"Water, please."
The little voice announced from the back seat of our minivan as we drove down Highway 26 to the Oregon Coast. We were going to the coast to check out some of the many lighthouses.
Since becoming a father I have worked tirelessly to have my daughter say the word "please." So when she does it without prompting, everything must come to a stop to meet her request.
OK, so that one time she asked for a puppy, I didn't do it -- hey, give me a break, we are cat people.
Anyway, following the Please Directive, my wife looked down at the center console at a kid's sports bottle filled with water -- from 1973. She took off the top, rolled down her window and tossed the water out, spraying herself, the van and to my horror, the freshly washed car directly behind us.
"Oh, it probably didn't even hit them," my wife said in her patented dismissive voice.
Suddenly the car behind us turned on his windshield wipers -- it was 80 degrees and sunny.
"Great, now I am going to get the stink-eye when he passes us," I responded. "I need a sticker like they have on fire engines -- stay back 500 feet."
As it turns out I wasn't the victim of road rage, in fact the person didn't even turn to look at me as they passed. I guess they just expected that type of blowback from a minivan on the way to coast. At least Violet was properly hydrated.
We had a wonderful day, and every time I see an article on a lighthouse, like this one, I am reminded of our impromptu car wash and that day.
If you want to find out more about the different lighthouses in Oregon, Oregon.com has a great section on them here.. I know we are going to be using that list this spring and summer to continue our exploration of the coast.
Hopefully next time there won't be a chance of showers for the drivers behind us.
Pat
