On to La Push....

We left Lake Wynootchee (NOT on that single-lane road!) and headed even farther north out to La Push.  We had camped out there before with Grams and Gramps.  This time we didn't quite get the spot we wanted....but we made it work.

The weather continued to hold for us.....the sun was shining and it was time to hit the beach!

We went for a walk and did some exploring first.

 And a pause to take it all in.....

After a quick lunch....

....it was back to the beach to build a super sand castle!!!

The tide (and the fog) were coming in, so we sat and waited to watch it take away the castle.

It took longer than we thought......

So we left it for a bit and went walking (and playing) down the beach.

After dinner, we went back down to the beach for one last ocean sunset.

It didn't disappoint!!!

Annalise kept photo-bombing my sunset shots!!

We love these girls....

And we really enjoyed our time at the beach!

Lake Wynootchee

Literally as the other campers were pulling out of Ocean City and heading home, the skies turned blue!!!  Lucky for us, our adventures on the coast weren't ending.

We headed through the mountains....LITERALLY....to Lake Wynootchee.

Turns out Google Maps don't always take you where you ought to be.  We mapped our route from Ocean City to Lake Wynootchee before we left, knowing that cell service might be spotty once we got out there.  So, we followed the route given to us.  Ummm....the road began just fine and turned out to be a single lane dirt road for miles and miles and miles.  Now, this would have been fine other than the 27' fifth-wheel behind us.  We were sweating it....and just about had a heart attack when we saw that the bridge over a ravine had been washed out.  Luckily it was passable with a couple of boards set across.....talk about holding your breath across.  Oh man.

We were fully convinced that there wouldn't be anyone else at this totally "remote" campground after the drive we had just done.  

We crested a final hill into the campground and saw big RV's pulling boats, etc.  

So....there is OBVIOUSLY a different way to get there. (Let's just say we left that way the next day!)

The campground was beautiful.

The sun was shining....the weather was beautiful.

The lake was amazing.

The water felt cold.

The lake is held back by a big dam....

It made for some fun swimming and jumping off the floating dock!

We will DEFINITELY go back!!!

Happy Campers 2013

We had a hard time trying to decide on dates for this years' Happy Campers trip.  That said...by the time we made a decision, we couldn't get reservations at our usual destination.  So we decided to change the venue to the BEACH.  That said....it sounded a little too cold for our tent camping campers, so it ended up just being three families this year.

On our way out to Ocean City....we had to stop in McCleary (it's tradition) for lunch.

We were all hungry and ready for a break....

We were back on the road after a yummy lunch at the Hungry Bear.

The weather was a little chilly and foggy....but the boys held strong in their shorts!

We all enjoyed a "Triple A" (Anne, Allan and Aidan) fiesta for our first themed dinner.

We started the next morning with an AWESOME pie iron breakfast!

With everyone getting one or two, we could feed everyone in no time!!

Then it was off to the beach to start the kite flying....

 Next up....Superhero Dinner.

Everyone made a superhero mask.....

 Then....Camryn divided us into teams for the Superhero Scavenger Hunt....

Mark and Carter won....

After our Superhero "Sticken" Kabobs the girls wanted to head back down to the beach for a little sand castle building before dessert.

 Their masterpiece didn't quite get finished because it started to get a little cold...

Then we made some AWESOME apple and cherry pies for dessert with the pie irons.

The next day we decided to head into town and check out the Ocean City scene.

The kids were immediately drawn to the shark's mouth....

And then it was GO-KART time!!!!

 They had time to watch and talk about how to do it.

Kim and Annalise got a double....

 Carter was speedy....

 Avery and Camryn were cautious....

 Aidan was fearless....

Kim was not. ;)

 Avery did get the hang of it....and thought it was super awesome!!!

We all kept checking out the "SHARK" ride (like a mechanical bull), but none of us wanted to try it.

Except for Pete....

Then it was back to the beach for more kite flying!!!

It was our night for dinner....we were doing a traditional Campin' dinner.

Foil Packets (our Girl Scout campout inspired us!!)!!

It got a little more chilly that evening.....

 Anne and Allan tried some dancing to warm up...

 Kim just bundled tighter....

So we sent the kids inside for a little craft break....

The beach was great....it would have been better if the sun had made an appearance, but we still had a great time!!!  There was just a little time for MORE kite flying!!!

When all was said and done....it was another fun Happy Camper's trip!!!

(And HOODIES were an excellent idea this year!!!)