We had to pack up and leave but we still had the day ahead of us to eat, shop and take one last look and selfie from the beach. As you can see from the way we are bundled up, that early June on the Oregon coast can be a bit windy and chilly.

One last picture of the girls and the convertible. I have a confession to make…I fell in love with that car. I still check CarFax for used convertible Mustangs. Any other will not do for me.

I am so glad my mom and I had this time together. We may have to make it an annual thing when she comes out next summer!

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I do not have any photos of the breakfast as I was too busy eating it; roasted potatoes in herbs, eggs with sundried tomatoes and gruyere cheese, fresh croissants and pastries… amazing.

Anyway we had shopping to do. Mother bought some lovely jewelry, I got a hat and beach glass ornaments as well as an old gnome for my garden I found at a second hand shop. We had dinner at Mo’s more for the nice view than the food. Just basic fried fish and french fries but see the picture from the window with the color glass on the ledge.

We finished the day in our now usual spot, I took a picture of ‘The Haystack’ rock formation that Cannon Beach is known for and the image struck me as being somewhat timeless. I was betting that 50 years ago it would not have looked that much different. I got a bit artsy with it. Also, another amazing sunset, it’s like it happens every night! :>

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I had planned a little surprise for my mom while she was here visiting. A two night mother-daughter trip to the beach. Before we left she and Jeff were talking about her ‘bucket list’. My mom mentioned all of the travel related ones she wanted to do. She had already ridden in a hot air balloon and flown in a prop plane, but she still had a motorcycle ride and wanted to drive in a convertible again. We couldn’t manage the motorcycle ride but Jeff solved the other one by suggesting she and I rent a convertible for our trip to the beach.

Any convertible would have sufficed, but Avis had a gorgeous yellow convertible Mustang. It made the trip that much more special, cruisin’ out to Cannon Beach with the top down all the way.

We had a nice suite at an historical Bed and Breakfast, had dinner in their French restaurant and hit the beach, just in time to appreciate the sunset. One of the many perks of living on the west coast, sunset over the ocean. On to Day 2…

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So Jasmine came home one day saying she auditioned for a school play. We said ok assuming it was for her in-school drama class and went on with our lives.

Then next week she announced she got in and would be in the chorus. We said congrats and then went on with our lives.

Then the following week she brought home a schedule. There would be weekly after school practices 4 to 7pm. We put on the breaks. Would she have time for homework? Who would pick her up? We figured things out, and continued on.

Until next month, the schedule was for two meetings a week. Then three. Then Saturdays. Then every night. Then complaints from Jasmine of being too tired to do homework. And from her teachers of missing assignments. We did some scrambling and figuring things out. And even threats of canceling her participation. But we all somehow persevered.

June arrived for a week of five shows. Perhaps against better judgement or too much enthusiasm, one or both of us attended every single show. (We noticed perhaps wiser parents just dropping their kids off and heading back home for the oasis of tv.) I would certainly recommend bringing seat cushions for the hard metal folding chairs.

My expectations were low but I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of middle school quality we got high school level performances. Hats off to these young drama enthusiasts. Plus they all looked to be having fun.

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