In like a Lion...

Today was a lion day - not a lamb day (according to weather by Grady). We woke to slight patters of rain and wind around 7 AM. But by 8:30 it was a full-on tsunami situation. While 70 mile per hour gusts blew through our campsite, Steve and I attempted to pack up camp. Our little trailer was literally jumping off the jacks. We had no shelter from the high winds and it was not only a little scary but also incredibly uncomfortable.

We hit the road as soon as we could, hoping to head inland enough to bypass the storm. Thankfully things got better - although it has hailed for the 5th time on this trip today. Weather has been extreme this trip, to say the least.

After making it north on the 101 to Florence we stopped mid-morning to hit the Sea Lion Caves. The boys loved everything about the caves - from the stinky smell to the loud bellowing of the lions to the popcorn in the gift shop. They were thoroughly enthralled. Great stop for us.

We head further north into Newport, stopping for lunch at Flashbacks, a true old-fashioned 50's style diner. We gorged ourselves on hand-scooped ice cream shakes, burgers and onion rings.

Next up we hit the Aquarium to play with all the critters. While the weather (rain, hail, sleet, etc) did its best to dissuade us, we had a really fun time. This aquarium has several outdoor exhibits that included otters, seals and octopus. We were able to see everything and have a great time. During our visit of the seals, one particularly entertaining critter brushed up against the window while the boys had their hands on it. It was like he was playing with us and we all had a good laugh about it.

We spent a little while at the aquarium shops down the road, although they were mainly a disappointment. I think the boys were expecting a little more pirate and a little less antique shop. But we had promised them they could shop there and so we had to give them time to do it.

We then headed to our campground to set up and drop off the trailer. Knowing that most sites closed at 5, we just dropped it off and set back into town. We visited the Ripley's Believe it Or Not first - and Grady got scared at the King Tut exhibit (it does jump at you at a dark corner). He was not happy so we had to continue rather quickly through the rest of the museum or he would scream and cry. Thinking it had to be better, we visited the Wax Works - which was actually even scarier to the boys. I think it was the pirate ship scene with the screaming treasure chest and then the scary (?) Oregon Trail scene that somehow got to Colby. So both boys were screaming and crying while we went through. So much for that 60 bucks.

After a quick bite in town and some driving around, we came back to our cozy little home. We are all exhausted from the early adrenaline rush of getting out during the storm and the week-long trip. The boys are watching movies tonight while Steve and I play cards and read. It is only 8 and we are all dead to the world...