AUGUST. August was good. I think we vacationed almost as many days as we worked this month. Carpe summer, right?
We set out for La Pine to visit my parents two weeks ago, bags packed with swimsuits, floaties, and eclipse glasses. We spent Friday night at a hotel in Salem to break up the trip, and let me tell you, we rocked that Hampton Inn. The pool! The Costco next door! The brewpub down the street! The breakfast waffle bar! Suburban stays have their perks.
We grabbed coffee on Saturday morning at Salem’s finest cafe and then powered south.
Central Oregon has been pummeled by wildfires this summer, made apparent by the haze of smoke that hung over highway 58 east of Eugene.
We did a little sightseeing along the way, popping out to see gushing Salt Creek Falls.
We landed in La Pine around lunchtime, stiff-legged and a little tired of the Moana soundtrack, but hey, we made it! Hi, Bernie!
My parents moved into a new house in December, and while they downsized their yard, they gained a great neighborhood park, complete with basketball courts and a soccer field and a club house. It was the perfect place for Juliette to get her wiggles out.
Juliette (and her grandma, and her dad, and her mom) did dozens of laps around this soccer field over the course of the week. “Chase me, Grandma! CHASE ME!” I’m done pretending I can’t catch her – I really can’t catch her.
Shane and I played a round of tennis (aka “fetch”) at the high school tennis courts that evening while my dad and Juliette took Bernie for a walk. They spotted a family of deer in the woods and Shane and I managed to avoid twisting any ankles. Wins all around.
Shane was bound and determined to make it to the path of totality for Monday’s eclipse, so he set out for Madras early Sunday morning to join some friends who had snagged a campsite. My FOT (Fear Of Traffic) outweighed my FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), so Juliette and I opted to stay closer to home, enjoying a quiet day at Twin Lake with my mom and dad.
It was smoky out there, but so still and serene. For awhile, we had the whole place to ourselves.
We kayaked and paddle-boarded and floated the day away.
We super-duper love the lake life.
Some days, this girl literally lights up my world…
A lot of days, actually.
(I just told her that the general store down the shore sells ice cream.)
Our evening was a quiet bout of puzzle-mania back at the house.
Shane’s evening was quiet, too!
Madras was touted as Oregon’s premier eclipse-viewing location – everything I read projected total mayhem in the town. Somehow, though, Shane found an introvert’s dream spot amidst the crowds.
The big event began around 9:15 Monday morning – we grabbed our glasses and walked over to the soccer field to spread out and wait for 10:30 am dusk. Even as we were just getting started with a meager bite out of the sun, Juliette was waaaaay impressed.
Way impressed for a minute, that is. Then it was all, “Chase me, Grandpa! CHASE ME!”
In between bouts of beach ball soccer, we watched the sun fade to 99% coverage. The light was eerily gray and suddenly it was so chilly that goosebumps popped up on my arms. It felt kind of other-worldly out there.
Shane, though…he said the total eclipse blew his mind. Texas 2024!
We chilled at home in the afternoon with puzzles and homemade coconut treats.
Shane rolled back into town in the evening and joined us for dinner at the local Mexican joint. This kiddo missed her dad somethin’ fierce. Together again!
That evening Juliette asked Shane to put the pedals back on her big-kid bike – he’d taken them off so that she could scoot around on it like a bigger version of the red balance bike she’s been rocking since she was two. He obliged and held fast to the back of her seat, keeping her steady as she wobbled up and down the driveway.
And then, before I could tell him not to, he…let go. And she…kept on going!
Oh, baby girl. Ride like the wind. Oregon’s a magical place.
