August

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August 2, 2002

We've Made it to South Dakota.  I mean made it too.  It really felt like we were pioneering out here.  Ok so it wasn't even close to what our ancestors went through but it was for our generation.  On the 31st of July it was over 100 and muggy with no wind.  We traveled across Minnesota to a Wal Mart in Mitchell South Dakota.  It was a long drive.  The kids did really well though.  They had those puzzles I bought in the Mall of America.  We stopped at a rest stop that had enlarged granite teepee poles out side. 

I met a woman whose son had an abscess in his mouth.  Why out of all the people she could have spoken to she picked me I don't know.  I wish I would have asked her if I could of prayed for her and her son.  She is from Ontario.  She looked very Indian.  I told her to look for a clinic or primed.  That it would be cheaper for an office visit.  But when I got back in the motor home I realized I should have laid hands on him and prayed with her for the boys comfort and healing.  God is doing a work opening my eyes.  I need to make prayer my first response.  I did pray for them and we did as a family but laying hands gives the glory to God in an obvious way.

The weather turned cold during the night and we were blessed with cool winds that rocked the trailer and us to sleep.  Except when the wind was too strong and it woke us up. 

In the morning I shopped and then we headed to the corn palace.  A tourist attraction.  It's and auditorium decorated with corn murals.  It was neat to see.  They change the outside picture every year.

Then we proceeded to travel for another day.  The wind was really bad though.  It felt like we would get blown off the road a couple of times.  Thank God He was with us.  It was scary a couple of times.  Ron doesn't like when I drive.  It makes him too nervous.  He ends up driving me nuts with all his little comments.  I try to explain nicely that I would never intentionally put us in danger.  That I've had my license a long time and the only accident I've been in was when I first got my license.  I drove the bookmobile and did delivery with him.  I used to drive in Boston too, but not since I've been with him.  I'm learning again what I already knew.  It's not worth his attitude for me to drive. However the last time I let his attitude stop me from saying or doing things I wanted to do it was a mistake.  Besides he need to practice being nice even when he's frustrated.  So I'm going to keep on driving, even if were both nuts by the end of the journey.

The most impressive land change has been the escape from all the corn farms.  In Minnesota they had rolling hills with green grass.  More horses than we've seen so far too.  But they still had corn.  When we passed into South Dakota it was night but we realized the corn was gone.  In the morning we were treated to rolling hills of hay.  Some places had sunflowers.  The cattle were numerous, all out in pastures that appeared to have no boundaries.  The sun was hot but the wind was cool and it kept the temperatures in the 80's which was nice.

The speed limits around here are unbelievable.  Minnesota had limits of 70.  South Dakota is 75.  A resident said people mostly drive 80 to 85.  We haven't gone over 70.  It's really too fast.  The roads are straight, but for us heading west, they are all uphill.  Cars around here are older and beat up too.  More than half would never pass our inspection.  Out here life is a little more on your own.  The population is small too.  Cities are far in between and they are small like Ashby.  Some are larger but still not like Leominster.

When we got to the campground we got cactus spurs in our shoes.  They have very sharp painful spikes.  We know why cowboys wear boots.  The spines go right through rubber.  There are a lot of flies out here too.  It's very dry as well.

The kids loved the bad lands.  We walked a trail in the evening.  It was beautiful with the colors of the sun reflecting off the pillars.  We went to a slide show.  By the time we left it was dark.  We saw deer on the sides of the road.  They were big.  It was really neat. 

South Dakota is nice to visit but it's not for me.  It still snows.

We are starting to get into a routine.  The children are adjusting well.  In fact Nikole is growing so much.  She is a great helper.  She still doesn't like to go anywhere without one of us until she is comfortable.  Then she is fine.  Zak doesn't care if we go or not he is very adventurous.

Zakary used his disposable cameras yesterday too.  He took 54 pictures in 4 hours.  He did share one of them with his sister.  He's very giving.  They had fun taking pictures of each other on rocks in the "not too bad lands".  Hopefully today we'll see some buffalo.  They are in the west side of the park we are in the east.

August 3,

We are in Rapid City South Dakota.  It is better here than at the Bad Lands.  We have enjoyed Mount Rushmore at night.  The kids had huge ice creams.  So far so good.

We are staying at Rushmore Shadow Resort.  It was a free 3 night sale thing.  We listened and bought.  God willing it will work for us.  Since we are camping so much in the next year we'll get private campgrounds for $6 a night.  That will be a tremendous savings for us in the long run.  Even with the discount Passport America we're paying more and there are many restrictions.  We ended up here during Sturgis Bike Rally.  We wouldn't have been able to stay here after Monday because everything is booked.  Prices increase by double if not more too.  And neither of the discount clubs had sites for us at the discount rate.  So this has already worked for us right now.

We have good Christian TV. here.  That is a blessing too.  And there is an Assembly right up the street.  We're looking forward to going tomorrow.  We'll be here until the 12th so we will be able to go twice.  The last church gave the children daily devotion bookmarks.  They have been a blessing to all of us.  It's nice to get into the habit of reading the bible with them every day.  They look forward to hearing their verse.

August 4,

Today we visited a beautiful Assembly of God.  The building is new as well as the pastor.  We fit right in.  It was the most like home so far.  They even have the Missionette program.  They are looking for a coordinator and teachers too.  They say the snow doesn't stick around and the winters are pretty mild.  But...   We will be here until the 12th so we get to go back one more time.

It rained today for the first time.  It sprinkled this morning and again at 6.  It's really cool too.  The kids haven't even been in the pool yet. 

We did get to visit the farm up the street.  The kids and I rode our bikes while Ron got on line and updated the site.  It's sort of nice having an evening in the home.  It's our first one to date.

We are all getting along better.  Reading scripture every night has made a difference in all of us.  God's word is a powerful two edged sword.  It inspires and directs our steps.  It has helped all of us with our words and attitudes.

Well I'm up for some family games so well get back to this later. 

August 8,

It's early in the a.m.  I am having a touch of insomnia directly related to drinking coke all day.  Well another lesson learned.  I also took a short nap in the late afternoon.  Ron did too but he is sleeping fine.

We have been seeing the sites in Rapid City and surrounding areas.  Today we went to Bear Country.  By far the best site we've seen for the money.  Me being and animal enthusiast would think so.  The kids liked it too.  We did break the rules of keeping the window rolled up, it was just too hot and it was neater being able to have no barrier.  The animals walked or slept right on the road.  It was the neatest wild life experience I've ever had.  It was hard not to get out of the car though.  I wanted to walk up and rub my fingers through the bear fur.  The set up was really neat.  They had decent size areas set up for the different animals to wander around in.  The grizzle  had the worst set up and the lynx cats too.  They were in smaller areas.  The grizzle was all alone.  He was behind triple electric fence.  He was rather large at 1100 pounds.  He still looked calm and gentle, but we all know that if provoked the results would be deadly.  They put his food in the area by a box on a pulley.  In fact it looked as if they fed the animal well, as the wolves and coyotes traveled around the reindeer, but it didn't appear as if they hand fed them.  They warn that these animals are more dangerous as they have lost their fear of humans.  One of the wolves walked by and he was so close I could have touched him with the door.  I spoke and he looked at me with a scary fierce look.  I rolled the window up.  So after that staying in the truck seemed like a good idea.  Thank God it happened right away.  By the time we got to the bears I knew I couldn't get out.  I wanted to though.

Ron is on a mission to see the ten free sights offered in the area.  Today we went to the Geology Museum in the college.  Nikole loved it as it was all rocks.  They have become her new favorite thing.  Everywhere we go she want to collect rocks.  She decided to purchase a rock cleaner with her Toy's r Us money.  Right now rocks she found outside in the campground are being ground down to see what's inside.  Hopefully it will work as we didn't us the rocks that came in the kit.  The powder stuff is really expensive and it takes a long time.  The fist stage is 2 to 4 days.  The second is 12 to 14.  Then to polish it takes another 2 to 4 days.  It just tumbles them around with grit.  We'll see what happens.

So far the best free thing was Storybook Island.  It is a huge park with hundreds of different story characters that are also swings and slides.  The kids had a blast.  It was fun until Nikole left to go to the car without telling us and I thought she was lost or worse.  Prayer kept me from panic but I was really getting nervous because she was missing so long.  This would be a nice place to have a picnic.  They have a large area before you go into the story part to do that.

The kids and Ron were at it today.  They are feeling the effects of constantly being on the go.  Ron wants to see everything and go every where.  The kids on the other hand feel comfortable doing what they have already done.  So a repeat visit to the park or going back to the Library is what they would like to do. 

Oh yea we found the Rapid City Library.  I even met Jolene a previous co-worker of my old boss Jerry Johnson at the Fitchburg Library.  What a small world.  This is the first public library we've been to and it happens to be her old one.  God has a sense of humor.  The bad news is they charge $27 for a card if your not a resident of the county, and it's only good for a year.  We are allowed to use the computers however and that is really what Zakary loves to do.  The library here is very small compared to ours at home but they have 50 times the computers available.  They have three 15 minute computers that people can check the e mail on.  They have 4 half hour computers and a room full of hour computers at least 20 in the room.  They have 4 young adult computers and 4 children's computers 2 with internet.  The floor space is definitely less than half of Fitchburg.  They will be getting a new building soon.  They just went to a county system too.  No bookmobile either.  They do have a few blue bird buses circulating through the city though.

Today we ended up spending the afternoon in the motor home's air conditioning.  I tried to get the kids to swim but they were happy playing with puzzles and Zak's new Batman toys.  We didn't even end up at the church.  I know the kids would have loved Prims and Straight Arrows but Ron thought the adult service was canceled and I know I read something about that.  They are having a members meeting instead.  It still would have been nice for the kids.  There is a playground at the Baptist Church right after the Assembly they could have played there too.  But it was a quiet evening to be had.  Ron went to upload the changes at the office while I readied the kids for bed.  When he got back we all played Yatzee.  I won.  Nikole was very upset she lost but she was also very tire and beyond her bed time.

I'm still reading the bible every night.  And in the morning too.  It seems to annoy Ron somewhat.  The kids love it when I put there names into the scriptures.  They get more out of it.  It's helping me too.  It would be nice to have Ron do some reading some time.  He seems to separate himself when I do it.  He needs prayer, family.  Old habits die hard.  It's a difficult thing to watch.  Praise God He knows all we go through.  He will never test us beyond our capabilities and will always provide a way out of temptation.  In our weakness He is strong.  He will never leave me or forsake me.  Praise God! Praise God!

August 9

We've had a lovely day out at Cuter State Park.  First we went to Cosmos.  It was a cabin on a hill that was built to give optical illusions.  We had fun there but the effects of the imbalance left us dizzy.  At Custer we were treated with wild donkeys, deer, buffalo, sheep and prairie dogs.  The kids loved being so close to all the animals.  I even pulled pickers off of the donkeys.  They were very gentle.  We stayed away from the buffalo though they are not docile.  There are more accidents with people getting involved with buffalo than with all other wild life combined. 

We had a nice picnic and fed some fish in the amazingly clear stream.  The water here is very clear everywhere.  The last few states had dirty water, it's a nice change to see the clean water here. 

Tonight Ron has made beef stew.  It smells delicious.  Time for dinner.

All the prayer has helped I thank you all for keeping us both in your prayers.  God is faithful to complete the work He has started in both of us. 

August 15

We are currently on our way to Delco Idaho.  Where is Delco you might ask?  Well it's about 40 miles east of Twin Falls.  Twin Falls is where Shoshone falls  is located.  Eight years ago Ron and I stayed in a campground called Nasuepa.  They had natural mineral water pools that were 85 degrees .  We had so much fun there diving and swimming.  It was the next morning that Ron had his first suspicion of my pregnancy.  I tried to tell him no but we all know he was right.  So were on our way back to show the kids and to have some fun.  We won't be staying in that campground.  We'll be in a Travel Stop that has a heated pool and spa so we'll still have swimming fun.

The past few days have been very busy travel days.  We left Rushmore Shadows on Monday and traveled all day to Bozeman Montana.  It was a very long drive.  We spent the night in Wal Mart.  I really need to write a letter to them telling how much we appreciate them allowing us to stay.  So far all of the Wal Marts we've stayed in have had other trailers too.  Some seemed like a trailer park!  It's comforting to know that we can stay somewhere and not have to worry about security.  And it's very convenient the next morning to be able to shop for our needs too.

After the very long travel day we arrived in Henry Idaho.  The camp ground was at the base of the Continental Divide.  We were 13.5 miles from the west entrance to Yellowstone.  That is where we went Tuesday night.  It was nice to see all the elk.  They were huge in fact.  We even saw a coyote.  There were a couple of spectacular views too.  Lots of rivers and a waterfall.  We headed towards the Mammoth Hot Springs in the north section of the park.  The road we traveled closed at 9 p.m.  Unfortunately it was 117 miles to get back to the exit of the park with that road closed.  Ron was wonderful about it.  We stopped at a grocery store in the park and made the 3 hour journey as fun as possible.  It was pitch black so we missed all the sites, but  we can say we traveled through the whole park.

Yellowstone is very different from all the parks we've been in so far.  They have the normal campgrounds but they also have hotels, restaurants, and gas stations.  Some of the areas of the park looked barren.  There was a fire in 84 and they have left all the bare trees still standing.  It gave the park a sort of haunted look.  There is a ton of fire wood.  I'm not sure why they haven't cleaned it out.  They have planted new trees that are growing but the effects of the fire are still obvious.  We heard there are buffalo but we didn't see any.

Yesterday we went back into the park to see Old Faithful. On the way into the park we picked up a hitchhiker named Atone from Siberia.  He is working in Yellowstone at the Old Faithful inn.  It was really nice to meet him.  We learned a little bit about the weather in Siberia and we told him a little bit about our country.  He had plans to travel to California next.  He's sort of and exchange student.  Although he said it was a consulate thing not really a school thing.  It made the ride to Old Faithful a short one.  We exchanged e-mails and we plan on checking in with him.  He enjoys mountain climbing.  He reminded me of my nephew Jay. 

 We figured with all the riding we'd been doing the kids would enjoy walking.  Wrong!  Zakary was the one doing most of the complaining.  We spent a good two hours there waiting for Faithful.  It was really cool to see it spout off.  We were having a picnic in the back of the jeep when it went off.  From there we traveled to see the Grand Tetons. 

We stopped along the way so the kids could through rocks into Jackson Lake, which was at the base of the mountains.  Talk about spectacular.  The Tetons outdid Yellowstone in beauty.  Yellowstone was different will all the hot springs.  Like I said it was unlike anything we've ever seen.  Yellowstone had a sulfur smell that was sort of repulsive at times.  The Tetons were just awesome in size.  We were there when the sun was setting too so that added to the beauty.  We had been on the hunt for Moose, as I have never seen one.  We found two in Teton park.  They were sort of far away but close enough to see how massive they were.  Overall the Tetons were the hit of the two days here.

We met a lot of nice people while we were here.  That is part of the blessing with all of this traveling.  We actually met people from Westborough MA yesterday on our way to see the Moose.  We met a really nice family from Virginia who are traveling on to Mount Rushmore.  His name is Ron too.  He's a pool guy in the last town on 95.  They have two children who looked to be in their early teens.  She is a school teacher and they have to be home by Sunday.  We are praying for a safe journey for them.  So far we've met the nicest people from Virginia.  We'll have to be sure and stop in that state.

Overall we're still not tired of traveling yet.  The last three days have been tough on the rear end part of my anatomy.  I am looking forward to doing more walking and less driving.  We have a two day stop coming up with an hour site see ride.  Then a three day stop with a 2 hour site see trip.  Then we'll have a drive day followed by  6 days in Quincy Washington.  After that we'll be slowing down again with longer stays in campgrounds and shorter travel times in between camp ground stops.  I'm looking forward to Ocean Shores in Washington.  We had to change our plans which will cause us to travel and extra 200 miles or so but it will be worth being camped on the beach for a week.  I miss the ocean.  Then we'll go to another Six Flags in Seattle after that.

We are starting to connect better as a family now.  Ron is trying hard to be more complimenting and patient.  I'm trying to explain why more to the kids and they are trying to do what we ask of them.  This is definitely a bonding time for us as a family.  God is doing a work with us.  We were all in our own world thinking that the others were trying to stop us from having a good time.  Now we are starting to see that we need to serve each others needs  first then we will have a good time together.  If the children understand why we want them to do something they do it more willingly.  And when we realize they need time to unwind and they like to do the simple things like throw rocks in the lake.  When we don't try to stretch them beyond their capability we have a much better time and they are so much more pleasant to be around.  They are doing so much better traveling now too.  As I said God is doing a mighty work with all of us.  Since it is our desire to be used as a family we must be able function as a family first.  We really didn't do that so well back home.  We were working too much and had far too little time together.  It's nice getting to know my husband and children.  Except for that first week we haven't had any major blow ups.  In fact we are being nicer to each other and it's bringing us all closer.  God is so good to us.

August 16

We went to City of Rocks National Reservation today.  We went on a trail that lead us to these massive rocks.  The kids loved climbing them.  Ron and I got new gray hairs trying not to scare them as they scared us with how fearless they are.  We all had a nice picnic under the shade of  massive rock formations.  We didn't know how high we were until after we ate.  Wow what a drop!  It was the most adventurous thing we've done so far.  We were underdressed though.  Pants would have been better on the trail.  A learning experience.

We saw a person rock climbing.  He was way up on the side of a huge formation.  I don't think I want to see Nikole do that unless I can see the harness and rope holding her safe.  The park is visited by rock climbers from all over the world.  I can see why.

Life here has been busy.  We went to see Shoshone falls after the hike.  It was very disappointing.  The water was cut off for the farmers and it only trickled.  They are having a drought here too.  They cut the water off most years though.  It was too bad the kids didn't get to see it.  They had pictures there but it wasn't the same. 

Again we've met some really nice people here.  God's blessings are surrounding us.  Praise Him!

August 20

We just spent a nice and relaxing 3 days at Fort Running Bear Campground.  It was our first coast to coast campground and it was excellent.  We really enjoyed our stay.  We got to meet such nice people.  We arrived on Saturday. The campground itself was out of the way for us, but not for "country".  We traveled a dirt road again.  The jeep was pink when we arrived.  That night we played bingo.  Nikole won!  Ron was able to use the computer for free while we played.  He was in the same room sitting with us so it was fun for the whole family. 

Sunday we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at the campground then we met some really nice people from Idaho.  They gave us tips on sites to see and the roads we are now traveling.  They even taught me a new domino game called Mexican run (?) I think it's called.  I really enjoyed playing it.  It will be a neat game to bring home.  While I was playing dominos Ron was on the computer again and the campground owner's granddaughter brought out card crafts.  Needless to say Nikole was ecstatic and Zakary was happy too.  Colby became the kids hero.  They followed her around for the rest of the time we were there.  I think Zak had a crush.  Nikole even painted a rock for her.

On Monday Colby's gram put the kids to work raking and helping clean up the front of the office.  They were paid in ice cream which was good for them.  We had to go into town.  It appears as if our shower has been leaking into the floor of the motor home since we started showering.  We discovered it after Ron's shower on Monday.  Because we were going to town we got to deliver the mail and check the post office box.  Like I said we were out of the way.  It takes about 25 minutes to get to town and 3 miles of that is dirt road.  We're getting pretty good on them now.  Nikole was happy to go to Wal Mart she wanted to get glue for Colby.  I think they will remember her for a long time.

We really enjoyed our stay here.  The owners are great people and meeting them was a blessing.  I had the opportunity to witness to Colby this morning.  She is at a great age.  She's just graduated from college with a bachelors in Economy.  She has ambitious plans to use her degree.  In a few weeks she will be traveling to Europe.  I see such promise in her.  I'm sure she'll do very well in the future.  God has good plans for her, I pray she hears His call and follows His ways.   As I was talking with her a wonderful woman, who happens to be a Gideon, stopped by to give us bibles.  She said she overheard me witnessing without a tool.  God is so good.

Today we are on our way to Hermiston Oregon.  We are going to overnight in a Wal Mart.  On the way we plan on stopping at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, God willing.  If it's the place Ron and I remember it's awesome.  They have realistic figures of the time period and they tell the story of the pioneers.  There's even a place where you can look out the window and see the trail they took to get here.

The traffic right now is crazy.  It's the worse we've been in in a while.  I'm glad Ron is driving.  There is a lot of road construction and honestly there are more cars on this one stretch of road than we've encountered for the past three weeks.  We're heading into Boise Idaho so that's probably why.

We're starting to blend together now.  It seems as if Ron and I are able to communicate better.  The kids are calming down now and beginning to listen better.  We have been reading the bible every night.  We start Abraham's story tonight.  I know God's word works.  It's amazing to watch it happen.  We've received some great e-mail from home telling us about all the exciting news back at Leominster Assembly.  We are praying for them all the time.  In two weeks we will be starting school.  It's a little overwhelming for me but I know we'll get through it.  Ron seems very confident about it and that helps me a lot.  Considering all we've been through over the past 2 months it's amazing to me that we are as close as we are.  I have only God to thank for that.  He gave us His word and brought wonderful Christian people into our lives to help us through.  All the glory belongs to Him.

August 26,

It's been a while since I've updated.  We've had some wonderful days.  We ended up in a Wal Mart in Washington.  Ron had the need to journey on and not stop in Oregon.  We arrived at the Cresant Bar Resort around noon the next day.  The scenery was magnificent.  We were at the bottom of the Columbia River Gorge.  There were mountains on one side, the gorge on the other with the river below.  The weather was sunny and warm, but not oppressive warm.  We went to the pool the first day and it was as warm as a hot tub.  That worked out very well for Zak because he doesn't like to swim in cold water.  We enjoyed three relaxing days at the resort.  We went for a walk the last day for ice cream, but besides that we stayed put.  We left that campground at 5 am on Saturday to arrive at Ocean Shores.

We made really good time on the road.  We stopped at a Dennys for breakfast, then gassed up at an expensive station.  When we turned around in McDonalds we found another station a 8 cents cheaper.  It's only happened a couple of times so far, so over all we're pretty pleased.  The lowest gas price we've seen is $1.35. 

The campground (they call it a resort) was very disappointing.  First off the weather was sunny to almost here then it got very cloudy and dreary.  The temperature was in the low fifties.  The people here didn't have our reservations even though we had a confirmation number.  They did manage to work it all out.   The place is huge but they didn't have the sewer that was advertised.  That is an issue for us as we go through gray water very quickly.  Having the shower not working has helped over the past three days.  Then to get a picnic table we were told to find one at any empty site and to help ourselves to it.  We ended up with a site on the end.  We have no one behind us which is nice and there is lost of fire kindling.  Fires are allowed here as it is wet.  The jacks pushed the boards into the ground.  It took some getting used to for us.  The bathrooms here are not even close to our standards of clean or maintained.  There are missing tiles on the shower walls and the hot tub had a lot of dirt in it.  Over all the place is in need of cleaning and repair.  So we decided to head to the beach.

Yet another new experience for us.  Here you can drive on the beach, ride a horse, bring a dog, even rent a moped or ride your bike.  The only problem is it's so foggy you can't see more than 20 yards in front of you.  It's cold too.  The water makes your feet throb and the wind keeps the temperatures in the 60's sometimes 70's.  We've heard from the locals that only the tourists go into the water and the sun rarely shines on the beach and if it does it's rainy or foggy inland.  They don't even get 100 days of sun!  People were getting stuck in the sand left and right too.  Good thing we had four wheel drive our we would have been among the casualties.  Driving on the beach takes some getting used to.  It was fun though.

Yesterday we went back to the beach.  The weather was warmer and we intended to ride a horses.  The kids were looking forward to it.  But we were too late so we had to do it today.  We did get to fly our kites and help a person out of the sand.  We even met a woman who used to live in Maine.  They have been here for 30 years and just moved to Phoenix Arizona.  Quiet a change in weather from here that is for sure.  Last night we met Alex and Jean.  They are from Washington and they have 2 girls and their nephew was with them.  They introduced our kids to catching termites.  (We think they are flying carpenter ants but whatever)  They are large red bugs with four wings.  See in the city we send our kids out to play in traffic, here they go out to catch termites.  Anyway they came over to our site and we had a real nice visit.  The kids had fun playing in the motor home.  They got a little while but overall it was fun for all.

Today we woke to clouds (what a surprise) but then the sun did come out.  It was a surprise.  We headed to the beach and the horses.  We drove into fog so thick we couldn't see 3 car lengths ahead!  We had to wait an hour and a half for our ride so we left and went to the post office to get some letters sent post master general.  The kids loved getting mail.  We made a quick stop in the library but had to leave to ride the horses.

The horse ride was worth the $40.00.  The kids had wonderful animals that just stopped and went when they were supposed to.  Zakary's horse was named Little Buddie.  He was snappy to all the other horses but he didn't give Zak any trouble.  Zakary talked to him the whole time.  He really liked it.  Nikole was a natural.  She rode Toad.  Ron the horse man was on Shadow.  A beautiful horse.  Ron was in complete control and looked to be at ease.  I had the pleasure of being on Butch (stop laughing).  He was very nice to me.  It took me a while to stop shaking I was so scared.  I know the horse knows that so I tried to be brave but my body decided to do it's own thing.  Butch was the perfect gentleman.  We even picked up a little speed.  I got comfortable quickly.  Honestly now I'm looking forward to owning horses when we settle in the desert.  The kids really likes riding.  They just liked being around them.  (Just a side tip if your ever here don't have bare feet when patting the horses, or even around the posts, horse pee will cause your feet to loose a layer of skin.  The kids learnt the hard way).  The fog was very thick through the whole ride.  It was hard to see 6 horses ahead.  It's amazing really.  And we got wet too.

After the horse ride we returned to the library.  It was sunny there, not like on our ride.  The library is only 4 blocks away too.  Actually at the opening of the beach it was sunny just not near the water.  Anyway we were able to get a library card!  I was so excited.  We all took out books and we have 3 videos.  The library is very small but it is ranked 4th largest in usage.  They have a cat that stays in the library too.  She is very nice.

Right now we are on our way back to the beach to scavenge up more fire wood.  We have been doing very well at it so far.  God always provides enough for the day.  We are going to enjoy the sun as we hear it is a rare thing in these parts.

August 29,

Well when we returned to the beach it was all clear of the fog.  We were treated to an ocean view.  It was beautiful.  The kids flew their kites and Ron and I tossed the football a little.  We did get enough wood to burn that night and share some with our new neighbor friends.

We stayed up really late visiting with Alex.  We learnt a lot about the area.  He makes his own wine.  His raspberry wine was spectacular.  He carves walking sticks too.  He had quite the collection.  I found a stick that was nice but not strong enough.  He brought one over made of the same wood only thicker.  It was really nice.  Now we are on the lookout for walking sticks.

On Tuesday we got up and broke up a lot of brush up the path from our site.  There are piles of cut down small pine trees.  Perfect kindling and small logs.  The kids had a blast karate kicking them in half.  After that we headed to the jetty.  It was another beautiful day.  It was even clearer than the day before at the beach.  It was also much windier.  It made it uncomfortable cold on the beach.  The wind was almost too strong for Nikole's kite.  We climbed the rocks at the jetty and on the opposite side of the beach there was no wind.  The temperature was 20 degrees warmer.  We enjoyed watching the waves crash against the rocks.  The tide was coming in so we were treated to quite a show.  We really had  a nice day.  We found some more drift wood and some free wood on the side of the road.  I also saw a small deer.

The kids got together again after supper.  They discovered black berries at a nearby site.  That and ice cream sandwiches topped the night for them.  We went over to say good bye because it was their last night.  Jeanne is ready to have here baby.  She is having a c so it will be scheduled.  She is having cramping and is very tired all the time.  We didn't get to visit with her too much because she was so tired.  I can empathize.  I remember going camping when I was pregnant with Nikole.  It was the worst night.  I couldn't wait to come home.

Today we headed north to find whole sand dollars.  We were successful in our venture however it was cold.  The water was surprisingly warm if you didn't get too deep.  The wind was so strong my hands were numb by the time we got back to the jeep and my ears were burning cold.  The beaches were foggy again too.  It's so different to watch the fog roll in over the water and trees.  The weather here is so different.  It changes from beach to beach minute by minute.  We managed to grab a little more drift wood and left over fire wood again.  Ron scored a bunch of scrap wood too.

Tonight we have plans to settle the kids down early.  The last two nights were really late.  One of them was 2 am.  I still can't believe they were good the whole time.  They had fun with their new friends and little Tessie fell asleep so the two boys and two girls paired off and had fun playing games.  The old folks gave out first.  Last night was midnight.  So tonight we'll all be in bed early.  We have one more full day here then we'll be leaving early Friday morning.  The predicted weather is foggy and drizzly over the next two days.  Back to normal from what we hear.  These past two and a half days of sun are unusual.  The temperatures didn't rise above 75 degrees either day but it felt warmer than the 50 degrees when we arrived and the night time temps.  We have had the heater on every night so far.  Coastal Washington is a unique creation. 

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