Oregon: The Long Way

In order to fully appreciate the drive to Oregon for the family reunion, B. planned a 2-day trek up the coast. We spent the first night parked next to the ocean and spent the night in the van. Since I spent most the night waiting for light, I could not have been happier when I woke to find the sun streaming into the car, and the clock blinking glorious numbers: 6:00 am. Waking up next to the ocean's beautiful sounds made the sleepless night worth it. I think the Queen was just as happy.


We made sure to document our free room with an ocean view.




We began driving toward the coast of Oregon. We drove through the redwoods and had a blast looking at the beautiful scenery. We stopped at Clam Beach to play in the ocean. B. went for full immersion. I was so proud of him.




After a drive through more of the beautiful redwoods, we stopped and found a hotel in Bandon, Oregon. We walked the streets, had a nice dinner, and roasted marshmallows that night on the coast. It was so fun!

The next day we pushed through to Vernonia, Oregon, home to the Turner Family Reunion. I met many of B.'s great aunts, great uncles, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was really wonderful to hear the stories of the historic homesite. The Queen gladly entertained everyone present with her cute smiles and wild personality.






B. and I provided the talk of reunion. Not with our baby news, but with our fall. Literally. B. and I sat on one end of some picnic tables to eat our lunch, when much to our surprise and displeasure, the table fell on top of us. Picture a see-saw, we were at the wrong end. This picture shows the wonderful tables.


Despite that occurrence, the rest of the time was filled with great food, laughter, and family camaderie. Until the next reunion!!

The mandatory group picture.


As a side note, take a little walk with me down memory lane. I am 24 weeks now. Last year (crazy, huh?), when I was this far along, I was rushed to surgery to remove an infected appendix. I went in with a very little belly, and came out, with a very large belly. Thank you CO2. I still have the scar, along with the only stretch marks of my last pregnancy around it, to remind me of that tough recovery. I find it funny that I am bigger now than I was at that time and I do not have CO2 to blame. A lady at church put it well, "when I met you a couple weeks ago, I didn't know you were pregnant!!" There you have it folks, I have "popped". Sadly, I do not have enough of a wardrobe to compensate this growth. I have resorted to wearing B.'s sweat pants and T-shirts. The Queen has the same problem, she won't fit into her 3-6 or 6-9 month clothes anymore, so she runs around in a diaper. Don't worry, his internship ends this week, so our journey home begins at the perfect time for me and the Queen.