That Trip to the Beach

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge –that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:18

On Mother's Day weekend, since are four children couldn't come visit, I thought a road trip would be fun. That is why, on a sunny, warm Saturday morning, we packed up the car to drive to the beach. We threw in an overnight bag thinking maybe we could find a dog-friendly rental.

Yes, of course we took our dog Sydney! She loves to run and the thought of her on an open, sandy beach sounded perfect. 

Our adventure began with a new leash for Sydney and a Starbucks for me. We gave our puppy an anxiety pill and headed off. It didn't take long for things to go downhill rapidly. Traffic. Drool. NON-STOP DROOLING DOG.  Our under two hour drive had almost reached three hours due to heavy traffic, when we pulled over for a bathroom break and discovered she'd gotten sick in the back. Drool and now throw-up covered most of my car interior. Did I mention my Rav 4 is leased? We had put our desires first without thinking about the consequences or what was BEST; Sydney would have enjoyed the Puget Sound beach that was a 15 minute drive from our house!

Our destination was Seabrook, WA. It's a Sunset Magazine Idea Town with cottage rentals, a little center with market, shops and a restaurant and miles of sandy beaches. It was charming, but smaller than we expected. We walked around and even participated in the Savor Seabrook seafood and wine tasting event at the Town Hall~with our dog! Apparently it was the place to be, since we ran into our former neighbor and congressman Derek Kilmer.

After our walk around town it was time to take Miss Sydney to the beach. Have you been to a Northern Pacific beach?! The temperature on the coast is always cooler and WINDY! We'd forgotten that, and dressed in shorts since it was hot when we left our house. Thank goodness we brought fleece pull-overs!

The view was magnificent and Sydney had about ten fun minutes running around until we just got too chilly.

After finding out how expensive one overnight with a dog would be, we went to a little wine bar to have a snack before heading home. (Sydney stayed in the car.) We even got to watch the Kentucky Derby while we sipped and nibbled and relaxed. The drive home was tense and very slobbery, but only two hours. I have such compassion now for parents of carsick, crying babies on long drives...

My souvenir from the day (did I really want a reminder?) was a  wooden tray with votive holders and a car interior that took a long time to clean.

Safe to say we will NEVER, EVER, take our dog on another road trip except to the Vet or maybe the quick drive to the Fox Island beach. It was a long, exhausting day, and yet the peace I experienced gazing out at the beautiful ocean God created made it all worthwhile.

"Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the LORD,

The creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary." Isaiah 40:28

In His Grip,
Jane