Pacific Northwest Trip Part I

There were eight of us on this trip.  Sophia stayed home with Coryn because she has art classes all summer.  I used the trip to Oregon that Mike, Sophia, and I took together by ourselves last summer to feel like it was fair.  That, and Sophia went up to Canada to see a show she’s been wanting to see.  I can’t wait to have an ice wine night with the ice wine and ice wine chocolates she brought back.  Basil is working at the Antiochian Village all summer long.  The eight of us, Mike and I, Esther, John Ben and Misha, Jonah, Xenia, and Justin, spent all our driving time split into two cars.  I took my youngest kids, and Mike took the philosophers and the baby.

We flew into Seattle on Saturday and ate lunch at Duke’s Seafood & Chowder.  Then Mike stayed back to wait for Esther, John Ben, and Misha to fly in from their philosophy conference at Thomas Aquinas College in California.  My kids and I stopped by a Target minutes from where my sister Ellen and her husband CJ live.  I acted all surprised to see them in the toy aisle, but my texts and calls might have helped them find us.  Mike wanted us to take a vacation that didn’t involve going to my hometown and seeing all my friends and family, so that trip is scheduled in July.  I did give a select group of people a heads up when I was within an hour or two of them.  At Target, I let the kids run free looking for vacation things we hadn’t packed while Ellen, CJ, and I walked through with my list: swimming trunks for Jonah, snacks, baby food, and board games like Skyjo and Code Names.  It was great to get in some family time, even though I expected to see Ellen and CJ the next day.

We stayed our first three nights at the Red Lion Inn in Port Angeles, right on the Straight of Juan de Fuca.  I had a great view of the straight and of Canada on the other side from my hotel room window.  The boys liked the pool because, as the lady who checked me in said, there were no rules enforced so no age restrictions.  I still had Jonah watch Justin though.  Jonah spent as much time as possible going on “walks” so he could talk to his new girlfriend. 

Our first dinner there was very memorable, but not because of the food or service, which were both awful.  I have never had salad dressing so bad before. 

While we were waiting for our food that first night, Esther spoke up, “Hey, everybody!”

After a long pause, when she had our attention, she announced, “I’m pregnant!”

Feeling so happy for her, I said, “Congratulations!”

“I knew you were going to say that,” said Xenia.

“Again?” asked Justin.

Esther said, “I was hoping to get official confirmation before I told you…”

“From us?” asked Xenia.

“No, from a pregnancy test, but I’m certain, and I decided that I need sympathy because the morning sickness is strong.”

I’m glad she did too, because there were multiple times she ran out of a room or a restaurant because of smells. A few times I found her barfing in the bushes when we arrived at a new destination after a particularly winding drive.

Esther had left for the conference a day or two late in her cycle, but that wasn’t unusual.  On the third day of her trip, she interrupted fun with her friends in Ventura, California, when she threw up after eating fried rice.  It was the same intense “morning” sickness she experienced with Misha, and the nausea exploded from there.  She wanted to get a pregnancy test but wasn’t able to make it to a drugstore out there.  She even looked at the airport.  She wasn’t able to test until our second day of vacation when she finally got the “YES!!!!” of a strong pregnancy line! 

I’m going to be a grandma for the second time!!!

It was fun telling my sister Ellen the next day when we met up with her and CJ at Fort Townsend.  After our party saw a museum and the abandoned barracks, the kids wanted to splash in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  I stayed behind to meet up with Ellen and CJ.  The barracks were built to send missiles into the strait during WWII in case German submarines came in that way.  The old cement structure was super creepy, and I couldn’t get enough of exploring the narrow halls and dark rooms.  Esther and Jonah took advantage of the acoustics to sing their hearts out.

We had a fun evening back at the hotel where I played Skyjo with Ellen and CJ late into he night.  Monday we said goodbye to Ellen and CJ after a delicious crepe breakfast at a nearby restaurant.  We ate there every morning we spent in Port Angeles.  They headed off home while we went to Cape Flattery, the most northwest point of the United States. 

Mike and I let Jonah, Justin, and Xenia run free on the three-quarter-mile hike in.  Xenia and Justin especially were up to all sorts of tree-climbing antics.  All three of them ran ahead and jumped out at us or struck fancy poses when we caught up to them.  I haven’t seen the three of them so happy in a very long time.  The views of the ocean at the end of the hike were awesome.  We ate sandwich wraps we brought with us at picnic tables near one of the beautiful outlooks. 

It reminded me of the trip we took there eleven years ago, but this time it was Misha who was the baby.  Misha would only walk if someone held his hands, so John Ben put him in a baby backpack for the hiking part of the adventure. When he was set down for our picnic, Misha was extra clingy to Esther, perhaps sensing that he has a new brother or sister on the way.  He liked playing with sticks and stones better than the ocean views, but someday he’ll appreciate all the pictures that we have of him with beautiful backgrounds.

On the way to the hotel, I stopped at a beach just inside the Strait of Juan de Fuca to let the kids frolic in the tempered waves.  Again, they were so happy, it was hard for me to get them back into the car. 

I was one happy mamma that day, seeing Esther glowing again and watching Jonah, Xenia, and Justin enjoy nature and each other.  Cape Flattery Tuesday was my favorite day of the trip, though Wednesday was a close second because of what happened next.

Stay tuned for next week’s trip blog part 2.

Note: Esther had her eight-week ultrasound, and everything looks great!