It is not without reason that I call myself "Gypsy Mom".  

As I have stated in the not too distant past, I was getting bored and feeling restless.  If it were possible, I would have moved us again.  I do realize that while there are children living in our home I need to settle down a bit.  I've realized this a little late I suppose, but I have realized it.  Nevertheless, the restlessness was brewing in me.  Alas, I believe we have found a solution that makes everyone happy.  Behold, the Gypsy Van:

A way for me to wander without permanently uprooting the entire family!

We purchased this shortly before Christmas and decided to take it to my mother-in-laws house for our Christmas visit.  We intended to be gone just two nights, during which we would be eating at MIL's house and only sleeping in the RV.  However, my husband shares my Gypsy tendencies and so we got to talking.  We were already practically at the Oregon coast (if you call 2 hours into a 10 hour drive "practically there", which I do - when it's convenient!) so why not just go the rest of the way?  The next thing you know Eric had e-mailed his boss saying he'd be out for awhile and there we were, on the road again.

I'll try not to over narrate.

First stop, Astoria, Oregon.  We visited the remains of a shipwreck.  (The Peter Iredale, in case anyone is curious.)

While in Astoria we visited Fort Clatsop, because my son had studied it in school as part of a unit on the journey of Lewis and Clark.  He had even built a model of the fort.

While not cold by some standards, the dampness made it feel uncomfortably cold.  I cannot imagine living in those conditions without our modern conveniences.  Here, the comforts of home in the days of Lewis and Clark.

This is a close up of the roof at the fort.  Mostly because I like to take close ups of things, but also to illustrate how damp it is.  Moss grows on the roof.  (And this is not the original fort; it is a replica which was built recently - 2006, I think.  So it's not as if this has been building up over generations.)

Next we headed for the beach.  We found a campground at Cape Lookout State Park.  Being winter, it was not warm but beautiful nonetheless.

The campground was so close to the beach that we could hear the waves at night.  Wonderful!

Finally we went to a place that you have no doubt seen far too many times on this blog:  Cannon Beach.  I won't bore you with multiple pictures that you've seen before, just this one of Haystack Rock to prove I was there. (Again!)

We've been home for about 3 weeks and I am itching to get on the road again!  In the meantime, I have renewed my effort to finish unpacking boxes.  We've been in our current house longer than we were in the last house - 9 months!  I swear I'm going to unpack everything and get rid of as much as I can bear to get rid of.  I need to be ready (pared down) for the next move.  That shouldn't happen for at LEAST 14 months, but you never know...