Since the cruise to Alaska came/went from Seattle, we took a few extra days to visit with folks in Washington. We made sure to have one day with just our family, which is a rarity when we travel. We were relishing the chance to be together, just us.
On our drive toward the Olympic Peninsula, we passed a sign for a roadside beach. We decided to turn around and see what it had to offer. It turned out to be the best thing we could have done because 1) it was stunningly gorgeous and soul-satisfying, and 2) by the next morning Caleb was puking which ultimately led to all three boys sharing and receiving a stomach virus that completely altered what our time in Washington looked like.
The following day was a long exercise in reorienting our expectations and figuring out how to take care of a vomiting kid while being hosted in someone else's house, but this one afternoon was pure bliss and it is our most cherished memory from our quick trip to Washington.
The beach was big and broad and packed down enough that walking across it was easy. And there were tide pools! We couldn't have asked for a more exciting random roadside stop!
This giant rock offered a fun climb followed by a splendid view of the shoreline. Can you see Eli and a couple boys sitting on top?
Two bald eagles were perched on the treetops behind us. One of them swooped down once and circled around before returning to the tree. Their presence added majesty to the whole experience.
We lingered. Having the freedom to linger because you can and want to is a blessing not to be taken for granted!
As I mentioned, by the next morning we woke up to a puking kid. Any parent will tell you that a vomiting virus is tricky because you never can tell at first whether it's a one-time incident or will prove to be an ongoing ordeal. This particular situation proved to be the latter, but of course we didn't know that right away. So we continued with our original plans, which was to hike through the Hoh Rain Forest at Olympic National Park. We weren't scheduled to be at our hosts' house until supper time, so we figured we had time to see how this sickness would unfold. Besides, it could've been a simple upset stomach from something he ate and then he'd recover quickly and we'd all move on.
If only.
Caleb was moaning a couple hours later when we entered the park and had zero interest or ability to do anything but lay in the car and rest. It was a huge bummer because vomit is always a huge bummer, but also because this was going to be a new location on our national park list and Caleb was the most excited about being in a rain forest. He saw none of it except what he happened to see when he opened his eyes from the car.
But we technically made it to the Hoh Rain Forest, which was a beautifully marvelous place to behold for the rest of us.
And because this kid was going into 4th grade, he got our whole family into the park for free! And this was not a cheap national park to enter. The Every Kid Outdoors Program is amazing and has saved us decent dollars more than once!
We left Caleb in the car while we went into the Visitor Center, checked on him again to confirm he was still unable to join us for a hike (he wasn't), then left him with my phone while we ventured on a short hike to the Hall of Mosses. It was incredible. What a unique environment with green, wet everything everywhere. Also, poems were written on signs along the way, which was a nice touch I haven't seen before.
Our boys are great hiking companions. We are simply thrilled to be at a stage of life when we can go for hikes and have everyone keep up and do well!
We missed having Caleb with us and were hoping that he was feeling better after resting in the car for a bit. But it was not to be. Shortly after we returned to the car to check on him and get our food for a picnic lunch, he started vomiting again. So I stayed with him after that while Eli took the other two on a longer hike. It was only the beginning of our sickness woes.
Eli called our hosts to let them know we had a puker, and they amazingly and graciously brushed it aside and said it didn't change anything on their end. So we arrived with a bit of trepidation and a lot of gratitude since our only other option would have been to find a hotel which is neither convenient for caring for a sick kid nor cost-effective when needing to find a room last-minute.
We arrived in Port Angeles and got everyone tucked in for the night, hoping for a better day on the morrow. Caleb, as it turned out, was bedridden for three days straight. I can't remember a time I've seen him so sick. It's discouraging, baseline, to have a seriously sick kid, but it's even more discouraging to not be at home during such a time, and more discouraging still to know you're imposing on someone else's kindness and hospitality while at the same time not being able to do the socializing you flew across the country to do.
The only thing that brings the discouragement to its lowest low? When you discover the sickness has decided to make the rounds and take out Kid #2 and Kid #3 in succession. It was a perfect storm if ever there was one!
But before Kai and Asa were laid low, Eli took them for another hike while I stayed at the house with Caleb. We had already been forced to cancel our original plans with another set of friends in the same town, so in an effort to seize an opportunity to get out and see more of the Olympic Peninsula, Eli found another hike he could do with Kai and Asa to see Sol Duc Falls.
Again, any parent will tell you that a vomiting virus is tricky because there's no way to know if it will spread until it either does or doesn't. Well, by that night Kai started puking and was down for the count. In the middle of the night, Asa decided he didn't want to be left out (classic Asa!) and he needed our attention as well. To say the least, it was a verrrrrry long night.
After sleeping all morning to make up for next-to-no sleep overnight, I told Eli I needed to leave and get some fresh air. He held down the fort with all three zonked kids and I found my own hiking trail to explore. The Olympic Peninsula is gorgeous. We had been there six years before and have never forgotten how beautiful it is nor how much we wanted to find a way back there someday in hopes of exploring more. Well, turns out we still have the desire to go back there someday and explore more because this trip plummeted as soon as we got there. But our little forays were enough to whet our appetite anew. Hopefully someday we'll be back again, healthy and whole and ready to hike to our hearts' content.
On the day we had to leave to catch a flight back to Detroit, we finally got to connect with our other friends who live there. We met at a park and kept all the kids away from each other during our brief lunch near the Salish Sea. These dear folks are friends from our med school years in Chicago. Eli and Ben helped keep each other afloat while Jamie and I did the same for each other. Let me say that bonds formed while surviving medical school are strong bonds indeed! We shared many adventures with these amazing people, road tripping over many a weekend to wherever our school loan budgets could afford. We're grateful for their ongoing friendship!
Being the recipients of that kind of love is a gift. We've had a lot of experience over the years of being hosted by many people in many places, and it's always a practice in learning to receive love and kindness - something that American culture, quite frankly, isn't great at. American culture places a higher value on being the giver more than the receiver, on being the one with plenty to spare and share over being the one in need. But being on the receiving end offers an opportunity to be blessed with the knowledge and experience of being loved. It creates opportunities to choose contentment over comfort, and to choose the building of relationships over all else.
I often say that the only things going to heaven with us when we die are our relationships with God and our relationships with each other. Pouring into relationships - by both giving and receiving - is an eternal investment. We are deeply grateful for our time in Washington of being poured into, and of experiencing a beautiful example of love and grace extended without question. Not everyone can or should make the same choice in the same situation, but it was a choice that left a profound impact on us. Jesus-Level Compassion will do that.
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