West of Portland

Saturday morning we went west to a friends farm. He has chickens and cows and a water pump. Yes, a water pump. The water flows from the Porch area of the barn down some tubes that connected in a maze-like fashion to the roof of the overhang to the gutters and down into the cows drinking bathtub. THis was the highlight of the day. Sam (the farmer, not our sam) built it so that the kids that come over can "water" the cows. Our Sam couldn't stop pumping water. He could have done it for hours. He sent ping pong balls down the tubes to see where they would go. He sent peanuts down the tubes....and any other thing available.
We spent the morning with friends and ate delicious scones from my friends new step mother decorated with my yummy jam. The first picture is of the 2 sams. The second is of Sam taken from the house. He didn't know we were watching him and we was seriously working that water pump. It was like a huge live model of his connecting tubes that Gma Dody got him. It was fun to see him so fascinated.
Next, we were off to the beach. We drove to Astoria on an impulse decision and got a recommendation for lunch from the guy who pumped our gas........1st mistake......
Now, I am sure Astoria is delightful, but we turned around and went back to Fort Stevens State Park. We played on the beach by the shipwreck and then headed home in the evening. The kids were pooped and so were we.