Two-thousand four-hundred and seventy-five miles down the road from St. Paul, Minnesota, is a little place called Portland, Oregon. When we woke up in Pendleton today everyone was ready to get there and see Grammy. We bombed through the Columbia Gorge to get there.
The road trip was excellent. Our whole life is a road trip really, but this was different. This was more like the road trips we’d take as kids—luggage strapped to the outside of cars, gas station treats, hotel rooms, and peeing on the side of the road. It was a different view of America than the kids have gotten in the past, and for all of us it was a welcome vacation.
The Porsche was amazing. It celebrated fifty years on the road without a hiccup. We averaged one-hundred-sixty-five miles per day for fifteen days, with today being our biggest at two-oh-five. Twenty-five miles to the gallon the whole way, even with that sixty pound wind drag strapped to the back. Just one point five quarts of oil, and best of all, I didn’t take the tools out once. We love this car. German engineering at its finest.
[In case you didn’t notice, there are two new posts behind this one with the kids’ perspective.]The kids—especially considering their confined space—were great. We didn’t have a single time-out after South Dakota. Neither of them complained once the entire trip. Days were filled with excitement about what was coming up next, even when that might be nothing more than a playground in a tiny town.
The two of them got along better than they ever have. Ali and I can’t decide if that is just their age, that Lowe is finally catching up to Ouest in terms of development, or what. But whatever it is, it’s great. Having Ouest run up to Lowe saying, “Come on Lowe! Come on!” is something we’ve been waiting a long time to see. They laughed and laughed in that tiny back seat doing silly things that only kids do. And I don’t know how many dirty sock wars we had, but it was pretty much impossible to say no to. The look of mischief in Lowe’s eyes when he launched a sock at us, and then the belly laughter that followed when we returned fire, was priceless.
Overall it was just a fantastic trip. Better than any of us expected—even better than all the hype we’d been giving the kids during the lead up.
I love the road.
It’s not polite to show up in Portland these days without two things—a beard, and a pink cowboy hat. That’s just the rules out here.
Just to give a sense of how small this car is, Lowe is still buckled into his seat here.
“Grammy!”
10 Comments on “Portland—End of the Road”
Oh, I love the photo of the kids hugging Grammy. It’s just the best when Grammys are with their grandchildren. I know your mom would agree.
I mentioned you on FB too, thanks for inspiring us to take a spontaneous trip up to Mount Rushmore, it was great. We have lived and traveled all over the world, but there are very cool parts of this country we’ve yet to see,
Have fun with Grammy. ?
Mount Rushmore on a whim! Awesome.
Grammy would have been happy to see you guys last night! 🙂 “The Porsche was amazing” The Porsche IS amazing! What an awesome trip. Funny to think of a trip like this being a vacation for you guys! Thanks, THANKS for all your blogs and keeping it up all these years. I love you all four! What a treat you blog has been and encouragement! We’re headed back to work for 6 months but next spring… 😀
Thank you, Sherlene. It’s been great getting to know you guys through all of these years ourselves. We’re happy for you, for all that you’ve done.
You guys have entirely way too much fun! Great pictures by the kids.
I love your blog and your photos are awesome! The simple fact of WHAT you photograph inspires me…. besides the children that is. Photos of them make every blog like visiting friends. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Linda. We appreciate that.
That’s awesome that you had a wonderful vacation – like, the perfect time doing something you love. Are you guys headed south from Portland? You are welcome to stop by our Yurtlandia over here on the Lost Coast. We’re about 6 hours south of Portland
Thanks, Mariah. As much as I’d love to hop back in the Porsche and point it south, we’re flying back to the bus from Portland. We’ll take you up on that offer another time though, I promise.
Loved your road trip! We traveled from Ohio to Washington State last year (then down the Oregon coast, northern Cali, to North Carolina a few months later), so shared some of the same sights. What a blast! There’s so much to see in the US. So glad the kids enjoyed it and were so good. Thanks for sharing your adventures with the world!