Portland—End of the Road

10 Comments

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 … Read More

Pendleton

4 Comments

We stopped off at a small state park, and a number of small towns on our way to Pendleton. Nothing exciting. No great sites. Just a little driving broken up with playgrounds and walks in the park. Pendleton in the evening.

Ontario… Oregon

3 Comments

We’re getting on near the two week mark and the pace has certainly begun to pick up. Two weeks is enough time in hotel rooms. We’re ready to get to Grammy’s and eat some home cooking again. At least Ali and I are. The kids haven’t said a word. They … Read More

Humbug Mountain

24 Comments

We rolled into Coos Bay yesterday. It’s one of those places that I always remember vividly. When I was still in college Ali and I took a trip out to Oregon. We flew into Portland, rented a car, made a beeline south on 5, and then turned to the coast … Read More

Beachside State Park

23 Comments

If you are anywhere near the river in Newport you can hear the sea lions. Their barks echo for miles. They are so loud that yesterday we started to walk to the waterfront to see them only to discover that they were actually on the other side of the river … Read More

Newport

5 Comments

We were driving past a casino the other day and Ali said, “People still go to those?” Disbelief—as if it hadn’t occurred to her. I thought that was pretty funny. Here is something I’ve been thinking about for a few months now. You know those yellow signs you see when you’re … Read More

Playing

12 Comments

The bus is ready to go. Headed down the 101. I feel like we’ve done this trip a hundred times, but then I feel like we’ve never done it. It all sort of runs together at times. I do know that this is the kids’ first southbound 101—out of Portland, … Read More

Bus Work

17 Comments

Well it took ten days, but the bus is back and it is better than ever. Like so extremely better than ever that as I drove it down the road from the shop I actually laughed out loud. I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. It’s ridiculous how … Read More

Oregon State Fair

32 Comments

Ouest woke up having to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. We walked into the hall where the moon was shining in the windows when she suddenly stopped, looked around, and asked me, “Why is everything black and white?” One of the things I love about having … Read More

Brake Break

8 Comments

From Rockaway it was just a short hop back to Portland. Another Grammy visit. The bus brakes have gotten steadily worse the past month, so it was finally time to address them and get a full brake job done. Through some contacts we ended up at a shop just down … Read More

Rockaway Beach

50 Comments

After leaving the kite festival we made a quick overnight stop in Astoria, hung out with friends there, and then zipped down the Oregon coast a little way to Rockaway Beach. We hung out there for a few days with friends at their family cabin, with a small lake out … Read More

Columbia County Fair

7 Comments

We said goodbye to Grammy today, after almost a month. We always seem to stay a month with her. Part of it is because we love her, and part of it is because we love Portland. Portland summers anyway. And while we all love Grammy, it wasn’t her name we … Read More