Kamping in Kozy Kabins at the KOA in Krescent Kity, Kalifornia

We just returned from the Giles Family reunion weekend. It was fun; it was memorable! Here are some highlights:

Running in the morning on the beach with Dad, Kristy and Sara… and yoga…ahhhhh… Dad Giles led Sara and I through his regular routine while facing the surf on the beach. That was where yoga was meant to be done, I think.

Falling in love with my first Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea…so appropriately read AT the ocean.

The day before we arrived at the family reunion… We discoved “Giles Family Beach” (a secluded cove that can only be reached by a mile long hike through a forest and down a mountain somewhere off 101 on the Oregon coast). It all began with me saying, “Let’s stop here, see where this trail goes and have an adventure.” I think it’s the best whim I’ve ever had. The whole way down Taylor was thinking (and sometimes muttering) “We have to hike all the way back UP with the kids…probably carrying them! We should turn back.” And I kept saying, “This is an ADVENTURE!” We didn’t know how far the trail would go or where, exactly, it would take us. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves on a sunny, windless (a rare thing in Oregon) beach with majestic rock islands jutting sharply out of the ocean all around, and a warm spring trickling down the mountain slope and then cutting a shallow river down to the surf. The warm spring water mixing with the cold waves created an ethereal mist low on the ground that swirled around us.

It was surreal and beautiful and all ours for the afternoon. Without our bathing suits we explored the rivelet, played in the sand, snapped dozens of pictures (including a family portrait using the timer feature of the camera as it balanced precariously on a makeshift tripod created from driftwood),

collected beautiful rocks and treasures and buried Oscar in the sand.

And without so much as a port-o-potty, the ocean had to do for the kids… just something for you to think about the next time to dip your toes in the water or splash in the surf.

It was an hour or two we knew would be a family “remember when…” moment for the rest of our lives. And then we DID have to hike the mile back up the mountain to our car…each of us carrying a child on our back or shoulders.

They all needed turns, but even this exercise I thoroughly enjoyed.
This was my view most of the way up the trail.

No, this isn't "the end" (hee hee)... much, much more happened while kamping in Krescent Kity...butt you'll have to come back tomorrow to read about it!