Coincidentally our anniversary weekend paired up with the local car show. There were over 800 cars registered and that didn't include the cars driving up down the peninsula. We were amazed at how many 'Cudas, Hellcats and Challengers we saw; a great treat for any Mopar enthusiast. Interestingly a huge number just drove up and down the peninsula and the locals took a seat by the road to watch them drive by. An alternate way of seeing cars and not lose any calories I suppose.
Our Anniversary fell on Sunday so we made an effort to make the most of it. We drove on the beach to begin our day and headed down to Astoria were we saw one lonely elk grazing along the road. Ben fell asleep during the drive so we adjusted our plans accordingly and instead played around the old St. Mary Church along hwy 101. It's always fascinating to read how huge of an impact the white settlers had on the Native Americans and how resourceful the natives had become in creating shelters, hunting or surviving the seasons. There is a plethora of historical information around the church but Ben was not having any of it. The canoes had to be explored, the pathway had to be examined and to keep the canoe afloat, the Frisbee had to be thrown overboard. It's moments like these that I am happy to see that an anniversary doesn't translate to a vacation from him. Or as Traci says, "It's just me and the boys." But anyhow, after playing around the church and having a late brunch with the family, we proceeded to the beach to build sand castles. I'm not sure where his fascination of destroying the castle came from but he couldn't get enough of it. The dump truck came in handy as it was essential to relocated sand around the beach. To end the day, we visited the town of Seaside where Ben enjoyed riding in a carousel and Traci's cousin treated us to a Mexican restaurant for supper. We had great weather through out the day and questioned why we didn't live closer to the beach.
We began our journey back home early on Monday morning since it would likely take us the whole day. We began by driving several miles down the beach and letting Ben jump in the water once last time before saying goodbye to the beach. He was excited to spend the entire day at the beach and finally had to promise him ice cream to divert his attention to leave the beach yet he fell asleep once we got back in the car. Anyhow, we traveled a bit on either side the of the Columbia river and eventually crossed the river 5 times. We even caught a ferry to cross the river! Quite exciting. We took the opportunity to stop by Bonnevile Dam to see the Chinook Salmon swim up river and that really got Ben all stirred up. Not to mention that he also got to see a few long BNSF trains zoom down the gorge. Once again we milked a 6 hour trip to a 11 hours because after all, what's the big rush? I'm spending time with two pretty neat individuals.
So after seven years I wonder when will I get tired of spending time with Traci and begin acting like a 44 year old married couple. Personally, I'm not too excited of the term "wife." After all, it's ridiculously easy to sign a marriage certificate and both partners don't even have to like each other. Why is it that we can laugh at the term, "Ball and Chain?" No seriously? But in reality, my best friend 7 years ago was Traci and the one I desired to make happy above my own happiness. She is considerate, loyal, patient, rarely complains, thoughtful, attentive, respectful, loving, kind, trustworthy, and the list goes on. Yet even if one day I lose her personality traits to Alzheimer or Dementia, she will still be the one I long to make happy. She is my best friend and far more than I deserve.
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