Geoff had Friday off from school so Deb and Jim thought it would be a great opportunity to make it a three day weekend. After Cyrus' death on October 1 I think everyone needed a break. After some deliberation when the reservations were made it was decided to leave Friday morning rather than Thursday evening. So Friday finally got here and the family, particularly Jim, was anxious to get going. And, of course, as they stepped out of the house to get into the truck it started to rain...... Not to be deterred they prodded on and the rain quit within a few minutes.
They stopped at Costco to get a few things and after an excruciating wait on the pharmacy they were finally able to go get gas and pick up Serenity. For some reason Jim has a much easier time getting Serenity out of the stable than in. Anyway, we were finally free and clear to navigate at 11:45. With check-in time being 2:30 and a projected three hour drive this worked out just about perfect. The drive was uneventful and with a stop for gas in Raymond they were able to enter the park at about 3:00.
Jim lived up to his promise that he would be able to back Serenity into the site in one attempt! There were high fives and smiles all around at this remarkable feat as all previous attempts took at least three tries and fifteen minutes. Jim realized exactly how far his ability has come when he saw the Toyota 4Runner with a VERY small trailer (smaller than the GRUB even) who had been waiting on him to clear the road struggling to back in to the neighboring site. They ended up pulling in head first, unhooking the trailer and turning it around by hand. Now if Jim can just get down backing in to the stable....
Jim and Geoff quickly leveled Serenity and got all the utilities hooked up and Deb got the food, clothing and other cargo stowed. Total set up time including backing in was under 35 minutes. Yep, we're starting to get the routine down.
From there is was a quest for firewood that was complicated by the park host not being home but was, nonetheless, successful. As I watched over the campsite the family took a walk down to the beach. The weather was fantastic with highs in the lower 60s. There was little wind at the campsite but the beach had a chilly wind blowing from the north. This beach is much wider than Long Beach and may become one of our favorite parks. The grounds are well-kept and the sites are spaced well enough to offer decent privacy. The proximity to the beach is excellent. We inspected the bathrooms and found them to be exceptional with separate fully locking showers. While this isn't as crucial now that we have Serenity it is good to know for others that may join us.
After the family returned from the beach it was time to just sit back and relax for a few moments before dinner. Jim then grilled up some Italian chicken which was served with pasta salad and biscuits. The sun was setting during dinner and the sky was painted with dazzling hues of pink, purple and orange. While Jim and Deb cleaned up after dinner Geoff got the campfire going. All of us sat around it and Geoff made the traditional s'mores. It was a beautiful night as the stars could be seen poking through the overcast. The family retreated to the comfort and warmth of Serenity around 8:45. Jim and Geoff started a game of scrabble before everyone called it a night shortly after 10:00.
One of the reasons the family upgraded from a tent trailer to a full-blown hard shell travel trailer was for warmth overnight in the winter months. The GRUB was a great trailer but our trip to Cape Disappointment for New Year's pushed the heater to the limit. It ran near constantly and kept the temp in the lower 60s. However, when that furnace stopped you could feel the drafty cold air coming in immediately. Serenity is a different beast altogether. Saturday's morning low was 40 degrees but the temperature in Serenity stayed between 60 and 62 all night. Yet the furnace ran a fraction of the time it would have in The GRUB. Mission objective attained!
As usual, Jim was the first one up on Saturday morning, arising at the ungodly hour of 6:30. However, he took a quick walk down to the beach and was rewarded with a view of the moonlight from the waning gibbous moon reflecting on the waves. Additionally Jupiter was so bright it was almost blinding. Orion and Sirius were on full display to the south. And the pre-dawn glow was just starting in the east. A spectacular way to start the day for Jim at least!
The rest of the family woke from their slumber and bathed during the time it took for Deb to make another fabulous breakfast. Now fully charged for the day They quickly neatened Serenity then it was off for a day of geocaching. For those that haven't done it I would recommend checking it out by googling the term or going directly to the site at http://www.geocaching.com.
Anyway, Jim had hoped to find ten caches on Saturday so he did the "presearch" on a series of five. The way this series works is you find the first four in order to get the clues to find the fifth. There were two unexpected challenges to this series. The first is they are on a series of unmapped logging roads. In order to get close enough we had to find the right road. This took longer than finding the caches. Geoff found #1 and Deb found #2 very quickly. However, having said that, the second challenge was cache #3. We looked and hunted until frustration set in. We decided try to find #4 then come back. Again, Deb found #4 quickly. We went back to try and find #3 and once again hunted until well after frustration set in. We decided to head back to Serenity and grab some lunch and review the logs of those that found it previously.
Lunch was good but the logs only revealed #3 was the toughest of the series. We talked about giving up on it but the McPherson stubbornness kicked in and we decided to give it one more shot. We headed back up the now-familiar road and searched some more. Despair was setting in this time when Deb finally located it. The final search was on and required a short 3/4 mile hike. The path took us past some stunning vistas and up to some windmills. These are all over eastern Washington and Oregon but these were the first we have seen on the coast. And we've never been as close as we were then. Those things are MASSIVE!! My research suggests the posts are 250 feet from ground to top. Anyway, we found the final cache and were proud to sign that log after the fiasco that was #3.
From there we drove briefly into Westport just to check out the town. The evening was getting long so we headed back to Serenity. Imagine our frustration when we returned to find the refrigerator wasn't working again. No messing around this time. It's going back to the dealer for service ASAP.
Dinner was pie iron pizza and it took a couple of attempts to dial in the cooking time. Pie irons still rock though! After dinner the chill breeze chased us indoors where we played a game of Settlers of Catan. We've owned the game for years but this was the first time we actually played. It was fairly close but Geoff prevailed. By that time it was nearing 11:00 so everyone turned in.
Sunday morning dawned clear. There's something about the last day of a camping trip--the expectation of leaving sets in and it gets very businesslike. Deb, again, tested out a new recipe for breakfast. This time it was Stuffed French Toast. Another awesome breakfast. We definitely eat better camping than at home.
Deb and Jim then took a stroll on the beach before returning to Serenity and the family started the tasks involved with tearing down camp, prepping the trailer then getting everything hitched up. Yes, we are definitely getting better at all this as it only took 30 minutes. We said goodbye to Grayland Beach State Park and drove home.
The drive home was casual and we arrived at the stable around 4:00PM. Jim got Serenity backed into the stable in only three tries totaling only five minutes! YES! Next time it will be a one-shot!
And with that, I say adieu until next month. Right now the family is looking at Thanksgiving weekend.
Stay safe and thanks for reading!!
Geeky Flo
McPherson's RV Mascot
Our route for this trip
View Larger Map
The campsite
A mushroom we found
Geoff and Deb
Sunset
Me in front of Serenity
Serenity head-on
Saturday morning
Hiking up to the windmills
These things are huge!
Deb and Geoff near the last cache
Looking up makes me dizzy!
Sunset Saturday
Sunday morning on the beach
The windmills from the beach
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