Oregon Trip 2023 - Day 7: Train Yard, Shore Acres, Cousin Court, Candy Store, & S'more's

After all the pictures were taken, we drove over to the hamburger and shakes place to have some lunch.  It was way too busy there, so we decided to go to the train yard first before getting lunch.  Luckily, they are close to each other, so it wasn't a big deal.

The train yard did not disappoint.  It was fun to climb in and out of all the trains and ring the train bell.  It did seem like the kids liked it more when they were littler, but they all still had a good time.  We definitely didn't last as long as we did the last time we were there a few years ago, but it was still fun and worth going to.

We then went back to the lunch place, and we were able to find seats for all of us.  The food was good, and we all had a good time eating together.

After lunch we went to Shore Acres and walked around the beautiful gardens.  We love this tradition and never get tired of visiting this park.  

We enjoyed the rose garden, the kids had their annual spook ally, we then went to the fun rocks and took tons of pictures. It is such a fun area to walk around, climb on all the rocks, and it's great for pictures.

After Shore Acres we went to the warehouse where the cousins all had a cousin's court.  Jacob was the judge and Josh was on trial for allegedly having drugs (it was a leaf).  Averee was Josh's defense attorney, and all the cousins had a role to play.  Some were for Josh; others were against him.  It was all in good fun and pretty funny to watch.  The funniest was when Jacob, the judge, would give testimony.  They were all very clever and we thought it was a hoot.  

We had to have them conclude their court so that we could all go to the corner store before it closed for the night.  We had all the kids line up youngest to oldest and then Papa G gave them each their dollar bills.  The younger kids got two dollars and the older kids got five dollars.  

We then all walked down the street and took over the corner store.  It has been the same employee who has been there for the past many years, so she is used to us all coming in at once.  She is very nice and seems to enjoy seeing us all there together.  

We then had all the kids stand in front of the store with their loot for a picture.  It is a fun tradition to go to the "candy store" and even the cool older teenagers still like going.

After the store we then had s'mores.  The fire was perfect, and we all had a good time making and eating the s'mores.  It was a great way to end the day.  It was Wendy and her kids last night there, so it was good that we were able to get so much done.  

Oregon Trip 2023 - Day 7: Beach 5k, Farmer's Market, & Boardwalk

I started this morning with a nice walk on the beach with Julie and Boyd.  It was a beautiful morning and perfect for a walk on the beach.  We walked at least three miles and it felt glorious.

After our walk, I went back to the cottages for a shower and to eat some breakfast.  The kids and Tony were already eating and up for the day.

We then all got ready and drove into town to go to the Farmers Market.  This is a must do every year and we always have a good time.

We bought some yummy fruits, got some free goods, and found some cute bracelets for the girls. Aunt Wendy bought the girls some cute little jewelry plates for their rings and such.  It is fun seeing the local goods and supporting the local economy.  Papa G even bought everyone some fudge, it was a good day for that lady, there were a lot of us. 

After we saw all the vendors and got all our goods we then headed to the boardwalk.  We stopped at the Coos Bay visitor center, and I bought me a shirt.  We then all went to the boardwalk and took family pictures.  Teagan came into town this morning, so we were able to all be there together as a complete family.  We sure do love family!

Oregon Trip 2023 - Day 6: Cleaning Crab, Crab Feast & Cape Arago

Josh asked if he could go with Papa G, Kevin, and Boyd to get the boat out of the water and to clean the crab.  

Boyd showed him how to hold the crab and chop it in half to clean them out.  I was told that he did a very good job and was very brave doing this for the first time.

After all the crab was cleaned, they brought the crab and the boat back to the warehouse.  This is where we all ended up to help start the fire and start setting up for dinner.
My parents decided to have hotdogs with the crab this year instead of pizza.  Those who wanted hotdogs were able to cook them over the fire and those who wanted crab ate them at the tables.  

I tried a hotdog, and it was pretty gross, so I now know that buying better quality hotdogs is totally worth it.  

Tyler and Megan did good eating the crab again this year and the big surprise was Josh eating the crab.  He got right in and learned how to crack them open and eat the meat.  I'm thinking that helping clean them helped him feel more invested, so he actually tried the crab meat and liked it.  

I tried to get Allie to give it a real try, but she wasn't having it.  I figure if she keeps trying a little every year, she might just end up liking it.  Or not, I still don't.

After we ate dinner and cleaned up, some of us drove up to Cape Arago.  The little girls, Sherri and I went in Wendy's car, and we all rocked out to music on our way there.  The girls loved singing and having the windows open. They even ended up chanting Aunt Wendy's name.  It was pretty funny.  Wendy loved it.

It was cloudy, so not the best for the view, but it was still super pretty.  We love going up there and watching the ocean and holding out hope that we would see a whale.  We didn't see one on this trip, but we had fun looking.  

Oregon Trip 2023 - Day 6: Hiking, Crabbing, & Boat Rides

This morning we decided to go on a hike.  It was a hike that Tony and I had done a few years back, so we wanted to take the kids to check it out.  It wasn't far away, just had to drive to the end of Seven Devil's Road.  We invited my mom, and she came with us too.  

It was a fun hike, but there were spots where the path was not very well marked, but we did figure it out and had fun hiking around the forest.  I am not sure that we will do this hike again, but we did have a good time.

After we finished our hike, we went back to the cottages to have some lunch.  After eating we then went to the docks to watch and help the others with the crabbing.  

They didn't have tons of success off the docks, but they did have some keepers.  The kids were able to help pull pots and Josh and Megan did really good holding the crabs.  Tyler and Allie didn't want anything to do with that and just enjoyed watching all the action.

After the crabbing was over, Papa G took some of us out on the boat for a ride under the bridge and back.  It's always fun to go on a little ride on the boat.