Jaunt to the Beach

Last Friday morning, November 19, Mikaela and I met four friends in a Starbucks parking lot and embarked on a grand adventure. Our destination: the beach.

Our goal: have a fabulous time deepening friendships, fellowshipping at all times of the day and early morning, and drinking in the magnificent glory of the ocean.

Left column: Lauren, Mikaela, and Betsy.  Middle column: Sarah (top) and Katelyn.  Right column: Kaytra.

Our first predicament confronted us in the form of fitting six girls in one minivan.  Somehow, we managed to do so, but we had not an inch of space to spare!  We were soon on our way, and our car rang with laughter, Christmas music, and chatting.  We meandered our way down the coast, stopping to shop and being literally forced off the road by the first breathtaking view of the beach that appeared before us.  Could anyone drive by this without stopping?

Photo stop over with, we tentatively maneuvered down the road on which our rented cottage lay, eyeing the rundown houses we prayed were not ours, and holding our breath when we saw a particularly extravagent one. Ours turned out to be completely adorable, and was never loved so much by any of its previous occupants, I am sure. We exclaimed over everything from the adorable gingerbread to the charming gabled rooms to the eccentric but somehow completely loveable leopard print carpet that covered every inch of the cozy house. With a hot tub and plenty of sleeping space, the only fault we could find with our temporary home was the fact that it only contained one mirror!

Before the sun went down, we dashed down to the beach (which means we walked a block!), and snapped photo after photo of the beautiful sights that met our eyes. Even the chilly November day could not dampen our excitement!

That evening, we enjoyed a delicious supper, a dip in the scalding hot tub, an introduction (for Mikaela and I)to the newest Sense and Sensibility movie, and a rousing game of Split Second.

The next morning, however, we had determined to be dedicated, conscientous, and healthy by going for a morning run on the beach. What we weren't counting on was a high tide that covered the entire sandy beach, leaving high and dry only rocky hills that were too rough to run on.  A few hundred feet of jogging in knee-high water was all it took to convince us to turn back.  There was nothing else for it but to laugh, shrug our shoulders, and splash each other a bit before we headed back to our cottage to dry off and begin our day.

We had a precious time together of singing favorite hymns and studying a chapter of the Psalms.  It was so good to talk deeply with like-minded girls of the wonders of God's Word!  We could hardly tear ourselves away to commence the rest of our day, but by the time we did it was time for us to have a picnic on the beach! 

The rest of the day was filled with blissful photo-snapping, shopping, and marveling at the beautiful, rain-free weather God had given us! 

The sunset finally brought us back to our cottage, hungry and ready for an exciting evening in!  Mikaela and I were the chefs for the night, and we inflicted on the girls the experience of our "mystery" dinner.  Every part of the menu (pizza, salad, cookies, and soda) was numbered, and we gave the girls the blind choice of any three menu items from 1-11 for the first course.  Some found themselves presented with napkins and salad dressing, but nothing else to eat! 

We had a lot of fun, and they were good sports despite our mistakes which hilariously resulted in three of them being without a salad for almost the entire meal.
Notice the leopard print carpet in the picture below? (-:

The next morning dawned rainy and foggy, and we hurried to be out of our cottage by the check-out time.  Laundry, vacuuming, and dish-washing were all accomplished in record time, and we had another wonderful time of Bible study before we closed the door on our little cottage. 

But our adventures were only beginning, because while we were preparing to leave Seaside, someone noticed that one of our tires was exceptionally low on air.  We soon solved the problem with a visit to a gas station and were on our way to get lunch when everyone's phones summarily began to ring.  All our parents were calling to inform us that snow was beginning to build up back home, and with us still having to drive over an hour on a two-lane highway and down an infamously steep hill, they were becoming quite concerned.  We skedaddled back to the van, only to have our light bulb moment: the tire had been low because a charming little nail had dug itself deep within the rubber and the tire was now protesting with nasty hissing noises.  We stared at each other in disbelief before deciding that six cold girls trooping into the Napa auto parts store might do the trick.  Nope.  But the helpful Napa guy directed us back the direction we had just come from to a place that could fix the tire, since he wasn't offering.  Here we are, doing--what else in such a situation?--laughing and taking pictures under the stern glare of a mounted buck while waiting for our tire to be fixed!

The Lord was watching out for us during the entire escapade, for we were soon on the road with our tire in one piece (!) and six pairs of eyes on the lookout for snow.  The frosty white trees were beautiful, but not much snow appeared on the highway while we were driving home, for which we were intensely grateful!

And all too soon, our beach weekend ended--just before dusk, with snow gathering on the ground, and six tired but happy girls hugging each other good-bye. 

"Haystack Rock"