Day 37-- Birthday on the road

Jen with a precariously sleeping Sabrina.

I rolled out of bed this morning at 6, and packed the last few things on our list. I dropped an icepack on the linoleum with a clatter and woke Edgar up at 6:45, so I woke him up and enlisted him in helping me pack, with the promise that we could surprise Mommy by singing Happy Birthday once breakfast was ready.

I got my gift ready, although I forgot our new tradition of allowing Edgar to give a gift (for Christmas, etc.), so I quickly opened what I had and let Edgar choose. He picked a bag of M&Ms to give mom for her birthday. Breakfast was an agreed-upon toast and pears, with a 3-0 candle precariously jammed into the toast.

We sang happy birthday to mommy (Edgar sang too), and Jen woke up and had her breakfast. Edgar got impatient and asked mom for some M&Ms. She hadn’t opened her present, and said “I don’t have any M&Ms.” Edgar grabbed her present and said “Yes huh, Mama.” I gave Jen some records. Both of them came with a free digital download, so I downloaded copies and burned them to CDs to play in the car.

We got out of dodge, and went to my folks’ house for the first stop; had a bowl of goatmeal for second breakfast, and Sabrina was hungry, so I caught a quick nap in my old bedroom.

We made the long drive north, and by the time we reached the agreed-upon lunch spot in Aberdeen, we were starving. We ate at the Breakwater Fish market. We have discovered that the best seafood restaurants are ones with a fish market attached. The fish is super-fresh, and they usually know how to cook it so that it complements the natural flavor of the fish (as opposed to drowning it in raspberry sauce or what-have-you.) Jen, Edgar, and I shared steamer clams, fried clams and scallops, and clam chowder.

I’ve always loved the town of Aberdeen (and Hoquiam, its twin). It’s where Nirvana is from, but that’s kind of irrelevant. It was, at one time, a major metropolis. It was a shipbuilding site and major harbor in World War II. It has been a regional center for the timber industry. Now, the docks are empty, empty pilings line the harbor and rivers, the logging industry has died down, and the town has been in a steady decline (each year harder than the last, with less jobs and fewer people) for 60 years or more. Hard times are old news. Being near the coast, the elements are harsh, and there’s so much urban decay. The houses need painting every 3 years or so to keep from looking derelict. I think it’s kind of pretty watching nature reclaim a city, and it’s fun to watch the locals trying their best to hang on, and to cheer them on. Aberdeen has also got the best thrift stores in the world, and that’s a verifiable fact.

Anyway, after late lunch in Aberdeen, it was a little more than one more hour (asleep in the passenger seat) to get to our favorite place on earth, Kalaloch (the place, not the band). We checked into our cabin, located on a bluff over the mouth of Kalaloch Creek, with a fantastic view of the ocean and Destruction Island (also, the place, not the band). When we arrived, both kids were in meltdown mode. It took quite a while to get each fed, changed, comforted, changed, and happy. Yes, there were several diapers for each involved.

Once things were a little more settled, we took the kids next door where Grandma and Grandpa are staying in the next cabin. Edgar played while Grandma cooed over Sabrina.

Edgar modeling Grandpa's hat

Mom made us wonderful homemade beef stew, although she had a senior moment earlier, and cut up the steak that dad bought and marinated for another night’s dinner as stew meat. In her defense, it was really good stew meat. For dessert: birthday cake! I don't know how my parents managed to procure a birthday cake out here, but it was a sweet gesture.

What a blaze!

Edgar didn't want to stop the birthday celebrations.

We managed a few hands of 3-handed pinochle while Dad read Edgar all the books that we brought with us.  

Sabrina, in her bundle, with playing cards

Hey! I'm sleeping here!

Then, it was bedtime for Edgar. He was excited to sleep in his playpen, hastily put up in the kitchenette of our cabin. He went down easily, and it didn’t seem to bother him (or he didn’t notice) that when we walked out the door, we were leaving the cabin and heading next door. Thank goodness for baby monitors. Sabrina had crashed on the bed, freeing us for our favorite activity with my folks: pinochle.

After several rounds of pinochle and way too much microwave popcorn, it was back to our cabin to feed Sabrina and hopefully go to bed. Since it’s Jen’s birthday, she’s mine if she decides to stay awake after her feeding. Wish me luck.