Captain's Log: Operation Road Trip - The Final Leg

You can read more about our British Columbia - Anaheim Road Trip here:

Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight

We woke up on Day Nine of our epic road trip to the sound of the ocean. Shawn and I were introduced to Bandon, Oregon by friends years ago and eating chocolate cake on Bandon Beach for breakfast on my 27th birthday is one of my favourite memories. I was eager to go back and this trip provided the perfect opportunity.

I love the sea. Not tropical waters, not swimming waters; I do not mix well with the ocean (sharks!). But give me a seascape with crashing waves and salty air and I'm in heaven. There's something about the expanse and shushing of the water that I find soothing. My mind does very well when I'm on an empty beach staring at the sea.

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We headed to the beach as soon as we finished eating breakfast and arrived just before high tide. The rain had stopped during the night and the sun was shining but the beach was deserted. I wore Poppy against my chest in the carrier and Grady ran up and down the beach, throwing rocks in the ocean, and pretending the sand dunes were his castle. I could not have imagined a more perfect morning. We briefly considered staying in Bandon another night so we could enjoy the beach all day but our beds at home were calling our name. We packed up the car, hit the coffee drive through, and started our long journey home.

It was the right decision. We weren't even an hour into our trip when Poppy started getting sick. In the butt region. And continued to be sick all 900km home. At one point we considered throwing out her car seat and starting over. It was unpleasant to say the least. 

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We had toyed with the idea of staying in Portland but with Poppy's tummy trouble and the clear weather, we decided to press on. We had next to no delay going through Seattle and there was no line up at the border. It was a long day of driving but I'm so glad we did it rather than dealing with unpacking in Portland, packing up again, hitting Seattle during the day, and attempting to cross the border with a lineup and two angry kids.

By the time we pulled into our driveway, we'd driven a total of 4,600km in nine days with a five-year old and 8-month old. It was long, exhausting, and amazing. We made some priceless family memories and I'm forever grateful to Shawn for being my partner on this adventure we're on.