March to Barcs: Oregon coast with friends

For the last week, our family joined three others for seven days on the Oregon coastline at Lincoln City. Sam and Jen came from Spokane with Toby and Robin, Jono and Anastasia came from Brooklyn with Lionel and Sabatino, and Chris and Trudy came from Ann Arbor with Miles and Jules. If you're counting, that's 8 adults, 9 kids, 3 being our girls, the rest little boys, and so 17 bodies.

Highlights include a walk with Jono and his kite on his last day, a talk with Trudy about reading books, Stephanie's amorous return from a margarita pitcher at Lee's, a wedding surprise on the group's last night with rice and dancing, distracting nauseous kids on a winding road by singing Sailing by Christopher Cross and Jump by Kris Kross, Sophie's luminous joy climbing rock formations at the Devil's Punchbowl, playing Cards Against Humanity in what counted as late nights, talking with Sophie and Lionel about reading assignments on our way back from a waterfall hike, reading Three Robbers to Robin and Jules and especially to Sabatino who kept calling me Steve, a bicycle ride down the coastline on a sunny morning by myself, but otherwise and above all, being together with such good people.

Lowlights include running through a river and continuing to pound out miles of shore until a blister grew on my soggy skin, and a toenail popping off.