Summer Pics

Our Trip to Brookings....Part One

Hey all!! DaBradley's just got back from a trip to the Oregon coast to visit my mommy. We had a great time (mostly) and we just wanted to share with you. After a LONG day driving to get there, we finally arrived on Thursday night. What a beautiful town - right on the coast. You can even see the ocean from my mom's house. After settling in and relaxing on Thursday, we were ready to hit the town on Friday. We started the day with a trip to Ocean World - an aquarium in Cresent City (about a 1/2 hour drive up the coast). There is a short tour of the aquarium where you can touch starfish and pet sharks. Jonah was so excited to pet a real shark....Brianna - not so much. At the conclusion of the aquarium tour there is a seal show. Brianna sure was cheering for those seals!!!! John and Jonah made some new friends there too....
After Ocean World it was back to Brookings for a little tour of the town....it is a beautiful place. We finished the day with the most amazing meal at Whale's Head Resort, just north of Brookings, and a trip to the beach. It was a perfect first day!!

Part 2.....Second day in Brookings

Our second day in Brookings.....we had lots of fun. We started the day early. John and Jonah left around 7am to go down to the harbor and do some crabbing. They caught about 30-40 crabs, but nothing big enough to keep. While the boys did that, us girls went to the Festival of Arts at the harbor, a big outdoor craft fair. It was tons of fun and I really enjoyed spending the time with my mommy (Brianna slept through the whole thing). Afterwards, we met up with the boys again and all went to Pelican Beach for a picnic and some fun. Tim rode his horse up and down the shore....what a life!! Mom, Brianna and I relaxed in the sun and the kids (John and Jonah) played in the water. It was a really great time!!!! Then, after some relaxing at the house, we went out for some clam chowder at the harbor...yummy. After dinner, the boys went crabbing again while Mom, Tim, Brianna and I went for ice cream sundaes!!!! What a perfect day!!

Part 3.....A Visit to Grandpa

On our way back home, we took a detour to Fort Bragg. As most of you are aware, my grandfather, Winston, passed away about 7 1/2 years ago. He was so important to me and I loved him so very much!! After he passed away, his ashes were spread at his favorite place - a private cove in Fort Bragg. This was the first time I had been to see my grandpa since he passed away - oh my God, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. You go down a pathway....and you can hear the waves crashing on the rocks but you cannot see it just yet. You turn a corner, and there it is...so gorgeous!!! I took Brianna down a little towards the water and introduced her. I explained to her what a wonderful man her great grandfather is and how her middle name is for him.....he always wanted a Katie! Then Jonah and Brianna went down a little so that they could have some time with grandpa. It was a great moment and I am so glad that we went.

Part 4....The Roadtrip from Hell

So we had this great idea (who's idea was this anyways) to drive down the coast to San Fran, spend the night and drive the rest of the way home on Monday. For a trip that should have taken 7 1/2 hours....it took us 12 hours (just to get to San Fran). Let's see, somewhere between Jonah doing lamaze breathing to help with his nausea, many stops due to road construction, the no drink or food for eight hours, many poopy diapers and Brianna's fever.....we managed (well Brianna did) to get throw up all over the car - now that's a great smell to ride with on a long windy road. We did get some great pics of the Redwoods while stopped waiting for our lead car on a one lane highway....and we did pay $5 to drive through a tree......




When we finally got into San Fran, this was all we could see of the Golden Gate...