Team Thompson turns 2!

Happy 2nd anniversary, Justin!
July 26th is one of my favorite days.
I love you!

Thompson Family Vacation

Justin's parents treated us to a vacation in Brookings, Ore. in early July and we had a great time. It's always nice to get away, especially when you get to spend time with those you don't get to see often!

Justin and I left home early Friday morning and headed north on the 101, which took us all the way to Brookings.

I had packed a little cooler full of breakfast goodies, snacks, sandwiches and drinks so we wouldn't have to stop much, but we were no further north than Marin when I watched in silent, mortified horror as Justin took a bite of the banana muffin I'd just given him...the muffins had grown moldy :(. Good thing we both like Egg McMuffins and that there are bizzillion McDonald's between here and Brookings!

We got to Brookings mid afternoon and decided to get the oil in the car changed while we waited for Justin's parents and bro to arrive. While sitting at Oil Can Henry's we spotted what became a highlight of our trip: a Fred Meyer.

Ohh Fred Meyer. We've missed you so. We've missed your wonderous charm, expansive grocery department, your inexpensive Columbia fleece section, your picture frame aisles. As soon as the goofy Oil Can Henry crew was done with our car, Justin and I drove right over to Fred Meyer and promptly spend $70. Hey, there is no tax in Oregon, and as soon as we walked through the doors we found all sorts of things we needed.

Throughout the 4 day stay in Brookings (where 2 days were technically spent driving to or away from the town) we ventured to Fred Meyer a total of 5 times. It's sad when you break it down that way, but hey, the place had everything the boys needed to be sure their faces were cleanly shaven on Saturday AND it had everything we needed for s'mores Sunday night.

WHAT WENT DOWN

Friday:

• Checked in to the hotel that's RIGHT ON THE BEACH!
• Got the oil changed while we waited for the Thompsons to arrive in Brookings
  
• Spent the better part of a day's pay at Fred Meyer
  
• Greeted the rest of the Thompson clan with much rejoicing as it's been a very long time since we're all together
• Ate dinner at the Hungry Clam -- apparently a local fav
  
• Walked on the beach, climbed on rocks and waited for the sun to set while we chatted and caught up

Saturday:

• Enjoyed breakfast at the Salty Dog Coffee Bar
• Browsed the Brookings Farmers Market
• Drove to Crescent City, CA to check out the Ocean World aquarium where Karen petted a shark. A real shark. I didn't even get within 20 feet of it. Instead, I took pictures inside the giant, fake shark's jaws with the boys.
  
• Continued down 101 to the Trees of Mystery for a tour through the Redwood Forest and a ride up the tram to be as high up as the very tops of the tallest trees. We also walked back down from the top vs. taking the tram back down. When the signs say the trail is meant for experiences hikers, they really do mean it.
  
• Ate at the Forrest Cafe (we do not recommend it)
• Went to the Crescent City lighthouse at Battery Point to see the view and hop around the tide pools. We also saw a whale...well, we saw water shoot up as it blew air out its blowhole. All I can say is thank goodness we were on solid ground and not in a boat out there. Yikes.
• On the way back to Brookings we saw some Roosevelt elk from one of the largest herds around. There are so many elk in that part of WA/CA there is an AM radio station dedicated to elk migration updates. I'm not sure what to say about that.
  
• Dressed up for a fancy and delicious seafood dinner at Sebastian's
  
• The boys took a walk in the dark on the beach while Christine tried to read the new Twilight saga novella before falling asleep

Paul and Babe. Paul does the park commentary all day long, talking to visitors and guessing the flavors of their ice cream. I imagine it's an exciting gig, being Paul B. Thompsons by the Cathedral Tree
Trees growing on a tree. Look closely and you'll see.Trees and shrubbery are taken seriously in the Trees of Mystery.Curtis and Justin have a picture just like this from when they were little boys. Reenactment time!

Sunday:

• Justin and I walked along the pier through the beachy morning midst to the Salty Dog. It's now our favorite coffee shop. We almost bought shirts with the shop's logo, but they didn't have my size and Justin didn't want one that was pink.
• We headed north towards the Rogue River to see what there was to see along the shoreline.
• We stopped at various lookouts, spots with beach access and hiked along parts of the Oregon Coast Trail.
  
• We stopped in Gold Beach for lunch and gift shop shopping. The boys and I went to get ice cream where I was glared at for asking for a smaller scoop. To avoid a sticky situation I took the one scoop as it was offered, which equated to an entire pint of ice cream in a waffle cone. None of us felt very well after we ate our ice cream.
• Justin bought a trinket from the gift shop. It's orange, squishy and flashes lights when shaken. It's just the kind of thing my brothers would have begged for in a beach gift shop back in the day. It's now sitting on our bookshelf where I'm sure it'll stay for the rest of eternity.
• We stopped at Whiskey Creek beach on the way back to Brookings. The beach was empty, except for the kind gentleman who, we discovered, was living out of his car in the bushes near the trailhead.
  
• We spent at least an hour or two on the beach, jumping over rocks and driftwood to look for tide pools and other ocean secrets. We all agreed this was our favorite part of the trip.
• Back in Brookings we went to dinner at a funky place called The Onion Grill -- it features Cantonese, seafood and steak. They gave each of us two menus...one for the Cantonese food and another for the surf and turf. Our hostess was hilarious and our food was was pretty darn good.
• Before heading back to the hotel we drove to Fred Meyer for s'mores supplies. Justin got pulled over, but the officer let us go with a warning. Silly Californians and their bad blinker habits.
  
• After dinner Curtis, Lee and I combed the beach for driftwood so we could build a fire for s'mores. I'm learning I have bad luck with animals and the sea...what I thought was a nice pile of sticks was actually the boney remains of some animal that met its fate on the beach. I'm thinking it was a dog or a large bird. I wasn't happy about picking up its remains. It was just about as bad as nearly stepping on a dead, bloated seal in Santa Cruz.

Thompsons take a break for supermodel documentary hour.

Why the scarf? You wouldn't like it if your scalp burned easily in the sun, either.

Create your own caption.

Monday:

• Lee, Karen, Justin and I walked to the Salty Dog for one last latte
  
• We all packed up our rooms and headed to breakfast at the Blue Water restaurant. Definitely recommend this place for breakfast...for the next time you're in Brookings.
• We parted ways with Lee, Karen and Curtis after breakfast, thanking them for a fabulous time.
  
• Then we went to Fred Meyer to get a few more things. We're ridiculous.
  
• Justin and I spent more time exploring the attractions of HWY 101 on our way home. We took a detour through the Avenue of Giants to see huge Redwoods and drive through a tree. We also stopped at a Bigfoot memorabilia roadside set up that turned out to be the home of one of the fastest wood carvers in the west. His prize carving? Why Bigfoot, of course.
  
• We saw Bigfoot, or something/one like it.
  
• We stopped for dinner at Johnny Garlic's (Guy Fieri's restaurant) in Santa Rosa
• We hit traffic just outside of SF and cried all the way home

Tuesday:

• We cried about not being able to walk to the Salty Dog for a latte
• We cried about having to go to work
• We cried at work
• We had mac-n-cheese for dinner and felt better about being back

Thank you, Thompsons, for a fantastic vacation. We loved spending time with you and hope there isn't as much time in between full family visits next time.