Alas! Camas, Washington!

For you that know what my husband and I have gone through with the total remodeling of the house with small children running amuk, seven years of sacrafice from our active, outdoor lifestyle, and a housing market that has left most sellers drained dry of all resources, know that this move west was to fulfill our goals and our dreams for our children.

Camas Washington was waiting, and now only a two-day drive away. I was anxious. I didn't want to site see anymore. I wanted to quick get an apartment, figure out what school our kids would go to, get set up and start living like a normal person with an address and a home telephone number. I wanted a kitchen. I wanted to get a Realtor right away and start looking at properties.

We followed along the Columbia River Gorge along the Washington side. It started out rather dull, but soon became a gorgeous drive. Sheer cliffs were on our right with the Gorge meandering along on our left below. Some tunnels were carved through the mountains and we were small enough to pass through them. We saw wind surfers and kite boarders enjoying the strong winds accumulated through the fetch of water. They looked like they were reaching speeds of near 45mph.

We reached Camas in the evening. Sean's friend, Dan, was away on a trip and he had our other van parked in his driveway that we had shipped from Connecticut. Sean called him on the cell to let him know we arrived. A short conversation between the two of them ended in a referral to a local Burgersville Restaurant nearby. We drove around town to get a feel of the town, and then we drove on the Vancouver side of town to get a feel of what that had to offer.

After about three hours and a dinner at Burgersville, I turned to Sean, "I'm not into it. I just don't feel us here..." I did not know how to tell him that I did not like it there. He sat silently staring ahead in the driver's seat. He let out a sigh. After a long moment he replied, "No, I don't see us here either."

So we sat there in the van and didn't know what to do. We just looked around and our kids were totally confused as why we were not getting out of the van to claim a place to live. After all, they had been waiting for three weeks to get here, and they were told this was the destination.

That night we crossed the Columbia River over to Portland and stayed a night at a hotel. It was late and we were hoping our minds would somehow have an answer in the morning.

The kids swam in the pool without a care in the world. They laughed and played as kids should. Sean and I, had heavy hearts and our mood was somewhat dark. The next morning was a little better when we realized we were starting to laugh at the situation. Imagine selling your perfect home with all your precious memories and selling everything you have, drive 3,400 miles and then go, "OOPS!"

Aw, WTF! Let's keep driving!