Week 3 Summer in Bandon 2014: Wadzinskis Plus

SUNDAY, July 6
The Wadzinski's Arrive!  

     Liz and her crew left today around 1:30, after Grandma could proudly introduce her newest great-grands to the congregation and a quick bite of lunch!  Then it was time to kick into high gear and prepare for the arrival later in the afternoon of Karen and Tom, plus their three boys.  Beds changed, sheets washed, floors vacuumed, etc.  It really didn't take that long, except for waiting for the washing machine and dryer to process the 4 loads of laundry!!  (We had to completely strip the downstairs bed so a little extra to wash!)
     It was a beautiful afternoon and I was going to take a walk, but by the time I talked with Rick and talked with Luke, it was too late.  Today Luke and the PYGS were flying to LA for the start of their mission trip in Hollywood.  Unfortunately, the plane sprung a leak, and they couldn't get re-scheduled until 7:45 PM - a major difference from their original 9AM flight!!  I finally got a text from Luke at 9:45 saying they were boarding the plane in Oakland bound for LA - at last!  
     Karen and Tom arrived at 5:15pm.  The lasagna wasn't done....again!  I should make a note NEVER to cook it from a frozen state as it does NOT cook even within an hour of the stated cook time for frozen!  Or...perhaps part of it is the sad state of Mom's oven.  We think the thermostat may be a little off.  But....the boys were itching to get down to the beach anyway, so we took a half hour detour while the lasagna got a little warmer!  The sunshine of afternoon switched to a bank of fog around 3pm which was weird.  We couldn't even see any of the rocks at one point!  On the beach we looked east and saw plenty of blue sky, but not right along the shoreline!  
     Good dinner of conversation, a game of Sequence for Tom and the boys, and a relatively early bedtime (not midnight tonight for me!  Hurray!)  Wish I could say I took some pictures, but I haven't yet!!  Tomorrow!!  

MONDAY, July 7
Beach, Tie Dye, and Crabbing!

Tom is ready to head
to the beach!

     Wow!  We packed alot into today!  The boys had been promised beach time, so Tom took them down this morning while Mom, Karen and I ran into town for a little grocery shopping, check out the Creamery, and pick up some t-shirts to tie dye.  We finally located some shirts (not easy in Bandon!), got some salmon and sole for dinner (courtesy of Wadzinski's!), asked a few crabbing questions, etc.  

Wadzinski family on the beach!

James explores the anenomes.

     After lunch it was low tide so we headed down to the beach to check things out.  This was NOT a great day or a particularly low tide!  The north wind was blowing fiercely so the sand was biting, there wasn't much of excitement on the beach (the velellas have stopped coming), and we couldn't walk around Tunnel Rock (we could walk inside it however!)  We found some anenomes, but no starfish.  Got a good Wadzinski family picture.  
   

James made a rainbow shirt.

 Mid afternoon was tie dye time!  I found a white shirt that I could use for a sample, and the boys went to it!  They are excited to see their 'results'.  I was very impressed with the care each took to apply the dye, including James at age 4 1/2.  We'll wash them out after lunch tomorrow and get a modeling picture!  

Martin applies the dye. 

     Early dinner and boy was it a great one!  Salmon and sole (the latter particularly for Luke and James), coucous, string beans, salad, and bread.  It was a group effort!  Tom cooked the salmon on the grill, Karen prepared the sole and coucous, I did the salad, and James and Mom fixed the green beans.  Mom also made some brownies for dessert while we were down on the beach earlier.

James helps Mom Mac
prepare the beans. 

 
     We ate the dinner early so we could be down at the docks shortly after 6 as the high tide was rolling in.  Martin and Luke were our 'official' crabbers, as under 14 doesn't need a shellfish license.  Martin wasn't really that interested, but Luke was the most animated I've ever seen him.  He really enjoyed it.  Did all the tossing of the rings, pulling them back up, and eventually we even got a picture with him holding the crab.  (Karen has that in her

Luke tosses in a ring. 

phone....it might be posted later!)  Luke can identify males and females and in general, thoroughly seemed to enjoy himself!  James enjoyed wearing the huge thick gloves.  Martin was cold I think!  We ended up skunked, but we did pull up enough to measure (the closest we had to success was a male that missed by 1/4"!) and practice holding on to.  I got pinched pretty good on my middle finger left hand - still can't figure out how that crab got her pincher turned around that far!  We are going to head back down in the morning with the crab pot and leave it out for awhile during the day.  We have plenty of bait left for it.  

Luke models by the crab near
the crabbing dock; Martin and
James were in the car! 

     Boys played hard down on the beach before dinner and were bushed when we got home.  Early to bed.  Karen, Mom, Tom and I stayed up for awhile looking at photo albums, etc.  




TUESDAY, July 8
Old Town Plus Crab Pot

Crab pot is almost bigger than Luke!

     So....up early to head straight down to Old Town with Luke and put the crab pot into the water down at the dock.  We put both fish and chicken into it.  A guy we met walking in told us the crabbing was great - 'pulling the pot up every 15 minutes!'  Luke wanted to pull it up once before we headed back for breakfast, so we walked down around the boat basin briefly to kill a little time.  The result was two crabs, both female, one of which was almost a keeper.  

Boys all help rinse out their own shirts on the back lawn. 

     Sourdough pancakes and blackberry syrup for breakfast!  I cooked up two batches of pancakes and they ALL disappeared!  Mom Mac made bacon to go along with and everyone seemed to enjoy.  After breakfast Luke, Mom, and I headed back down to the docks, dropping Mom off at the church.  Luke and I were skunked!!  Disappointed and needing to kill a little time before picking Mom back up, we drove out to the jetty to look around.  When we got back to the house, Luke thought surely it was time to rinse out yesterday's tie dye projects.  So we did!  With great success!   
     Boys played down on the beach the rest of the morning.  I used up the remaining sourdough starter on a batch of bread.  After lunch it was time to hit Old Town (and check the pot again!)  We parked near the dock.  The water was quite rough as Luke, Tom, and I went out to pull up the pot.  We got soaked with the waves crashing over the edge of the dock!  And alas, just one keeper crab....female!  :(  No crab to eat tonight,but it was fun to get the equipment out and Luke certainly enjoyed it.)  
   

Selfie at
Cranberry Sweets:
skinny mirror!

 Time to sample our way through Cranberry Sweets and the Creamery.  Karen had promised the boys ice cream, so we bought the 'child size' - oh my goodness!  HUGE portions!!  For $1.75 and a waffle cone.  The portions for the double were sinful - nearly a half gallon I swear!  Next time I will order a child size in a bowl with an extra bowl and share it!  

This was CHILD size!!!

     Tom headed home with the boys while Karen and I walked up to the Wool Company Store near the 101 corner, then back down to the dock parking.  We stopped for beans on the way home to finish off our dinner menu.  Got home to find that Mom had made cookies....again!  (In addition to tonight's meat loaf!)  I made fried red potatoes.  Fresh bread, jello salad as well as tossed, plus fresh green beans.  A regal meal! 
     Evening of good conversation, picture viewing, and reminiscing.  The boys maximized their beach time today in spite of 20-30mph winds and cool temps.  

Modeling our new shirts before dinner

Parting shot of Mom and the Wadzinskis!

WEDNESDAY, July 9 
 (HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, RICK!)
Goodbye Wadzinskis.....Pause!!  
     A busy morning as Karen and crew pack up, the boys head back to the beach after breakfast, and we scan the house several times to make sure everything that needs to go is in the rental car!  A bit tearful goodbye for Karen (those Walker genes - wish I could say I was totally dry eyed!)  She said Mom brought her dad back to life for her - 'they talk the same, same mannerisms, everything, Ginger!'  This visit really meant alot to her I think.  We sure enjoyed it!  By 10 am they were on their way north, heading to Portland and tomorrows flight back to the East coast. 
     And then....Mom and I kinda crashed....moderately.  I took the time to catch up on my journal book, writing and pasting in pictures.  After lunch (and a card game - we hadn't played in over a week!!!), Mom drove down for a haircut appointment that proved to be tomorrow instead of today.  (Oops!)  So, she called to change it to 10am and we will stop there enroute to Coos Bay tomorrow.  

View south from Coquille Point

My beach anniversary card for Rick

     Nice walk on the beach this afternoon - clear down to the big turn on the road and then around Coquille Point where I dropped down to the beach to walk the shoreline back to the house.  The skies cleared today and the ocean was a beautiful blue.  Poor Karen - the skies fogged over two hours before she arrived and cleared as she was leaving this morning!  :( 
     We got all the laundry down, downstairs beds changed, fresh towels out.  Just need to make the upstairs guest beds and we will be ready for our Friday night arrivals.  
     Dinner of leftover meat loaf and a huge salad!  I talked with Rick tonight and he sent me pictures of the hike we took "together" today!  Plus the fish we will enjoy later this month!!  
     Early to bed!!!!!  

THURSDAY, July 10
Coos Bay Shopping Run! 
     

Near Devil's Kitchen

     Well, I wish I could say I have tons of exciting things to write for today, but......no.  We went to Coos Bay to do some major shopping.  Eight stops including a haircut for Mom as we left Bandon and Sizzler for lunch: Dollar Tree, Carpet place, Wal-Mart, Bi-Mart, Freddies and Joanne's fabrics.  Mom picked up a new mattress topper for her bed and lots of groceries, some of them items she didn't really need to restock (plenty of JELLO around here!)  
     Once we got back I head down for a walk on the beach - going south to the Devil's Kitchen wayside where I swung up to Beach Loop and a walk on the road back up to the house.  I was looking for letters most of the way - both beach and flora style! I decided that God has poor handwriting along the woodlands....much harder to find defined letters!  
     Good conversations with Marg and Liz tonight and early to bed!