...stays together." This really is a quote coined by author Gary Smalley. I remember hearing these words back before four boys with a love for adventure and outdoors made their way into my life. We enjoyed a few one or two night trips here and there but two years ago I declared a hiatus from camping. The previous three campouts were under let's say "damp" conditions. The last one was a literal torrential downpour. As we got our soggy selves home, it took SIX hours to unload and clean up. This activity was just going to have to be "boys only" for a while. Maybe forever.

Never say "never". Our family was in desperate need of a break and the funds did not allow for my style of camping: a four star hotel with a soaking jacuzzi tub and room service. "Let's go camp on the Oregon Coast." Uh. OK. Sure. I gritted my teeth and agreed to the idea.

The planner in me wanted to break out the map, make some phone calls, secure reservations and create the spreadsheet. Getting the other party to succumb to this plan was a tall order. I was reminded that every time we lacked reservations, God had always come through in a big way. Besides, "what if we're having a great time somewhere and want to stay a little longer? It would be a bummer to have pressure to get to the next destination." So we went for it and God did not let us down.

Day 1: Made it to just past Astoria, Oregon at the beginning of Hwy. 101. We stopped at a burger place for dinner and asked the locals for their suggestions. It was unanimous: Fort Stevens State Park--6 miles away. We pulled in around 7:00 and got the last campsite right next to a huge grassy field. A paved trail took you straight to the Pacific Ocean a mile away. It was perfect.

Day 2: Everyone was up and biking around by 8:00. I took a walk to the beach and even thought it was foggy, just hearing the sound of the ocean was music to my ears. When I started walking back to the campsite I heard some kids screaming and laughing. I looked to my left and realized, " I know them. Those are my kids." Discontent to simply play in the sand, they were up on the sandhill doing front flips to the beach below. Of course they were. I got some great pictures until "Ranger Rick" stopped by and asked them stop.

Packed up after breakfast and headed south. We passed state park after state park and every one of their signs said: "campground full". Ok, maybe this "living by faith" thing was a bad idea. We came upon the town of Seal Rock and a private RV park. Their sign said "vacancy" and "hot showers". We pulled in and discovered they had three small tent site available. We scored one directly across from the ocean and set up camp. Ahhhh.

Went back to the campsite around dinnertime and we enjoyed the campfire while the boys biked to their heart's content.

Days 4-6 coming tomorrow...............