We have been waiting a looooooooong time for spring break to come and it finally did!
We kicked it off by (leisurely) shopping, sleeping in for the first time in months (literally), cleaning and going to the temple.
On Wednesday morning my parents flew in!
After we picked them up from the airport we checked out The Grotto.
After we picked them up from the airport we checked out The Grotto.
The Grotto is a beautiful Catholic sanctuary.
It was very pretty and interesting.
After that we went to Pine State Biscuits for lunch!
Pine State Biscuits was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (on the food network) for it's incredible food and biscuits.
This is the "Reggie Deluxe."
Fried chicken, egg, bacon, cheese and gravy.
Mmmmmmm.
Chris giving perspective as to how tall they are.
My cute mom digging in!
After eating we took my parents to Powell's Books so they could see the awesomeness that a whole block of bookstore is.
We also stopped at the Hoyt Arboretum, hoping to catch the magnolia trees in bloom again this year.
We had no such luck, but saw this sweet tree (again).
The next day we drove down to Depoe Bay (2 hours away) for the main event:
WHALE WATCHING!
(During spring break it was Whale Watching Week, where the whales are migrating up the coast to Alaska).
Test time!
Whale watching was:
A. Exhilarating.
B. Terrifying
C. Sickening
D. Traumatizing
E. Exciting and interesting.
Answer:
All of the above. (but not really exciting, exhilarating or interesting).
The weather was not too great that day and the ocean was quite a mess...meaning HUGE scary swells.
Before heading out:
We were all so excited!
Out on the ocean:
Me, terrified for our lives.
The ocean was so rough and scary with monstrous swells that looked like they would destroy the little boat we were in!
I had to stare at my shoes the WHOLE time because it was so scary out there.
In this picture below you can see that the swell was so big it completely blocked our view of the horizon (aka LAND)
As we first were heading out I kept hearing Chris say "This is SO cool!"
"This is the coolest thing ever!"
And so on...
After a few minutes he got really quiet...and when he suddenly ran toward the railing I looked up to see him losing his lunch over the edge.
The ride was so rough and Chris was quite seasick...
and he spent the rest of the hour throwing up over the edge of the boat and looking green.
Oh I felt so terrible for him! I couldn't even do anything to help him because I was so scared.
It didn't help my case that as I was clinging to my mom during the ride, she kept saying things like:
"Ohhhhhh boy! THIS is a big one!" (referring to a swell)
"Oh Heather, DON'T look!"
"Oh my GOSH!"
After a while she got quiet, which was apparently because she was too scared herself to say anything.
(Chris forcing a smile)
After a while of rough riding, and seeing ZERO whales, they turned the boat around to head back in.
The ocean calmed down a little on the way back and we were able to move into the cabin so we wouldn't freeze!
Feeling better now that we had made it back safely!
We were so, so, SO glad we decided at the last minute to do a 1 hour ride instead of 2 hours!
Needless to say, it was a traumatizing experience.
(It was like a car crash, I couldn't close my eyes without seeing giant swells and Chris puking over the side of the boat).
I'm pretty sure my dad was the only one who enjoyed it!
The Depoe Bay bridge.
After we made it back to solid ground safely, Chris laid down in the back of the car with a pillow and blanket and took a little nap.
While he slept, my parents and I walked around and shopped a little.
20 minutes later Chris was his perky little self again and felt MUCH better!
The beautiful (and crazy) ocean!
We spent the night in Lincoln City (right by Depoe Bay).
Sitting in front of the heater to warm up.
After watching BYU's loss, we decided to drown our tears in ice cream ;)
The rest of spring break included:
Shopping at the outlet mall in Lincoln City.
A 2 hour drive home taking 4 hours.
Watching and making fun of The A-Team.
Lots of talking and LOTS of laughing.
Despite the traumatizing whale watching experience, we had a such a good spring break and LOVED spending it with my parents!
It has been soooo quiet and lonely now that they're gone!
But it's ok! Only a little over a month until our next visitors arrive: Chris' parents!!!!
2 comments:
I actually liked whale watching, despite losing my lunch, and despite not seeing any whales. Those waves were WICKED!!!
We had SO MUCH FUN with you and Chris. The whale watching was an experience we will never forget! You just don't get those size of waves on Willard Bay! Thanks for sharing your spring break with us.
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