Long Weekend in Newport

1-16

Yay for three-day MLK weekends! We booked a hotel room at the La Quinta in Newport for a weekend of coastal life and hotel swimming. We all had a really great time together! The kids got to go swimming five different times. the pool was nice; not overly warm, but not so cold that we were all shivering the whole time either. The hot pool at the end was a nice warm-up as well; a good hot not a burn-your-skin-off kind of hot! We packed a bunch of snacks, kept our expectations low in regards to seeing and or doing a bunch of things, and just enjoyed our time together. Naturally we hit the beach, the bayfront, and a few other highlights, but we kept it low-key. The weather was such that we were glad to be in a hotel and not the camper because it was quite rainy. It was actually really neat to see the ocean in all it's fury for once. We obviously don't go to the coast on day trips when it's stormy so it was fun to see some big water and high surf. Pictures don't do justice at all, but - surprise! - we took some anyway. 

Hattie traveled really well, only fussing a short time on the three-hour drive there and back.We packed lots of snacks for the hotel room and only ate out on Saturday and Sunday nights. One consisted of McDonald's drive-thru and the other was a deli pizza also in the hotel room. It was a great choice for our family. We also packed two pack and plays and had plenty of room for them both in our hotel room. As hotel rooms go, this one was on the bigger end of average. (Does that make sense?) Anyway, we had enough room for everyone and everything - and even a place to spread out wet clothes, swimsuits, and life jackets.

At the hotel! Charlie wanted to wear camo for when we drove past Dean Creek Elk Preserve just outside of Reedsport. We stopped there so I could nurse Hattie, and Matt and the three oldest got out to see if they could get a closer look at the elk out in the field.

This is the first time Molly has worn this life jacket and it worked perfectly!!!

Mom fail. I accidentally forgot Alanna's swimming suit. Sigh. Matt was bathing someone while I was packing Alanna's things in her room, and I knew that her swimsuit was hanging over the shower curtain rod drying from lessons, but since I didn't actually go grab it while I was thinking about it, I forgot it. She's rocking some undies and a life jacket here, but we made a stop at Walmart the first evening and found her one.

After an afternoon swim, we spent the last hour or so of daylight at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. This was the spot where we saw our very first whale last summer. We looked hard but didn't see any whales this time. Like I said, the water was crashing against the rocks and the waves were really big so it wasn't ideal conditions to see anything.

It was pretty cold and windy, and Charlie was pretty concerned that Molly's hat was going to fly away. Rest assured it did not, but Molly kept pulling it off which is why she doesn't have a hat on in the picture. Why? Because she's one.

The sky was fairly clear directly above us and mixed with the clouds out over the water, the sky was really pretty.

Aaaaaaand back into the pool we go! Matt and I took turns swimming with the kids; one with the three swimmers and one with Hattie. It worked out great!

Molly's flashing a thumbs-up in the picture.