Do Ocean Shores

Last spring I won a getaway to Ocean Shores courtesy of some Washington tourist site.  Way cool!  It was supposed to be to photograph snowy owls in March, but that timing didn't work so we postponed it and finally went this weekend.

The photography part pretty much fell apart, but the weather was amazing for October and we had fun!  

"George" is a real alligator that used to weigh 900 pounds and was a nuisance... now he just pretends to eat all the tourists' heads!

We did let the girls out on the beach... it was a bit like herding cats.  And it didn't last long until one of them made a break for the water and the other one followed.  They didn't fall there... but there was this slimy green algae stuff out closer to the water that ended up all over their shoes, pants, and then the stroller.  Yummy...

So after a couple of face plants and lots of sand we went back to the hotel for baths and washing clothes in the sink! 

Then to lunch at a Mexican place and counting how many kids each homeschool family had... there was a homeschool convention in town and you just have to snicker at the stereotypes sometimes when they're all wearing matching button down shirts and skirts.  Oh, and Hope really likes salsa.  She required Daddy to dip her chips and then her Kix in the salsa!

After naps and waiting for the sunset(!) view from our room we went to this fun Irish Pub for dinner - included in my prize!  So pretty much it was an eat and sleep weekend...

This was our view, and there was even a sailboat that had washed up in the storm from a couple weeks ago.  You can see the mast in the surf left of center if you click on the photo.  Very weird to see that when we got there since we'd seen another washed up sailboat a few years ago.

And finally, when I walked into the lobby on Saturday afternoon to find out if they free wifi I thought I recognized the girl behind the desk... turns out it was someone I went to college with (10 years ago, eek!).  She wasn't even from that town, but had moved there a year or so ago after 10 years of teaching in China.  So it was super fun to catch up and hear her stories!

Then we stopped to see my lovely college roommate on our way home and poof, the weekend was over already.