It's quiet... too quiet

This last weekend I drove down to my parents in Florence, Oregon so that they can watch the Magster while Matt and I are in Ireland next week. What can I say.. other than I LOVE my parents! They are the best. I don't mean that because they are my parents and they HAVE to love me and be nice to me, but they really are so supportive and helpful. I am so lucky to have them. They always provided for me and gave me what they could, making sure that I was happy and able to be involved in activities that I loved. Now that I am an adult I seem to fall right back into being that 10 year old girl whenever I am around them. Funny how that seems to happen whenever mommy and daddy are around.

So back to the 5 hours it took to get to their place. I really do like living within driving distance, but 5 hours is just too darn far, especially for a normal 2 day weekend. Add to that the nasty rainy conditions we had driving home Sunday and that made for only 1 nice day at the coast. It is funny how my parents now live at the coast and I go there fairly often, yet rarely make it to the beach. Although I am not real sad, as I am not one for walking on the sandy beach. I hate sand, it gets everywhere and sticks to everything!

I can remember being a kid and running up the sand dunes in Florence. At the bottom of the dunes is a small lake. We would race to the top and then roll down to the bottom and splash into the warm lake water. It was so much fun! Ask me to do that today and you would get a resounding "NO!". haha :P

Anyway, I digress back to the weekend. It was wonderful and as I drove out of the Gorge and into Portland, I could smell the city, people had their woodstoves burning, it had just rained too. I love the smell of a fresh rainfall. Driving down I-5 the air once again told me we were in Albany. The mill there produces an oder that is quite distinctive. It reminded me of when we were kids how someone always blamed another person in the car for having gas. Yes it is THAT stinky! We hit Eugene, Matt was asleep and snoring, Maggie was asleep in the back. It was just me, the darkness, and about 50 other cars surrounding me on the freeway. After stopping for a very quick bite to eat we headed down H-126 to Florence.

What a perfect drive it was too, not a single car in front or behind me. I love it when that happens, as that Highway is fairly dangerous. In fact, several years ago a friend of mine lost her life on it because a trucker fell asleep at the wheel, crossed into her lane, and hit her head on. So, yeah... every time I drive that particular road I get a bit more tense than I should be. We arrived in Florence at 11 and yet again the smells in the air were so refreshing I knew I was at the Oregon coast. It has a slightly salty, not quite fish like smell, it is quite distinct, I love it.

Mom and I spent some quality time together getting Maggie some of her special dog food as well as checking out the shops in Old Town Florence. They have some very cute touristy shops. I had to get the obligatory candy, no salt water taffy though, I can't stand that stuff. That afternoon we spent watching the U of O lose to Cal, then OSU lose to UCLA... not a good day for Oregon College football. Not to mention for my father whose big screen tv went out earlier that morning. He and Matt went tv shopping, unfortunately there wasn't much luck with the 2 places they had to choose from in Flo-town.

Sunday I woke up ungodly early at 5 am! Ugh, what was I thinking. It was nice chatting with dad though since everyone else was sound asleep. It was a very rainy day Sunday. I took an early morning nap, mom went to church, then we all went and had breakfast at Driftwood Shores. It was BlEh! I do NOT recommend eating there. Too bad it is the ONLY restaurant on the Florence beach. There are plenty of other great places to eat though, or go a short drive up the coast to Lincoln City, Depot Bay, or Newport.

We left Maggie behind with the grandparents and headed back home. It was sad leaving her there, not that she wont' be taken care of but my little puppy isnt' at home. As we walked into the house last night I realized just how quiet it is when she isn't around. That little dog is my life and I miss her nagging the cat, or squeaking her toys, barking at ghost sounds, and scratching at the back door. It really is too quiet.