Sunday Morning at the Beach

We are in our last few hours at the beach before heading home. Some of you may be wondering "How did she pay for that?" Not that I really owe you an explanation but I'll go ahead and tell you anyway. It was 100% free. Yes. You heard that right. We stayed in a beautiful 3 bedroom, fully furnished beach house for free. As in no money exchanged hands. How? You ask. Connections.

Marlene has a client who, in exchange for Marlene cleaning the house (remember: that is the business she owns. Home and business cleaning.) allowed us to stay here all weekend for free. It's been amazing. It's a three block walk to the beach, a porch swing and well...all the comforts of home.

We explored Cannon Beach without kids for the first time ever in my life. That means I was able to walk into all the shops filled with breakables that I would never dare take my two children into. We drove up the coast to Nahelem and browsed around those shops as well. We walked along the beach and I made myself comfy on a piece of driftwood and just soaked in the warmth of the sun and the fresh sea air.

We talked and joked around. Some of the talks were on the serious side of still getting to know each other and, for me, dealing with being in a place filled with family memories. I have been coming to Cannon Beach and Seaside all of Kelton's life and, as you can imagine, there were ghosts of times gone by around every corner. Part of the weekend, I guess, I spent saying good-bye to a family unit that I no longer have and learning that it's ok to make new memories with someone else.

Unless you have been in my exact shoes, you really won't understand so I won't try to explain it. Let's just say there were amazingly great times and times that were difficult. All in all though, it's been a really great weekend spent with someone I love very much.