By the Seaside

The two older boys wanted to have their hair cut while they are here, so I made an appointment for this morning with a woman I know who has a hair salon.  The big mistake was that we had to be there by ten in the morning.  I thought we’d never make it.  Those boys are like trying to wake the dead.  Janne made them breakfast to-go so they ate in the car on the drive over to Astoria.  They are getting clued in to the American lifestyle – eating while in the car!  The others stayed behind for a more relaxed morning in the campground.

While the boys were getting a haircut, I zoomed up to Clatsop Community College, where I graduated from in 1980.  They did a huge renovation on one of the main classroom buildings and it’s finally done so I wanted to take a peek.  What a gem it now is.  I was glad to see some of the lockers I worked so hard to get installed for students 30 years ago, are still being used.  That was the legacy I left behind.

Kory spent the day helping Larry get some things ready for their “new” house. It’s actually very old and needs lots of tender loving care, but I knew Kory wouldn’t want to spend the day down in Seaside shopping with us, so he used his carpentry skills and built Jan and Larry an extension on their kitchen counter.  It was our way of paying for the use of their trailer.  Last year I left them money and they got mad at me, but no one was complaining about their new countertop. (The photo above is NOT their house, but I thought it was just so cute.)  

The shopping bug is still working it’s way through the veins of the Norwegians, so we had to go to the Outlet Mall in Seaside so they could buy more clothes and shoes.  I made fun of the family of five Norwegians that came last year when they went home with 27 pairs of shoes, but so far, this family of five has purchased 17 pairs, and they are far from being done.  When a pair of shoes in Norway costs $250 and for the same pair here at the outlet, it can be bought for $30 – it’s easy to see why.  Even the haircuts this morning were only $15 but in Norway, the same one would be $80, so they were well pleased.

While everyone was shopping, I went across the street to a bank where we have an account, and sat there and used my computer a little.  I do go through withdrawals if my fingers don’t touch a keyboard for a few days, so the time there fed my addiction.

We met up with some friends of ours from Skagit County down here.  They are renting a house near the beach so we had lunch together then after a little time walking around in the town, visiting a candy store and the boys riding on the bumper cars (see photos), we met them again at the beach in front of their house and hung out there for the rest of the day.  The boys jumped in the waves, threw footballs on the beach, flew kites and just ran around.  They loved it.  The sun was out, but the wind was strong, so the adults sitting watching them got a bit chilled, but my friend and I went for a long walk and kept very warm.

Yesterday when we were at the Astoria Column throwing airplanes from the top, Andre asked me, “Can we come back here tomorrow?”  Then when we left the beach today he asked again, “Can we come back here tomorrow?”  I told him we only have one day left on the Coast and we can do whatever we want, but we can’t do it all.  At dinner last night I asked him what he will tell his friends back in Norway about America and he said, “I will tell them it’s a big mistake if they don’t come here.”  And they’ve only been here a week, so I’m glad they are having a good time.  We are, too.