No one wanted to leave Washington without one last visit to our favorite spot on the Olympic peninsula.
And we drove all the way there just to have a 5 year old girl's birthday party on the beach.
We made our camping reservations six months previous, before we knew we would be moving the following week. And it just worked out that the best time to go was to leave on Layla's birthday (a Wednesday) and come back on a Saturday.
We all hyped up how cool it would be to have Layla's birthday party at the beach. She was thrilled by that idea, as long as there would be a piñata.
So the week before our move across states, there I was packing for a camping trip and getting things ready for a birthday party on the beach.
But I couldn't wait! My heart just wanted to sit on that beach in that beautiful place and just rest and relax and soak in the magic of kalaloch.
Then we started looking at the weather forecast. Rain. Rain. And more rain. The entire time we were there. I kept hoping it would miraculously change to Sun. Sun. And more sun.
Well the morning of Layla's birthday, we presented Layla with her presents from me and Eric. Then we quickly loaded everyone into the car for a long drive and a ferry ride. She didn't get much time to play with her new microphone before we were off.
The weather was decent enough that we enjoyed the ferry ride and then we decided to drive up to Hurricane Ridge.
We finally made it to Kalaloch with just enough time to set up camp, eat dinner, and gather on the beach for a butterfly birthday party.
In theory, a party on the beach sounds pretty spectacular. In actuality, it means sand in your cupcakes. She didn't mind much.
I wish I had realized that would be our only chance to soak in the beach and the sunset.
For that night, the predicted forecast came true. Well, after the now traditional burning of the school papers.
They look a little too pleased to see 5th grade assignments go up in smoke.
The rains came down and down and down. We woke up to lots of rain and puddles. With no signs of stopping for the next two days.
We debated whether or not we should stick it out, but we discovered right away that camping in the rain (which equals mud) with littler ones would not be enjoyable for anyone. Even with our attempts to cover our campsite to keep it dry, Layla and Perry retreated into the van to dry off.
So after less than 24 hours we packed up and headed home.
All in all, Layla got her birthday on the beach. I was pretty disappointed that the vacation I dream about all year was cut short. But by heading home two days early we had more time to unpack the camping gear and then finish the house packing for the big move a few days later. (And if I'll admit it, this maybe was a blessing in disguise.)
It may not be every year anymore, but you can be sure that we will go back to the lovely kalaloch again one day.
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