and I knew we wanted a few very specific things: ice cream, good food, a carousel ride, and maybe one of those boats that look like swans. Basically we were romanticizing ourselves and treating ourselves to the goofy, silly things you see in movies. Seaside had all of it.
Stone rode on the carousel in the center of town. Of course he picked the most random animal, the giraffe. My boy….
We walked around through different shops and finally decided on an ice cream shoppe. Almost every ice cream shoppe in Seaside, perhaps all of western Oregon, has Tillamook ice cream. It’s so good and creamy and delicious. Stone and I shared a cone with scoops of butter pecan and triple chocolate. Surprisingly, Stone didn’t eat as much ice cream as I thought he would. Perhaps he wasn’t hungry. More than likely he was distracted by the arcade games and lights and horse drawn carriages.
We continued our walk towards the dock. Sadly, the rental place for swan boats was closing. I guess I should have prefaced this with the statement that Rachael and I took off without a plan. We packed a couple tents and sleeping bags in my truck, but didn’t have a campsite planned out. We didn’t check the weather for the weekend. We didn’t know when anything closed or opened. We just knew we wanted to get out of town. And I think sometimes you need that. Sometimes you just need to go with whatever desire pops up in your mind and heart at the time. It’s not always possible. Not at all. We often let our schedules and finances and responsibilities get in the way. Or we convince ourselves out of listening to ourselves. And that’s honestly a really shitty way to live life. We forget to see our surroundings with new eyes and new emotions. And we rob ourselves of really living – of really tasting, feeling, smelling, touching. And what’s really the point of life then?
We wrapped up our night by eating Thai food at a small restaurant that looked decorated more as an Italian eatery. Imagine yellow and red gingham table clothes and menus with grapes, tomatoes, and bell peppers. The food was great though! Stone and I shared an order of Pad See Ew while Rachael had vegan Tom Yum. It was heavenly just to sit and breathe in the lemongrass and basil.
It started to look like rain as we ate, drizzling and grey. It was at this point we seriously debated camping outside. Rachael looked up hotels in the area within a 5 mile radius. The down side of touristy areas is the price of hotels. $170. $200. $275. The prices kept going up and the rooms were filing up quickly. We found a place at a price we could agree on and made our way to the hotel.
As much as I love a trip on the cheap, the hotel room was a nice respite. We could shower off the sand from the beach, entertain Stone with television (no shame moms, no shame), and get free breakfast and Wi-Fi. As much as I love the outdoors and comfort of nature, I equally enjoy heat, technology, and waffles.
After breakfast, we drove down to Cannon Beach. Most people know Cannon Beach from “The Goonies”, and I hate to admit it but I’ve never watched the movie in full. I have seen bits and pieces and I know the truffle shuffle. I think I missed that piece of childhood. Either I was too young or too busy or dad had me watch historical dramas instead.
Cannon Beach is also known for Haystack Rock, a 235 sea stack that serves as a seasonal haven for tufted puffins. As soon as Stone hit the beach he was running, straight for Haystack Rock, jumping in little puddles and streams left by the tide. He stripped down to just his undies and giggled all the way to the water. Running along the edge where foam meets the sand, kicking his feet to splash, knocked down by strong waves and getting back up. We learned that day that Stone isn’t afraid of the ocean, isn’t afraid of strangers, and isn’t afraid to get naked (what toddler is though?). Stone befriended an older woman who was walking along side the waves. She splashed Stone which led to a HUGE splashing party, his face lit up so bright!
While we were playing in the sand and admiring the myriad of starfish on the rocky stacks, the puffins suddenly started freaking out. If you have ever seen the Alfred Hitchcock movie “Birds”, it was kinda like that. Birds were flying everywhere, diving and squawking loudly. Then Rachael and I noticed a bald eagle attempting to rob the nests at the top of Haystack Rock. The puffins chased off this massive bird of prey, it was like our own personal National Geographic moment.
I wrapped up Stone in a beach blanket after dusting sand off his legs and arms. We started our affirmations as we walked, smiling ear to ear before changing, loading up, and driving home.
Rachael and I talked on our drive home while Stone passed out for 2 hours. We talked about relationships, about work, about goals and dreams, about the women we are and the women we want to become. Sisterhood is so much more than sharing a magical pair of pants. Sisterhood is medicine.
