Beach Camping 09

Every summer for the past 15 to 16 years, the Chandler clan (more or less) has gone camping on the Washington coast by Westport, WA. It is an annual tradition that the Dennis Chandler clan has never missed (even when I was 8 mo pregnant with Spencer). It is something the kids look forward to all summer long and are sad when it is done.
Over the years various people have joined us (or not some years). This year we had a group of 22 people with friends and relatives combined. The picture on the left is Spencer with his two Chandler girl cousins Kelly and Emma. They have been pals all their lives. It is great to see how they interact and have fun together.

This picture is Tucker with his cousin James. It gives Tucker way more credit than he deserves. I happened to snap it at just the right moment when Tucker let go of James' shoulder. He immediately grabbed right back on. He never was able to take a footstep on the line without holding on to James. James brought the line from home and ran it between two trees at the place where we camped.


This is Dennis flying James' parachute kite. It must be fun because lots of people tried it out while we were there. On Friday night the wind was so gusty that it lifted people off the ground. I didn't see it, but apparently it is pretty fun if you are the one being lifted. Personally that would make me a little nervous.



Cooper spent about every moment he could boogy boarding in the waves. Keep in mind that the ocean on the Washington coast is not exactly warm. Okay, it is not even remotely warm. Last year it was surprisingly pleasant. This year it was slightly chillier despite all those climate change claims of higher temps. Cooper and his cousin Trevor spent alot of time on the board. Both really got the hang of "catchin' a wave" and frequently could ride one for quite a ways into the shore. Cooper would do it over and over and over. I liked going out into the water myself. There is something quite mesmerizing, or compelling about the ocean that just draws me in. I only got wet midway up my thighs though. I just couldn't bring myself to go further than that this year.
We got incredibly lucky with the weather. It was drizzly all the way to the beach, but it seemed like the closer we got the better the weather got, which is unsual because usually it's just the opposite. Friday afternoon when we went the the beach it was absolutely lovely. Saturday was a great day also. The wind was a little chilly which kept most of the kids out of the water for the most part. There was some wading, but the only serious "swimmers" were Cooper & Trevor (undeveloped nerve endings I guess). We had great food, great campfires both nights and just an all around good time.
Who knows how many more of these we will have Kelly and James graduated from high school this year so it is the beginning of kids moving on. It has been a great Chandler tradition with some really fond memories though!