Beach Run and Ice Cream!

We kicked off the start of our high school cross country season with our traditional camping trip near Tillamook, Oregon for a team adventure. The two other seasons that we have done this trip (2018 & 2019), the team has wanted to go to the Tillamook Creamery for ice cream, but we have never managed to make it happen. All summer, I wanted to go to the beach, but after our long road trip, we never managed to make it happen. So I used my craving for the beach to craft a masterful plan to get our team (and my family) to both the creamery and the beach. The plan was: beach run, Tillamook Creamery treat, and then camp at Hydrangea Ranch, where we would run our races the next day.

It was a glorious plan that left me wondering how we had never realized that Tillamook, Oregon and the nearby meet venue of Hydrangea Ranch are only a 20 minute drive from the beach! Sixteen of the twenty-eight runners on our team qualified to come on this trip by attending the state-required ten practices before the meet. Two days before our departure, Oregon Covid restrictions cracked down a few notches, requiring proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test for everyone attending the meet. Our athletic director had to give rapid Covid tests to the ten or so of our unvaccinated runners, along with Rose and Amber since they would be coming along as well. (Since Jay is 12 he was able to get the vaccine months ago). Thankfully everyone tested negative and we were cleared to go! 

Other Oregon Covid protocols required us to wear masks at all times unless we were outside running or 6 feet from others. That meant that we needed separate tents for each runner, minus the one set of siblings on our team. Miraculously, everyone either had a tent or was able to borrow one for the meet, and we didn't even have to get creative by calling in favors with friends. At least four of the guys on our team bought the same $20 Ozark Trail two man tent from Walmart for this trip. It was funny to see all of their matching tents lined up together. We may not have matching team jackets, but we have matching tents! Haha. Priorities.

It took a whole lot of preparation on the coaches' end to pull this overnighter off! On Tuesday, I called around until I found the school district nutrition director and asked if the high school cafeteria would be willing to pack lunches for our team on Friday. They did, and it was the BEST, most convenient idea because bringing lunches with us saved us at least an hour of time en route to the beach! (Stopping and ordering food for 16 people takes a long time.) 

I spent all of Thursday in full-on assistant coach prep mode. Jeff was in his classroom teaching all day (since that's his actual full-time job, haha) so the pre-meet errands fell to me. First I assembled all of our camping gear and packed Amber's and my own bag, including lunches for my family and snacks. (The high school cafeteria only provided meals for the high schoolers.) Then I loaded everything into our car.

Once my own family's supplies were in order, I picked up the meet entry fee and the student food checks from the ASB office, went to the bank, and cashed the food check. (The school district covers all meals on overnight trips.) It was a THICK envelope of tens and twenties, because the school district upped the per-meal allotment for kids significantly this year. 

With my bulging purse, I went to Walmart and bought a selection of PBJ supplies, bananas, and granola bars to fill in the gaps between official meal times. In the past, the food truck available at Hydrangea Ranch provided a sausage egg sandwich for breakfast, which isn't exactly an ideal pre-race meal. So we used some of the team's food allotment to purchase additional nutrition. Once I had all of the food, it was time for cross country practice. It had taken me the entire school day to get everything ready for the meet! Meanwhile, Jeff had gone to work early so he could comb through the cross country supplies in storage and extract what was needed for this meet. I helped him track down the last wagon, and then we did cross country practice together, after which half the team had their rapid Covid tests.

At 8:45am on Friday, September 3rd, we loaded a massive amount of gear (including 17 tents) onto our school bus and rolled out of Sunnyside. The planning and preparation were done. Now it was time to enjoy! I was quickly reminded of the low comfort level found on a school bus bench, but our bus driver was kind and we had a pleasant drive, stopping outside of Portland at Sandy River Delta natural area to eat our picnic lunch and use the bathroom. Then it was back on the bus. Two hours later, around 2:30pm, we pulled up to Cape Meares Beach, which was accessed at the dead end of a narrow residential street. Our awesome bus driver pulled right up to the end of the street facing the ocean and dropped us off before dealing with the puzzle of getting out of the skinny dead end.

The beach was beautiful, with a thin mist rising and falling along the edges, sunshine and blue sky peeking in and out of view. I'm pretty sure it was the first time at the beach for at least a few members of our team. Everyone was caught up in the beach-bliss, and I rode the wave of joy that rippled through our group. We removed our shoes and went for our shakeout run. It was exactly what my body needed after that cramped five-plus hours in the bus driving up curvy bouncy Washington mountain passes and down curvy bouncy Oregon roads. My motion sickness evaporated as I jogged along the beach. Jeff ran with the team while I ran back and forth in front of Amber and Rose while they played in the sand. With Amber as my center, I ran one minute past her one way, then turned around and ran one minute past her the other way. It wasn't an ideal way to run for half an hour, but the novelty of the beach and the cool waves on my feet kept it fresh and fun. Rose, who made a goal to start running this school year, ran a mile with me before peeling off to play. Amber was in full flow state, digging in the sand, building sandcastles, and splashing in the ocean.  

We spent about an hour running and then playing on the beach before Jeff called out "Who wants to go get ice cream?" Our 16 + 3 kids all cheered, and we hiked back up to the waiting school bus. It was a total family moment, and I felt that maternal glow expand around all 19 of the kids under my care for the weekend. Our stalwart bus driver, Sandra, negotiated the narrow rural roads of western Oregon like the professional that she is, and twenty minutes later we were at the Tillamook Creamery, making use of their indoor plumbing and waiting in line for ice cream. We were able to use some of the food money provided by the school for the ice cream, and Jeff handled that payment while I got ice cream for Jay, Rose, Amber, and myself. I brought two lactase pills for this very occasion, and enjoyed divinely creamy Marionberry Pie flavored ice cream, somehow finding the willpower to leave some of my large scoop behind to protect my lactose intolerant tummy. (Even with dual-pill digestive assistance, I know my limits.)

The whole beach and ice cream outing just felt so cozy and special, like Jeff and I were taking our massive family out on vacation and doing irresponsible vacation-y things like getting ice cream right before dinner. After our ice cream snack, we rode the yellow bus another ten minutes over to Hydrangea Ranch, (host of the Ultimook Cross Country Challenge meet), to camp overnight. That is a story for another post.

Food supplies for the team.

We resurrected my old phone-holder, taping a baggie with a phone inside to the seat so the girls could watch downloaded shows while we drove.

Two coaches, trying to rest up while we can. The only part of me that ever fell all the way asleep during this bus ride was my butt.

Picnic lunch!

Amber loves our runners, but she especially loves the girls. They are so sweet to her. Amber picked wildflowers for all of the girls and they let her put them in their hair. It was so adorable, I wish I got a picture of their amazing floral hairdos.

The beach! We lucked out with a rare sunny warm day on the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

Running with my Rosie. She has been faithfully running one mile after school every day since school started. Jeff and I were pleasantly surprised when she set the goal to start running again this school year, because she used to love running with us, but then went through a 2 year phase where she was completely uninterested in it. I never want to force my kids into my favorite sport, but they all know that by 7th grade they have to try a sport, and so far running has appealed to them most. What makes me happiest is how happy Rose has been to run, and how she decided to do it all on her own.

Jeff, cruising the beach with Jaime and Jason, our top two top runners.

Amber rolled her shorts way up high because I warned her not to get her clothes wet. Generally I don't believe in limiting kids' exploration of nature due to wardrobe considerations, but we were heading to a campground without running water and had limited clothing packed, so I had to limit her. I did it with a ninja-mom move by telling her that we were going to get ice cream after this, and if she got all wet in the cold ocean, she would be too cold to eat her ice cream! It totally worked. Amber is not one to heed unimportant limits like "don't get your clothes wet," but she listened this time, in the name of ice cream!

Team picture on the beach! These are some great kids. Jeff and I took turns getting in the picture because our kids were too far away to ask for help.

"We have 19 kids for the weekend! We can do this!" It only worked because the type of kids who were dedicated enough to come to ten practices during the first two weeks of school were responsible and trustworthy. We didn't even worry too much about their behavior, actually, because they are good kids.

Hector carved a tribute to Sunnyside High School in the sand before we left: "We are SHS!!" It warmed my heart. Sunnyside High School is doing an amazing job of creating a school culture that helps kids feel like they belong.

Hiking back up off the beach.

Our bus, parked along the narrow dead-end road, with the beach in the distance.

Waiting in line at the Tillamook Creamery. Jeff got everyone two scoops! I only got Jay, Rose, Amber, and myself one scoop each, but the scoops were massive and everyone was satisfied.

Amber sat in the middle of our team circle, chatting happily with the teenagers. Seriously, is this the same girl who wouldn't let me out of her sight for the first 2.5 years of her life?

Walking away from the Tillamook Creamery.

[to be continued...]