November 16, 2006 - 4 - Lovers Key   

Son Rick has Fridays off and was going to take Thursday off as well, so we could have some extra time with him and his family.  Consequently, we had a couple of days to kill, and we decided to do it in Seaside, OR.  An area we both like.  Fort Clatsop served as winter quarters of  Lewis and Clark's "Corps of Discovery" expedition (about 30 men).  The expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and began in Missouri in l803, culminating at their destination--the  Pacific Ocean.  The party spent the winter here in l805-06; they named it for the local Indian tribe, the Clatsop.  It was basically the end of the trail for the Lewis & Clark party.  From this point they headed back east with incredible amounts of data on terrain, animals, plants, etc., one of the most successful expeditions in this country's history.  They had traveled about 4,000 miles mostly by river and occasionally, when necessary, on foot.

Darn fort keeps burning down!  This is the 3rd restoration of the original, which also burned down.  The interpretive center is great because it has copies of the original journals and drawings of the whole area.

We have a 17' canoe that lives in Lovers Key waiting for our return, and when we looked at these dugouts and thought about the effort to not only make them, but to haul goods in them, we marveled at the strength and tenacity of our forbearers.

Part of the river joins the ocean here and, of course, it looked different when Lewis & Clark were here, but we could imagine the effort required to do everything they did.  Barb was tickled to discover that Sacagawea wasn't any bigger than she was!

HA!  A Pacific Northwest treat!  A banana slug.  Sort of small, but still big enough you'd not want to step on it.

The town of Seaside has erected a monument commemorating the "End of the Trail" for the party.

I remember thinking, as this picture was taken, how nice it would be to be back in T-shirts and shorts again. 

Homes right on the beach along with the hotels here.  Cute fence!

In order to prepare for their return trip, the party needed to replenish their salt supply.  A couple of men were dispatched to this area and stayed here making salt by boiling seawater 24 hours a day.

Any way you look at it, these guys were tough and hard working.  Men from the main party would bring them fresh water for drinking and food.  The rain was incessant while they were here and since we've lived in the Northwest, we can attest to the hassle it is to live in never-ending rain.  Particularly if you're camped out and working endlessly in it!

Just a few shots of the area around Seaside, and one sign that we're familiar with.  Well, not the "Caution Steep Eroding Banks," but the Evacuation Route sign.  Got plenty of them around Lovers Key and elsewhere in Florida.

Well, that's a sentiment we sure are in accord with!

The ever-present blackberries.  And steep cliffs dropping into the sea.  These are things that Florida doesn't offer, so we'll treasure the memories until we come back to visit again sometime.

After another 899 miles (from Lake Sawyer) we're parked at Lake Minden near Sacramento, and this is Lexi, our youngest granddaughter.  She's helping us measure things and then modeling her Nemo costume for Halloween.  What a happy kid she is too.  I hope someday to watch Lexi and Huck together.  They're about 9 months apart in age, and both of them are happy people.

Rather than replace the roof over the patio, we've elected to paint one of the bathrooms and replace the hardware.  And, of course, Lexi has to help paint one of the cupboard doors.

Well, it was nice that Lexi was having a good time, because inside the house things weren't going all that well.  If you look closely at where Lynn's standing, you'll notice a decided lack pale blue paint on the wall.  That's because as we were pulling the tape off, the paint came with it!  And not just around the tape either.  The paint wasn't holding anywhere, and needed to be removed so a primer could be applied.  First time in my years of painting I've ever had to apply a primer over existing latex paint when applying new latex paint.  sighhhhhhhh.  Barb and I are blessed with great daughters-in-law, and at times like this we particularly appreciate it!

Yeah, even Rick wasn't in a killing mood, and was ripping paint off in great gobs.  Lexi's little fingers were even useful in pulling off the little parts.  Ah, the family that paints together........well, they get a chance to see how strong the bonds really are.  And since we're all still talking to each other, I guess we're part of a terriffic family.

The hardware replacement was nearly a disaster too.  The plumbing in the house is, shall we say, "mature" and, even though I've replaced lots of faucets, shower heads, and drain trims, this project was like none other.  Even stumped the experienced plumbing guy at the plumbing store.  By hacking and cutting, we finally ended up with enough of it done that Lexi can use the tub again, but it's not really right.  Rick's job of replacing the sink faucets went just fine.  Makes me wonder, you know?  Maybe next time..........

Later during a phone call, Rick told me that next time we come to town Lynn is going to give the two of us a couple of big sticks with instructions to sit there with our pocket knives and make little sticks of them.  Hummmm.  Wonder what that means........

Next stop, Kerrville, TX, to visit friend John.

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