This is Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle.  I have one thing to say to you today.  And listen up.  Actually, I have more than one thing to say, or this blog would be pretty short.  But ok, the first thing I have to say is…Do. Not. Seek. The. Treasure.

In this Oregon place, there are plenty of places to visit, to see and to appreciate.  So to pick only a few in a little over a week’s time is hard.  But one of the places that the persons wanted to go was called Haystack Rock.

You know, that big rock apparently in a few movies.  Yeah, I didn’t know either.  But that’s the deal.

Apparently, the kids in this movie called The Goonies were trying to find treasure.  And we are all about treasure.  But what we didn’t know was that this rock, this Haystack Rock would be a treasure we might not be able to find.  Even though it was 23 stories high.

When you travel as much as we do, sometimes, you neglect to find out details.  Actually, I never do, but the persons do.  We were running late yesterday because the persons couldn’t find a campsite for our next stop, and so we just hopped in the car and headed to this giant rock.  Now, you would think that a giant rock would be easy to find in Oregon.  But yeah.  There are a lot of giant rocks.  And the persons obviously needed a map…a treasure map to find it.

We first drove into a little town and the persons started their panic attacks because of traffic.  Being on the road for over a year will make you forget what you used to deal with all of the time.  But a place this awesome has a lot of people that want to see it.  And I figure they knew more than us where this giant rock was.  After we couldn’t find a parking space in the town, the persons decided that since the rock was so giant, that we would be able to see it from anywhere.  So up we went to another beach.  You know, because the persons figured we could walk to a giant rock.  But where was it? It was not to be seen, although they kept questioning what rock it was.

I am certainly not one to complain about being on the beach.  But I am one to complain about having to walk miles to see a rock.  So the persons decided that we would hang out and enjoy these rocks first and then hopefully, find the giant one.

So we froze our booties off in the middle of July, walked around, and then got back in the car to try and find the rock again.  I started to think that maybe this rock was too good to be true.  That maybe we indeed needed a treasure map to find it.  And all Deputy Digby thought was a Haystack Rock sounded a lot like a stack of pancakes and he was all for finding it.

So back in the car we went, thinking that all the people in the town must know where it was and…why could we not see this rock?  So we got out to another beach and Girl Person started laughing.  She told Boy Person the rock wasn’t here either and were they blind? That’s when we turned the corner and saw it.  There it was.  Haystack Rock.  Real. Far. Away. Again. Wrong. Beach. Again.

But at this point, the persons decided that we better just keep going. And so we walked.  And we walked some more.  The tide came in, the persons got wet, and we were going to find this treasure, this rock.  But as we got closer to it, we realized something.  Yes, this rock was amazing.  Yes, this rock was beautiful.  Yes, this rock was big.  But why was everyone ignoring all of the other rocks, the other beaches, the other beauty?  Were there not treasures lesser known but just as important?

Sometimes, we look and look for happiness.  We think that there is something better out there, that everyone must know the secret.  We may think that the treasures right in front of us are not as good as what else could be out there.  But are we ignoring the treasures right in front of us?

As the persons discussed why the other beaches were so empty yet so gorgeous, they talked about how they should have appreciated the other places more.  They were sorry that they didn’t take more pictures at the empty beaches.  And they felt bad.  But a lesson was learned that there isn’t just one happy destination.  If you have found your treasure, you don’t need to seek it.  Hold onto it.

The persons sure don’t know everything, and as they contemplated our life’s map and treasures to be had after this trip is over, Boy Person jumped back into reality with a crab bite to his foot.  Yes, a crab bite to his foot. Looks like this crab found his treasure too.

Today, we are on our way to another Oregon camp near somewhere called the Columbia River Gorge!  It’s another drive, another long day.  Hopefully, we can find our way there.  I will be reading the map this time.

-Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle

We still need to sell almost 60 more shirts in just a few days to reach our goal!  Get yours before it is too late!