Salmon Fishing in Ilwaco pt. 1 - the trip

2nd post of the day, fyi...

As I mentioned before, Jeremy's parents came into town on Wednesday night.  On Thursday morning, George and I took the boys to go berry-picking yet again.  The blueberries were down to a $1 per lb. since the season is winding down, and we just couldn't resist.  Nobody was even there, you just weighed them yourself and left your money through a slot.  Don't worry, we were honest. :)  We picked about 15 lbs in an hour or so.  Not too shabby!

 Then we came home and ate lunch and loaded up their van so they could go camping!  I won't tell you how many times I started to cry that day.  I have hardly ever been away from my kids and I've never been the one left behind!  (On a side note, Jeremy and I realized we have never been alone without the kids for more than 16 hrs. in the 4.5 years we've had kids.  And that was 2.5 years ago when I was 8 months pregnant with Connor.  Time to plan an anniversary getaway for next year I think!!)  So Anna and I were pretty lonely, but we survived.  I knew the boys would have a blast and it was be a nice thing for Jeremy's parents too.  So I sucked it up...

(driving away...sniffle...)

Anna and I went out shopping because that's what you do, I suppose.  I really really hate shopping, but I was able to get a couple things I'd been needing, and it was of course much easier with just one pleasant little baby.  Friday morning I kept busy by making blueberry jam, blueberry muffins, and getting ready for our little trip.  We also made another trip out to Costco and Target for some essentials - toothpaste, contact solution, and a shower curtain for our 2nd bathroom.

Friday night we picked up Jeremy at 8 and set out for Ilwaco, Washington!  It was my first time to ever go to Washington.  Pretty exciting.  We were bummed we didn't have more daylight for the whole drive, but what we could see was so beautiful!  Anna slept the whole way and it was really nice to have two hours of "alone" time with Jeremy after a week apart.  We pulled in about 10:15 (1:15am Jeremy's body time) and plopped into bed and attempted to get some sleep.

Saturday morning they had to be on the boat by about 5 am.  We didn't get much sleep the night before, but when Jeremy got up he found his dad throwing up outside the tent.  Poor George had gotten food poisoning from some bad Clam Chowder he'd had for dinner and was up all night, clearing out everything he had.  But he still went fishing!  So besides being completely exhausted, they said they still had a great time.  On Friday, George caught 1 King Salmon (about 15 lbs.) and 1 Coho Salmon (about 7 lbs).  The limit is 2, so he got all he could get!  Then on Saturday, George caught 1 and Jeremy caught 2 (10 lbs. and about 5-6 lbs, coho).  There were 10 people on the boat that day and only 8 fish were caught, so they did really well!

Debbie and I walked around the Saturday Market they had there and then we went to the beach.  It was colder that day, so we didn't stay too long, but it was still fun.  Kids love the beach so they were in heaven.  And we realized it was the first time they'd ever been to the Pacific Ocean!  Pretty sad, considering Jeremy and I both grew up in California and went frequently.

 Pretty typical attire for the beach up here, sweatshirts/jackets and swimsuits. :)

They men got back that afternoon and then we packed up everything and headed out.

Here are some pics of the Astoria Bridge, in between Washington and Oregon.  It's about 4 miles long - pretty impressive.

 Not too shabby out the car window, eh?

We stopped in Seaside, Oregon (on the coast) on our way back for dinner.

It was a beautiful drive back into Portland.  We made another stop along the way.  Our Relief Society President in Pittsburgh, a dear friend of mine and one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my life, lived outside of Portland for 20 years over 20 years ago.  She and her husband still own their property - about 70 acres of now overgrown orchards - and she told me about it frequently.  It was right on our way back, so I wanted to stop and take some pictures for her.  We could even barely see their house which is now just about buried from all the trees and plants that have overtaken everything.  As she says, it has "gone back to nature".  And we also found TONS of wild blackberries.  We picked as many as we could in the diminishing daylight, but they were by far the best tasting we've found and we may have to make a trip back for more. :)

 Jeremy picking away.  We found a more accessible spot after he did this for a few minutes.  Below - the top of her house. :( Nature easily takes over around here!

Debbie and I took the kids home to bed since it was getting late while George and Jeremy finished up.  We all crashed that night after some much needed showers and then they cut up the fish the next morning.  I'll get to the actual fishing part of the fishing trip next! :)