Lincoln City, Oregon

Little man has always dreamed of finding bull rushes, or whatever these are, and espied these from the highway with delight. We gingerly carried them all the way to our cabin, where they enjoyed a spot of fame for a week.

Alas, Spring Break is over. We had a wonderful and rather impromptu visit down the Oregon coast to enjoy the week off. It was a good few days of beach combing, warm fires and stormy days. The kids and Pillo were bewitched by the big waves, miles of sand and hours of meandering. Even though I think we'd all have rather been in swimsuits than parkas, it settled some peace back into our creaky souls. Delightful... as was the Oregon wine, good laughs and ferociously competitive Settlers of Catan games.

Mom finds beach treasure and the kids come running to see.

Lucas and Mia now understand erosion. Oh yes, and tsunami zone.

This is Lucas' sea snake. He came home with us where he dried out on the porch. Lucas was determined to bring him home as his next show and tell. After four days, he agreed that it maybe wasn't the best of ideas. Phew.

Big waves; cold ears.

Happy dog.

This, for me, was the highlight of the trip. Before I tell the story, let me preface it with a little background. Historically, the Oregon Coast as well as many other places along the pacific coastline, have been host to the finds of Japanese glass fishing floats, many of them years old, and highly sought after by collectors. In 1999, to celebrate this history, as well as to commemorate a town rich with artisans, the town dispersed 2000 hand blown glass floats along the shores for beachcombers to discover and keep. They have continued this tradition every year since, and having read about the festival before our trip, I secretly harbored a keen desire to discover such a glass float. To no avail.

On the last day of our trip the storms had been so great that we were feeling a bit crazy and decided that we would bundle up despite the beating rain and howling wind and have a quick boo at the tidal pools. We chose to go to the Devil's Punchbowl. Within moments of arriving we saw this grungy large ball way down the beach. The story is a bit unclear here... Lucas, Rob and I all claiming to have found it first! But truly, the find is mine because as Lucas says, you really love that glass float, right mommy? Yes Lukey, I do. :)

I took it into the visitor's centre to have it registered only to find them baffled with my float. It turned out to be a genuine one. At least three years old, likely much more, and having traveled a long way, the float was mine to keep and enjoy. It's cleaner now, and sitting proudly on the mantelpiece. It will serve as a reminder of a great week with a great family; the treasure that was already ours before we found it.