I'm the Worst Clammer in the World

Last weekend we had big plans to head to Long Beach, Washington to get our clam on.  But as Friday dawned with drowning, pouring rain and wild winds, and the weather forecast put a "HIGH SURF ADVISORY" into effect we were kind of questioning the idea. 

My favorite part is where it says: "This is not the time to be on the beach or rocks anywhere near the surf zone.  Doing so will be TAKING YOUR LIFE INTO YOUR OWN HANDS."  Can we say over-dramatic???

But we headed there anyway, managed to NOT get a speeding ticket on the way there this time (those little beach towns with deceivingly huge roads, 25 mph speed limits, and major speed traps are a menace to society) and it did NOT disappoint. 

Seriously, what's not to like?  Good food, good friends, and 27 pound gummy bears.  It doesn't get much better than this people.

I even got in not one but TWO runs, including the longest run (5.3 miles) I've done in a loooonnngggg time.  We're talking since either Christmas or New Year's Day, I don't remember which but one of those days I ran a 10k.  Like I mentioned before, running hasn't been going that well for me.

But the beautiful views, Cooper having the time of his life, and Rachael entertaining me and teaching me everything I need to know about being pregnant / having an infant made the miles fly by.  

Seriously - Long Beach not only has the actual beach but they also have miles of this lovely path that runs along the beach through wetland grasses and is just gorgeous.

It turns out the surf advisories WERE over-dramatic, but were still a bit legitimate.  While we were FAR from "taking our lives into our own hands" (clearly - we had a baby on the beach!) - the waves would sneak up on you super quickly and were quite powerful.

This made getting the clams really difficult, especially if you didn't have waders on, which of course I didn't.  The first big wave that I didn't notice in time got over my rain boots and... well, have you ever hung out with inches of freezing cold water surrounding your feet for hours?  Yeeaaahhhh, I was wondering if my toes might have to be amputated at some point.

Although the group as a whole got a whopping 75 clams (because other people are awesome), I am ashamed and embarrassed to report that I did not get ONE SINGLE CLAM.  Not ONE.  Not one little baby clam.  It was so ridiculously depressing.  In conclusion, I am definitely the worst clammer in the world. 

But the views made up for the lack of clamming dominance!

Who's a master clammer?  I need to learn your secrets. 

Cake Pops Are Divine

This weekend there’s not much to report.  While I did lots of fun things, I took zero pictures which makes the report a lot less enjoyable for you (oh wait, is it ever enjoyable? Don’t answer that…). 

There were shenanigans with our best buds Jordan and Rachael.  This was the last time we’ll hang out with them before they’re officially parents!  Their first daughter is due at any minute (I tried to coax her out this weekend but I failed).  

There was movie watching.  We saw Ted, which I thought was okay.  JMan was dying to see this so it was never my first choice, but there were funny parts, and it certainly could have been WAY worse.  So I’ll call that a win.  

There was a burger cook-off, with our secret weapon: pretzel rolls from Costco.  I am OBSESSED with these, if you haven’t had them you must run, don’t walk, to Costco and buy some.  I fear they may be a limited commodity.  

 Best burger in the US of A

There was game-playing and hot-tubbing and garage-sale-ing.

There was cake pop making!  After Rachael heard about Leandrea and I’s failed attempts at cake-pop making she stepped in for an intervention.  It was a complete and utter SUCCESS.  A very very very delicious success. 

Then I headed to the beach for a night where there was lots of walking on the beach, some running on the beach, more hot-tubbing, and lots of gymnastic Olympic trials watching.

 Look how gorgeous the beach was!  Don't be deceived though - it was VERY windy.

And last but not least, JMan and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.

 We like to match.

So yeah, I’d call it a pretty good weekend overall.  

What did YOU do this weekend? 

A Very Beachey Weekend

Yesterday you got the race report, today you get the weekend report!  As I mentioned, on Sunday I did the Lincoln City Half Marathon, so this required heading to Lincoln City, a fun beachey tourist town, for the weekend.   It's definitely the ultimate vacation for the dogs: Jordanne and Kevin have two dogs (Boone and Rocky) so coupled with Cooper the three dogs had an absolutely FABULOUS time at the beach, as these pictures might detail:

This is my most favorite picture of Cooper ever!

Rocky & Cooper headed off into the sunset so happy at the beach. 

The beach was also full of hot-tub sitting, mimosa drinking, and movie-watching.  Lots of relaxing definitely happened, which was much needed after my stressful weeks preparing for my general exams.  It felt like such a huge weight had lifted off my shoulders after I finished and found out I PASSED!  

We watched both The Iron Lady and War Horse.  Have you seen either?  What did you think?

First up was War Horse.  Now I am a complete and utter sucker for any and all horse movies (why yes National Velvet, you are one of the best movies of all time) so I am a sucker for any movies featuring an animal as the hero.  Here's what IMDB has to say about War Horse: "Young Albert enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on."  Despite thinking I would love it, I was bored. to. death.  The horse WAS extremely beautiful so of course the movie had that going for it, but other than that it was excruciatingly predictable and they just didn't sell me on this bond between horse and boy (they knew each other for it seemed only a month before they were separated).  The movie also seemed to go on and on and on.  JMan and Kevin thought they did a good job with the war scenes though. So if you like war movies you might love it?

Next up was The Iron Lady.  I had never even heard of this movie before so I had no idea what to expect.  Here's what IMDB has to say about it: "A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power."  It wasn't bad, it was fairly interesting given that I knew nothing about Margaret Thatcher and I thought Meryl Streep did a good job.  I did think that given that Margaret Thatcher is still living I wouldn't be too pleased with how I was portrayed if I were her.  Showing the role from the eye of dementia seems to diminish all the great she did, and further, all the shots of riots, violence, and horrible things in England seemed to show she did a worse job as ruler than in actuality, which was that she improved the situation over time.  I'd recommend you check it out though, and then tell me what you thought!

 

 Do you like going to the beach?  Have you seen either of these movies?  If so, what did you think?