A weekend with Laurel and Kevin

Not to bore you with details, but please oh please allow me to wax poetic about the most wonderful weekend ever, which we spent with friends Laurel and Kevin (formerly of Cincinnati, OH, now of Eugene, OR).

SMH and I took our brand new station wagon (yes, we are nerds) on its first road trip, arriving in Eugene late Friday night.

Saturday began with the Bohemia Half Marathon, which included a beautiful course around a Cottage Grove Lake. I've never enjoyed 13.1 miles so much, thanks to Laurel's company and impeccable pace. Observation: Oregon runners are very, very friendly -- about 2000% friendlier than OlyWa runners. Or, maybe it's just that Laurel is about the kindest, friendliest and coolest person you'd ever hope to meet.

After the race, the four of us -- uh, five of us, including Loki -- packed up and drove over to the Oregon Dunes, where we camped Saturday and Sunday nights. On Sunday, after a 3-mile hike to the shore, we relaxed on the beach, with nary a soul in sight. Said relaxation included downing cheese and crackers and two bags of potato chips (overindulgence justified by the race the day before), flying Kevin's kite and -- my favorite -- watching a grey whale or two in the distance. (I should mention here that I have developed something of an obsession with whales.)

Then, we drove along the Oregon coast, which is breathtakingly beautiful. I won't even try to describe it. During the drive, we passed Heceta Head Lighthouse, stopped to see several stellar sea lions in their rookeries, then made our way to Cape Perpetua, where we spotted three more grey whales. (Have I mentioned my obsession with whales?)

The weekend was filled with lots of laughs and good eats, including a dinner of halibut and veggies (and s'mores, of course) cooked over the campfire. And breakfasts of blueberry pancakes, during which Laurel proved herself a champion pancake flipper.

The trip ended with a visit to REI, which yielded lots of on-sale goodies, all sales-tax-free.

Not sure what the best part of the weekend was. One minute was better than the next.