Yesterday, Sunday the 17th, we took Jayme for his first visit to the beach.
To prep we had watched some You-Tube videos of the ocean. Having Jayme see where we are going before we go is really proving to be a HUGE help for us and for him.
We hit the road about 8:00am and drove down Hywy 26 to Canon Beach. Along the way we stopped at a lumberjack themed breakfast house. Jayme loved all of the old train equipment and the antique fire truck they had decorating their yard. The food was ok, nothing to write about.
We did not tell Jayme where we were going. Only that it would be a surprise for him. We parked in the Canon Beach parking lot and we walked (Jayme via piggyback on Anthony) to the beach. He was so excited and keep asking over and over where his surprise was. We turned the corner and started the approach to the beach which was obscured by a large wall. It was not until we were about 10 feet away that he saw the ocean for the first time. “IT”S THE OCEAN!!! AND A ITS HUGE SANDBOX FOR ME!!!!”
Jayme had a wonderful time digging and burying himself in the sand. We just wish it was a bit warmer so we could have stayed longer for him to play. He loves playing in the sand. He even asked if we could spend the night at the beach. We told him that we would work on a plan to do that soon.
After digging up half of Canon beach, we walked over the candy store and got some Salt Water taffy. Jayme got a small bag with at least one of every flavor.
Our next stop was down the coast a bit. Joshua brought his kites so we were looking for a beach with a bit more wind. We found a little beach that was all stones (our favorite type of beach) and spent 10 mins throwing rocks and small stones into the sea with Jayme. Transitioning from events is pretty hard for Jayme at times so we had a small meltdown on the way back to the car. Jayme got very upset and started to cry because he did not want to leave the beach and go home. He didn’t think there was anymore to see and was very upset to have to leave.
Our next stop was an the overlook on Hywy 101 right before Manzanita. It proved to be a good stop as once again, Jayme could see where we were going (Manzanita beach).
Manzanita, proved to be very windy. So getting the kite up was a snap, in fact it was so windy all you had to do was hold it. This proved to be a bit too dull for Jayme who had found a hole with water in it, which he decided needed to be filled with sand at once! So as the adults held on to the kite Jayme played in the sand.
We then headed to our final destination Tillamook. But before we hit the factory the Dad’s needed some lunch. So we stopped by the local subway for some simple sandwiches. First we had to DE-Sand the Jayme, who was bouncing all over the seats with happiness. We were so focused on Jayme no one noticed that as we entered restaurant the car lights where on.
After a ok lunch we all piled back into the car. Got all buckled in and started the car…. and started the car…. ahh started the….. car? The battery was dead.
So just to recap, we are at the coast, don’t have any jumper cables, we are not car guys oh and we have our new son whom the state has trusted with his care and protection. Two super dads felt like two horrible fathers in about 3 turns of a car key.
So as Anthony stayed in the car with Jayme, who was remarkably calm about the issue, Joshua headed out to find help. And help he did find. He found the ONLY gay in the village. As Jayme and Anthony keep looking for Joshua to return… what do our eye behold but Josh in a passanger seat of a big truck with Dolce and Gabbana logo in the rear window. Within 2 minutes our car is running and our homo in shiny armor is driving back to the feed store where Joshua found him.
We drove around for 20 minutes to recharge the battery a bit and then hit the Tillamook cheese factory. 2 ice cream cones, 2 bags of squeaky cheese and some fun cheeses for the dad’s and uncle later and we are back on the road for home.