Easter on the Oregon Coast

The girls had spring break that ended on Easter Sunday, so we took a four day weekend and headed to Seaside, Oregon. Seaside is a nice touristy beach town about 4 hours south of Bremerton. We left home on Thursday morning and made it to the beach around noon. After a stop at Cleanline Surfshop to rent Zoe a wetsuit, we hit the beach at Avenue U (The Cove). The waves were about 4 feet, but pushing pretty heavy. After spending some time with Ryleigh, pushing her into waves, I went out in the kayak. My first wave was a rough one and I got tossed a bit, but I rode it out only to find that I had cracked the shaft of my favorite hand-made (home-made) paddle that I've had for a few years. So, it was back to shore and up to the van to get the spare paddle. As I got back to my boat, Laurie noticed that I was also missing a fin. It had broken on that first wave, so back to the van to get another fin. After some repairs, it was back into the water for some great surf. I was one of only a few people in the water on a Thursday afternoon and the weather was as warm and sunny as a summer day. After some time, we were visited by our friends, the Westlakes, who have a vacation home in Seaside. Their two girls are the same age as ours, and they had a blast playing in the waves. After the beach, we enjoyed dinner at the Westlakes'.

The next day started with a rollerblade/longboard adventure on the promenade, a few miles of concrete boardwalk that runs along the beach the entire length of the town. The weather was great and after a quick breakfast, we headed out of town to check out Ecola state park. Just a few miles out of town, the fog got thick and the temperature cooled a bit more than we had hoped for, so we kept going south to scout Short Sands another great surfing beach. Unfortunately, the warm sunshine of Seaside was to alluring, so we made our way back to the cove for another couple hours of surf. In her nice warm wetsuit, Zoe couldn't stay out of the water. She and her friend Natalia made for a kids photo-shoot in their matching wetsuits.

My first wave was another mishap. I had forgot to put in my drainplug and by the time I was in position for my first wave, I was sinking fast. I managed to catch a wave and ride it in, so I could drain the boat and put in the plug. Of course, as I carried the boat out of the water, Laurie cringed as she mentioned that I had indeed lost another fin. At this point, I was frustrated enough with my gear that I took the other fin off and headed back out into the water. What a difference those fins make. I had beautiful peeling lefts all to myself, but without the fins, I was sliding sideways down the waves and missing sections I could have made but for the fins. In any case the weather was warm again, it was Friday and I wasn't working. I still had a blast. After a few hours, it was back to the hotel for a swim and a dinner of Mexican food with the Westlakes.

Saturday was rainy and miserable, so we spent the day doing the touristy thing at Seaside. bumper cars and shopping, pronto pups and the carousel made for a long and expensive day. We made it back to the surfshop though and made the investment in a used wetsuit for Zoe and some new fins for me. After a day in town, we spend some time in the pool and had a late dinner of pizza.

Easter Sunday started with Easter Baskets left by the bunny and a swim while mom hid eggs in the hotel room for a little hunt. Then it was the Easter Sunday brunch over which we debated the merits of surfing in the sloppy mess that was the Oregon Coast. We finally decided on a hike on the beach at Ecola, so we checked out of the hotel and made our way south again. It was rainy but warm and as we suited up for our hike, I changed my mind and instead got suited up for surf. The waves were total chaos and I was the only kayaker in the water again, with just a couple of surfers. I caught a few waves, but mostly had fun trying to manuever through the slop. After about an hour, I left the water and met up with the girls. We loaded up the van and headed north, stopping for coffee and fastfood on the way home. We got home late in the evening on Sunday and just had time to unpack and rinse the gear before bedtime and work on Monday.