To Sum it All Up…

With a good night’s sleep in my own bed and several loads of laundry behind me, I feel like I can take some time to ponder on our many experiences of the past two weeks. We saw some more of the wonders that this world has to offer. And for this little group of desert dwellers, some of it was truly awe inspiring. We had some good family time with all six of us, something that has become less frequent as my kids have started to grow up and move out and which I subsequently treasure all the more. We laughed, cried (yes, there were some tearful moments involving my 11-year-old because dealing with the ramifications of food allergies is hard), joked, ate far more than we should have, and had a truly remarkable time. This is a vacation that will long be remembered. 

Inventory of assets acquired over the past two weeks:

-About a gallon of bug guts splattered across the front of the car

-Two rock chips in the windshield of my nearly new car

-An assortment of t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies featuring the stops we’ve made (One person we talked to commented that Malia was “wearing the trip”)

-A variety of huckleberry flavored delights 

-A boatload, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say a carload, of wonderful memories

-Many hours of quality family time filled with the joy that comes from being together and actually liking each other (My kids have mostly gotten to the point where they are friends and despite being jam packed together for two weeks, they are still all friends now that we are home!) 

Abbreviated compendium of lessons learned:

-Sometimes a spectacular view outweighs the inconvenience of sharing one small bedroom with all your siblings. Everyone agrees that their favorite abode was the condo in Seaview.

-We have gained a healthy respect for the impact that seasonal allergies have in our family in an environment that produces more than just sagebrush. 

-Humidity wreaks havoc on wavy hair. Malia pretty much stopped trying to make her hair smooth because it was determined to frizz. However, the extra moisture also made it look super lustrous and healthy. That tells me she needs to seriously rock the conditioner now that we are home. Nathan’s normally tame locks have taken on a super fantastic natural wave that makes him look like a member of a boy band or Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine depending on the day. He’s just rolling with it. Even my hair was rather unruly, refusing to become smooth like it normally is despite determined brushing. Like Malia, I gave up trying and went with an “I combed it this morning and that’s good enough” attitude.

-While humidity’s effects on hair received mixed reviews, dry skin looooooves humidity. I didn’t need to lotion my hands the entire time we were near the water despite using cheap public restroom soap the entire time. Within a couple of hours of leaving the coast, I was already reaching for the hand cream.

-We complain about gas prices around here, but honestly, it’s not that bad. The $3.69 price tags around here are far better than the $5.69 we saw in the northwest. 

-Toblerone comes in white chocolate. And both white and regular chocolate versions are safe for Malia. We both enjoyed that discovery. 

-Seeing animals in zoos and aquariums is great but seeing them in the wild is amazing. We saw a variety of animals in their natural habitats-sea lions, assorted seabirds, vultures, pelicans, elk, bald eagles, baby salmon, and even some desert lizards as we made our way home. (The caveat to this lesson, of course, is if you find yourself in danger of being mauled by a bear, chomped on by a shark, etc. There was a sign posted in the Hoh Rain Forest visitors’ center warning folks to stay away from the elk because two visitors had gotten too close and were charged by said offended elk.)

-Baggage with wheels is definitely the way to go. We stayed in six different locations over the course of our travels and those who had wheeled ¬¬bags had a much easier time of it. Those of us without had a heavier load to haul. Seriously, I think I’m asking for luggage for Christmas.

-Sometimes all you need is a $1 glider and a stiff breeze to fill a day with delight. Even as an adult the simple things can bring joy. I need to remember that. And seriously, if you ever find yourself in Astoria, take time to visit the Column! It was a favorite for all of us.

-Family time can’t be replaced by anything else. And hopefully there will be board games in the eternities because we laugh an awful lot over Pig Pile and It Came to Pass. 😜

Marked Differences

Today we left Washington and started on the long road back home. However, we still had one last important stop to make. As we have made plans for this trip over the past year, one of the things we knew we wanted to do was visit the Portland temple. Some months back I was able to make a reservation in the baptistry since that is where all six of us can serve together and we left Forks nice and early this morning so we would arrive in time. 

As Utah residents, we are accustomed to the crazy busy baptistries is our nearby temples, the ones where you are in for a good long wait if you don’t have a reservation and sometimes a decent wait even if you have a reservation. We were there on a Saturday afternoon, typically one of the most popular temple times for teens, so I expected to see some other people. What we got was an empty baptistry and some very excited temple workers who were enormously glad to see us. As we waited in the chapel one other small group did come in, but that was it. It was a solid reminder that the church outside of Utah often looks somewhat different. But no matter where we are, the gospel is always the same. In some ways, being a church member in Utah is easier. And to be honest, I think in some ways it can be more challenging. Nevertheless, I think it is good to be aware of what life is like as a member of the church in different parts of the world.

I always love being in the temple with my family. With the older boys living away from home, the opportunities for all six of us to attend together are few. This was only the second time we have all served together and it was marvelous. After the general hubbub of the past two weeks, the calm and quiet were a balm to my soul. Not that our vacation has been super stressful or anything, because it hasn’t been, but walking into the temple is always like taking a big sigh of relief for me. It is a much-appreciated chance to let the outside world slip away for a bit.  

There was a vast difference once we left the temple grounds though. As we traversed downtown Portland on our way to our hotel, all of us were kind of on edge. It was sort of weird, but the feel of the city was not one we liked. It was a general unease and an “I need to be on my guard because something about this place doesn’t feel quite right” kind of a thing. As we discussed it, Daniel did say that apparently the Portland slogan of “keep it weird” seems to be quite accurate. I think what we were feeling was the lure of the world, so different from what we usually find in our own little part of the world. And I think the feeling was amplified by the fact that we had just come from the temple. Our general consensus was that we don’t want to live in Portland. I know there are many wonderful people who call Portland home and the presence of a temple is an indication of a solid church membership, but our general reaction to the part of the city where we found ourselves (which is admittedly the heart of the city and probably one of the rougher areas of town if the graffiti and barb wire topped fences are any indication) was not a place we think we would be comfortable living.

Yes. I know we live sheltered lives in our little valley. Even though it is much more diverse than it was when I was a kid, it is still fairly homogenous compared to the world at large. And the percentage of residents who are church members is still far larger than in most other areas. That in itself is a driving factor in what creates such a unique culture in Utah. And yes, there are pros and cons to our culture. I have no illusions about that. Nevertheless, it is home. 

Aeronauts

We started off today’s adventures with a visit to the Astoria Column. The Column is a towering monument that is covered by a massive mural celebrating the history of Oregon. Every single website I visited while planning our vacation listed the column as a must see, so although I had never even heard of it prior to planning, I figured that if it was that highly recommended, we had better make time for a visit. I’m very glad we did because it was so much fun! Let me tell you why.

We have climbed a lot of stairs in the past few days. Although there was an elevator that took us the majority of the way down to the sea lion cave, there were still a lot of stairs involved. There were stairs down to the overlook at the top of the cliff and there were stairs from the elevator up to one of the viewpoints in the cave. Yesterday was the lighthouse tour and yes, that was a lot of stairs. So standing at the bottom of the column peering up through the tightly spiraling staircase, we all kind of took a big breathe, put on our big kid pants and started the climb. I must say though, that my years of yoga have definitely paid off because I didn’t get too much thigh burning and didn’t have any of the day after soreness that some of my crew had. So five points for yoga! Or maybe it should be five points per stair…either way, it was a good reminder that exercise has benefits!

But climbing the stairs was not the fun part. The fun came in the form of $1 balsa wood gliders we purchased in the gift shop before climbing the tower. Once we got to the top, we threw the gliders off the column. That may not sound like a big deal, but it was seriously the most fun we’ve had so far! Because the column is so tall and it is right on the coast, the wind at the top of the tower is impressive. We had six people which meant six gliders, and not one of them traveled the same path. Not only that, but they flew much further than we expected them to. Even the ones that were kind of haphazardly tossed over the edge (mine and Malia’s) instead of carefully and scientifically aimed with physics and engineering principles in mind (Daniel’s). The gliders were caught by the wind and were carried far and wide. Kevin’s flew the farthest, crossing the road and weaving around for a long time before disappearing into the trees. Nathan’s flew the shortest distance, landing on the grass not terribly far from the base of the column, but it took a circuitous route there so was still airborne for a goodly amount of time. Mine crash landed on the road after a respectable flight which made it retrievable if not salvageable. The other three gliders flew hither and yon, all making their way into the trees as well. It was well worth the forty-five minutes we spent there! We would definitely do it again. 

After braving the bracing wind at the top of the column, we made our way over to the Oregon Film Museum. For any of you who are familiar with the 80’s film “The Goonies,” the museum is located in the jail that is featured in the first scenes of the movie. We were excited about this stop because we are movie lovers and random funny movies like that are kind of our style, but it was seriously anticlimactic. The entire jail is only a couple of tiny cells adjacent to several small rooms and the entirety of the content was a couple of information boards and a bunch of Goonies merchandise that had been manufactured over the years. So not the most engaging fifteen minutes of our day. 

However, not all was boredom because just across the street from the film museum was the Flavel House Museum. I love old houses and the museums they become so it was a location that was on my radar, but I didn’t think the rest of my crew would care so I didn’t add it to our itinerary. However, the film museum was a much shorter stop than we had anticipated and Nathan seeing the signs for the Flavel House was highly interested in exploring it, so we crossed the street and Daniel, Nathan, Matthew, and I spent a good hour or so touring the mansion. Malia was feeling a bit sick, probably not enough food and too much riding in the car, so Kevin took her to a small store a couple of blocks down and fed her while the rest of us strolled through the mansion. By the time we were done, Malia was feeling much better and wandered the house gardens with us for a bit so she could take some pictures. 

Our other stops for the day were the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, a Washington state park rather than a national one. While the information we gleaned was very similar to what we learned yesterday, it was presented in a much more engaging and interactive way. It was obviously designed with children in mind, and we enjoyed it. Right next to the interpretive center was Fort Columbia Historical State Park, a decommissioned fort that was used by the miliary up until 1947. Dinner was fish again, which we were all happy about, and we spent another mellow evening hanging out enjoying the spectacular view. 

Tomorrow, we leave our seaside getaway and head further north. Next stop-the rainforest!

Enlightened

Today our plan was to be out and about in the morning and back at the condo for a slower afternoon and evening. We are fans of national parks, so as we planned our day, we knew we wanted to spend some time at Lewis and Clark National Historic Park. What we didn’t know was that the park covers a variety of different locations scattered over the Astoria area as well as across the river in Washington, which is where our current base of operations is located. This morning we visited a number of those locations, spending time at Fort Clatsop, Netul Landing, and Middle Village-Station Camp. We learned a ton about the expedition, far more details than we ever got in the classroom. Fort Clatsop is a replica of the fort they built to weather one winter and was yet another reminder to me of how grateful I am for the many modern conveniences we enjoy. We learned a lot about how the native Indian tribes played a huge part in keeping the explorers alive as they taught them how to live off the land far from any of the resources the explorers were accustomed to back in the east. And we discovered just how difficult a journey it was. When we think of a cross country trek, we think in terms of days or maybe weeks if we are taking our time. But for these explorers, it was years of hard travel.

We also stopped at North Head Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment on the Washington side of the river. We put that stop on our itinerary because you can tour that particular lighthouse. As folks who live far away from any sizeable bodies of water (yes, there is the Great Salt Lake, but is has shrunk so much since I was a kid that we’ve taken to calling it the Great Salt Puddle) we were definitely interested in climbing to the top of a lighthouse. Only small groups are allowed to climb the lighthouse at a time, so we had a bit of a wait. The coast guard was doing some training just off the coast right next to the lighthouse, so all the boys hung out and watched them practice water rescues. It was pretty darn cold outside with the wind, so Malia and I waited inside the base of the lighthouse and chatted with the lady manning the desk. Her husband was the one handling the visitors at the top of the lighthouse, and apparently this is a seasonal gig for them. They don’t actually live in the area but drive their RV out and park it for the busy summer season. Anyway, we had a nice chat and the boys got to watch a helicopter hover for a span.

Once it was our turn, we took the trek up and were treated to a short lecture and question answering session. We learned specifics about North Head lighthouse as well as some tidbits about lighthouses in general, things like the fact that the flashing light pattern is different in each lighthouse so that ships at sea know exactly where they are when they see the lights. The same thing is achieved in daylight hours by the distinctive paint design on each lighthouse. It was a very informative visit, much more interesting than we had expected. 

The rest of our day consisted of stopping by a local fresh fish market to buy some salmon and halibut, playing games, eating some yummy fish, and consuming far too much ice cream. When we picked up frozen treats for Matthew and Malia post Tillamook tour, we got some for the rest of us as well. And it is vacation, so some food splurges are expected, right? Anyway, our busy morning was followed by a relaxing afternoon and evening. Today was a good mix of go and stay.

Cheese, Seas, and Balconies

I know I’ve already mentioned the fact that the roads around here are not on a grid system. Let me add to that the fact that because the land is not one big flat desert, the roads wind up, down, and all around as they work their way over mountains and hills and up the coast. There is only so much you can do to make the road straight when it is climbing a mountain or following the coastline. It’s not like you can straighten out the edge of the Pacific to make your road more linear. Having said that, just know that Malia and I will be rocking the Dramamine for the remainder of our travels so that we aren’t car sick the entire time. This is one of those times when I feel like the boys all lucked out as they seem to have avoided the motion sickness gene. Seriously, I’m not sure they realized just how lucky they are. They get to actually view the scenery as we drive by while even with the Dramamine, I have to keep my eyes on the road so I don’t end up queasy. Oh, well. Such is my life. 

With that preface in place, we left Albany this morning and headed to the coast. Our first stop was in Tillamook which we were all super excited about. We are kind of cheese snobs over here, preferring Tillamook to the other brands. The Tillamook is just more flavorful, creamier and melts more smoothly than many other brands, particularly the cheaper ones. And we all give high marks to the Tillamook yogurt and sour cream. The ice cream is also delicious, although we don’t purchase it often since it isn’t safe for Malia. Even Matthew, who can’t eat any of those things, was excited about stopping to tour the Tillamook factory. He was there in April with the high school band but was out of money by then and he has been looking forward to buying a Tillamook t-shirt. 

Ok. Now we need to talk a bit about being a food allergy mom. It is an all-day everyday kind of a thing. And being away from home is an increased challenge because the world at large is one giant allergen. So, I have to admit that walking into a cheese factory with a son who is allergic to milk was kind of a stressful experience. I honestly had to stop for a minute and remind myself not to panic. As I was fighting with the overwhelming need to tell Matthew not to touch anything and to hold his breath while he was at it so he didn’t accidentally breathe in any milk particles, Matthew could see my anxiety and reminded me that he was not a first timer, and he was just fine. I knew that of course, but the rational mind sometimes has a difficult time overcoming the mama bear gene. 

Once I had my mini panic attack under control, we made our way through the self-guided tour that shows how cheese is made in the factory. It was pretty interesting to see how mechanization has made cheese making in the modern world very fast and incredibly efficient. It only takes a few hours to actually make the cheese although the aging process takes much longer. And the amount of cheese that can be made in a day is impressive. Like I said, it was pretty interesting. And the free cheese samples at the end of the tour were tasty. I tried some sharp white cheddar and I have a feeling that sharp white will be making its way into my shopping cart on a fairly regular basis. We ate lunch in the Tillamook café where cheese of assorted varieties was on the menu and finished our visit with some delightful ice cream. Of the flavors we sampled, the white chocolate raspberry was my favorite. Once we get home, it might just become one of my occasional guilty pleasures. While neither Matthew nor Malia could safely eat fare offered at the factory, we did promise them some allergen safe ice cream once we arrived at our next rental house as well as some yummy dinner choices-homemade mac and cheese featuring a goodly amount of Tillamook cheese for Malia and potstickers for Matthew, one of his favorites.

Once we left Tillamook, it was not long before we reached the coast. And while Malia and I pretty much had to keep our eyes on the road, the boys enjoyed the amazing views, and we made a variety of stops so we could all enjoy the grandeur of the Pacific Ocean. We stopped to see Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, but honestly, there were so many people there that we really only stopped for a couple of minutes so we could say that we did and then kept on rolling. 

But those tantalizing glimpses of the beach had my crew super excited. And once we arrived at our temporary abode, they were even more jazzed up. You see, we selected a condo that not only had the number of beds and other amenities we need, but an absolutely fantastic view. In fact, there is only a small stretch of trees between the condos and the beach, and we are on the third floor so the view is uninhibited. Once we arrived, the first thing the kids wanted to do was head out to the beach. So we dumped all our stuff, ate dinner, and headed out to the water.

Because I visited the beach often when I was a tiny child, sometimes I forget that my kids have grown up in a land locked state and have only really seen the ocean once or twice before. For most of them that was at Rialto Beach (which is a rock beach, not a sandy one) in the pouring rain during our Seattle trip some years ago. Matthew was also at Cannon Beach in April, but it was freezing cold and raining like crazy when he was there, so the experience was much the same. So, while they have seen the ocean, none of them have had the opportunity to walk barefoot in the sand and play in the surf. It was not raining today and while it was chilly, it wasn’t downright freezing, so it seemed like an ideal time to give them a chance to experience something brand new.

As a parent, one of my joys has been seeing my children experience new and exciting things. You might think that all my boys are too old to be carefree and playful, but you would be wrong there. All four of my children were absolutely giddy. Their faces were beaming, and it reminded me that we are never too old to find joy in the wonders of nature and the amazing experiences that life has to offer. As I watched them wade into the waves and discover how the sand shifts with the water, my mama bear actually had to call them back and give them a spur of the moment crash course in “the ocean is a huge and powerful force, here some guidelines, don’t be stupid.” It might seem like a topic we should have discussed long ago but remember that these are landlubbers and there has just never been a need. We have had talks about earthquakes and wildfires and mountains and deserts and all that, but the ocean is just not a big enough presence in our lives to have made me think to talk to them about sea safety. But they are quick learners and smart to start off with, so they were all just fine and gave the appropriate amount of respect to the water while still enjoying their experience. At some point I need to get these kids of mine to a beach where it is warm enough for them to actually swim in the water. Because that is another indescribable experience. 

As the daylight faded, my crew returned to the condo and took advantage of the amazing view from the balcony of our condo while the sun set. It was overcast so the sunset itself was not the most glorious we’ve seen, nevertheless, it was exactly what a summer evening on vacation should be-relaxing, peaceful, calm. Great end to a day of driving.

Memories and Allergies

As we were developing the grand master plan for this excursion, we knew we wanted to be in Albany on a Sunday so we could go to church in Daniel’s mission area. During his six months in Albany, he spent part of his time serving in the YSA ward and part in the family ward. One of his mission president’s mission rules was that he wanted each missionary to spend one hour each week working on family history. There was one particular sister who would drive out to the church every week to teach the missionaries how to do family history work. Once Covid began forcing lock downs all around, she continued to meet with them via Zoom. this sister also kept the elders in board games and toilet paper once they were apartment bound. 

When Daniel ended up back at home due to Covid, he continued to have weekly virtual meetings with the same sister for nearly a year. It was important to him, and it gave him something productive to do, something to focus on when he came home and was lost for a bit with no mission, no job, and no school to occupy his hours. She is one of those people for whom my mama heart holds an immense amount of gratitude. She was the one person Daniel wanted to be certain to see, so we ended up in her ward. The fire about family history and temple work is alive in her, and she took a few minutes to show us a cool new trick in the family tree app that allows us to find family names literally with just a couple of taps. Daniel was so glad to see her, and I was so glad to be able to give her my thanks face to face.

After church, we spent a bit driving around so Daniel could show us the places where he lived, the places where he taught, the places where he worked. As we traveled the once familiar neighborhoods, he shared with us some mission experiences and told us a bit more about his time in Oregon. One thing that was neat was how many churches there are in close proximity to each other. I know we have a lot of churches here as well, but they are mostly our churches. What we saw were just as many churches, but of all denominations. While lots of places we visit have only an occasional building dedicated to religious beliefs, there were a multitude of religious gathering spots in the Albany area. It put me in mind of days gone by when everyone went to church of one sort or another. They not only gathered to express their faith, but their churches were their community and social support as well, much as our church and our wards are for us. But it seems that nowadays the religious folk are the minority rather than the majority. I guess that is yet another sign of the times. Anyway, Daniel confirmed that the area is a highly religious one. Many times, he would meet people and they would tell him they went to either this church or that one, and there were several that came up often. We enjoyed seeing his old stomping grounds and hearing the stories that accompanied them.

In our wanderings over the past couple of days, we discovered that seasonal allergies are a beast in an area where there is actually enough rain to sustain an oasis of plant life. There were runny noses and itchy eyes all around. There was much of sneezing and a great need to buy more antihistamine eye drops since I packed some, but included only what I suspected would be used based on standard usage in the freaking desert we call home. It did not put a damper on our fun, but it was not something that could be ignored. Thank goodness for the 24-hour antihistamines we have! So much nicer than the 4-hour “knock you out like a sleeping pill” antihistamines of my youth. Having some relief from allergy symptoms and being awake at the same time is definitely an improvement!

By this evening, we were all ready and excited to move on to the next part of our trip. Tomorrow, we leave Albany and head to the coast!

Turn Left!

While the past few days have been packed full of driving and fun, today was a less structured day. We decided that was something we wanted to do differently from some of our previous trips. We wanted to have some down time in which we could just relax and hang out. As such, the only definite on today’s agenda was to find some huckleberry flavored goodies. We learned to love the flavor of this elusive little berry when we visited Yellowstone a few years ago. Matthew, who doesn’t generally get to sample the local offerings we encounter on our journeyings, was pleased to be able to partake of a variety of huckleberry flavored goods in the past and was anxious to indulge in a few more. Huckleberry items are generally found at the tourist focused stores rather than the Winco or Costco where we have been doing our grocery shopping, so we consulted Google and found a store called Made in Oregon whose website showed quite an array of huckleberry flavored delights. It was located in a mall in downtown Salem, so we drove into town and purchased jam, preserves, and several kinds of candy before making our way back to the house.

The weather was lovely today, sunny and clear but still nice and cool, so the kiddos took advantage of the opportunity and spent several hours lazing on the back patio. After some good down time, we took a short drive through the farmland surrounding Albany until we reached a fork in the road. Literally. We were, in fact, driving specifically to find said fork, which we learned about through an internet search while looking for interesting things to do near Albany. It seemed like just our kind of random, and with the Muppets’ “Moving Right Along” in our minds, we made our way through the countryside to reach it. It wasn’t a long drive, but we feel it was well worth the thirty minutes we spent coming and going. Sometimes I wonder why people do or create weird things and that thought did pop into my mind, but if nothing else, it was worth the entertainment value it gave us!

The evening was spent rowdily playing card games. I say rowdy because we are seldom subdued when it comes to Uno, Phase 10, or And it Came to Pass. We love to play games, and there was much laughter and joking at the table this evening. That is one of the perks of a more lackadaisical schedule: more time for Pig Pile. 

Fish are Friends…and Food!

Yesterday was all about airplanes. Today was all about animals, and both Malia and I were hyped with anticipation. When I was a senior in high school, the choir went on tour to Oregon and one of our stops was the sea lion caves. I was super cool and when Kev and I decided to trek our way up the coast, visiting again was on my must do list. Malia loves animals, so we added the Oregon State Aquarium to our agenda and with location being the determining factor for which activities to do each day, today became a day focused on wildlife. 

Our first stop was the sea lion caves. Not only is this cave the biggest natural sea cave in the U.S., but it is also one of the only places in the world where sea lions make their home on the coast rather than out at sea somewhere. They live there year-round, spending most of their time in the cave during the winter and out on the adjoining rocks in the summer. Today most of the sea lions were out on the rocks, but there were a handful hanging out in the cave. You might think looking at a colony of sea lions would be dull, but it was actually fascinating. Often animals act differently in the wild than they might in captivity, and we found this to be the case today. The dynamic of the colony was very interesting. At this time of year there are lots of baby sea lions and they were rollicking on the rocks, exploring the water’s edge, and generally being adorable. The females were scattered throughout, watching over the little ones, and basking in the sun. The largest male, who was easy to spot due to his enormous size, actually had a shoving match with a smaller sealion, I assume another male due to the size being bigger than the females but smaller than the head of the colony. The larger animal rolled the smaller one completely over in the direction of the water in what was clearly an “I’m the boss, don’t mess with me” kind of a maneuver. It’s these kinds of things that you just don’t see in a zoo.

After gawking at the sea lions for a while, we headed a bit further down the coast to Newport. In the past several weeks we’ve had multiple Oregon natives tell us that we had to eat clam chowder at Mo’s, so we made our way to the original harbor front location to sample the offerings. We ordered a variety of items and while they were good, the chowder was the winner of the day. It was delightful. My salmon was a bit on the bland side, Kevin’s cioppino was good, but not quite the flavor he was hoping for, and the shrimp and other bits we tasted were good but did not stand out as being fantastic. Other than the chowder, Nathan’s halibut sandwich was the only dish that earned rave reviews. But the chowder itself was worth the stop. If I should have an opportunity to eat there again, I would just go for a big bowl of chowder and be perfectly content. 

There was a candy store a couple of doors down from Mo’s, and after smelling the fudge on our way to lunch, we decided to stop in for a little treat. All six of us were able to find something that looked delicious and was safe for consumption. We tucked it away for sampling later though, as we were full from lunch. 

Once our tummies were full, we headed to the aquarium, another location that was recommended to us before we ever left home. I must say that we were very impressed. The aquarium in Seattle was good and we have a perfectly acceptable aquarium for a land locked desert state, but in my opinion, the Oregon State Aquarium was by the best we’ve seen. Like our zoo, some parts were indoor, and some were out. The aquarium is right on the coast so the way the tides shift was a part of the experience. We saw sea otters, river otters’ giant older brothers (and Matthew’s favorite animal), a giant sea spider (also known as a crab), and sharks larger than any I’ve seen in person before. The shark tunnel was the same design as the one in our aquarium at home, but I think it is far superior because the tank is populated by a variety of fish, not just sharks. In fact, there were several big schools of fish in the tank, and I was mesmerized by the way they navigated through the water and around the other inhabitants. I stood there much longer than I would have expected because it was so interesting. The only exhibit that we really felt was dull were the sea lions, but that was to be expected. Seeing just a few in their aquarium enclosure seemed decidedly anticlimactic after observing hundreds of their relations in the wild just a few hours before. And as I mentioned earlier, there is often a difference in how animals behave in their natural environment and in the case of social animals, their natural groups. 

Today was a good day. And for me, a much better day than yesterday because any day when I don’t have a raging migraine is better than a day when I do. 😉 And when we were done gallivanting around, we returned to our rental home and relaxed for the remainder of the evening. We go the vacation rental route so that we can cook for Matthew and Malia, but it is nice for all of us to have a whole house to spread out in, even on vacation. After a day spent packed in the car, we all appreciate having a little time, and space, to ourselves. It helps us all still like each other by the time we get done with our vacation. 😂

The Grid System: Brother Brigham Knew What He Was Doing

As the mother of three boys, I’ve learned more about planes, trains and automobiles than I ever wanted to know. In the early years, it started with Thomas the Tank Engine, moved on to Bob the Builder and was rounded out by Lightning McQueen. Over the ensuing years, those passions have become more real world and less cartoon focused. Daniel’s interest has pretty much become laser focused on airplanes and spacecraft while Matthew loves planes and has a healthy interest in cars as well. It helps that Kevin is also very interested in these types of vehicles as it gives them a common interest and some built-in hobby buddies. Nathan is the only one who kind of broke the mold and finds airplanes interesting but not fascinating. 

Having said all that, I don’t think we could actually ever plan a vacation without some or most of my boys searching out any airplane or space related museums or tours that are within a reasonable distance of our vacation destination. This trip was no exception and today’s entertainment was a stop at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. As we started our second day of driving, the anticipation in the car was high. We had a few hours’ drive to get there, but unlike the highway driving we have done on many trips, the whole second half was through rural areas. And unlike our own lovely little valley, Oregon’s roads were clearly not planned in advance in a sensible and orderly manner. This would definitely be an area where roads were created out of a need to get from one place to another regardless of how short, long, curvy, or confusing they might be. I know the surrounding landscape is a large determining factor in the paths that develop, but seriously, I think some of these paths might have been simply the way the cows chose to wander as they moseyed around the farm. As we began today’s trek, Google maps and the incredibly convenient Apple CarPlay feature in our new vehicle became our navigators. I’ve navigated via paper map before (yes, I know that dates me, but it was a necessary skill for the directionally impaired), but newer technologies make things a whole lot easier. Honestly, without a map of some sort, there is no way we would have ever gotten from point A to point B. But we did make it there in good time and for our airplane enthusiasts, it was a great way to start our vacation.

I always learn stuff when we make these stops and while it doesn’t make me giddy with excitement, at times I do actually find it interesting. The big ticket item at today’s stop was a viewing of the Spruce Goose, the biggest wooden airplane ever built. I had never even heard of it before planning for this adventure began, but now I can tell you quite a bit about its history. And while it was fairly interesting, if you really want to learn about it, ask one of my menfolk. They can give you all the details. In fact, there was an opportunity for the four of them to take a tour of the cockpit and they jumped at the chance. It was an additional charge and Malia and I really didn’t care, so we opted to wait while they took the tour. And that actually ended up being a good choice because the lighting in the museum was wacky, the kind of wacky that triggers migraines for me. It’s not something I can describe, but when I walk into a building with troublesome lighting, I can actually see it. It's not really a flicker and it’s not always a discernable color, but I can always tell. I slipped on my sunglasses right away, but by the time I’d been in the museum for thirty or forty minutes, I was definitely in migraine mode and had to step outside. Strong smells can trigger my migraines as well, and I suspect the smell of old airplane fuel and oil contributed to my descent into headache. Malia came with me because she was thoroughly bored, and we wandered around the parking lot while the boys did their thing. 

When the boys finally made their way back to us, they were all terribly happy with their time spent. They saw lots of cool stuff and honestly, I think they could have spent a great deal more time there. They just cruised through the entire space exhibit due to timing, but I think they would have lingered more if we had not needed to make our way to our vacation rental and dinner. So for the boys, the museum lived up to all their expectations. My meds helped ease my headache and Malia and I are looking forward to the activities the next few days hold.

Alliteration: It’s a ‘B’eautiful Thing

Every couple of years or so, we try to take a vacation of some sort. Two years ago, we spent a few days in Cedar City enjoying the Shakespearean Festival. A couple of years before that, we spent a week with my parents and my sibs and their families in Island Park and explored Yellowstone National Park. We’ve also done a few short trips in support of our kids in marching band or spent a night in Logan after enjoying one of Daniel’s concerts. But the last time we went on what I would consider an extensive vacation was when we went to Seattle seven years ago. Just over a year ago, Kevin and I started talking about planning another vacation. We have wanted to get Daniel back to Oregon ever since he came home from his mission much sooner than planned due to the unexpected arrival of Covid in our lives. We figured that if we wanted to make it happen, we’d better get a move on before he got much older and more independent so that he would actually be able to come with us. And thus, a plan was born.

While the vacation has been carefully planned, what was not planned was the fact that our first day on the road has been an English lesson, one focused on the ever-entertaining principle of alliteration. Several weeks ago, as we were planning out this first marathon day of driving, we were poring over Google maps figuring out some rest stops. It just so happened that our end goal for this first day of driving was Bend, Oregon. The last fairly civilized place to stop before we made the long, boring trek west from Idaho to Bend was in Burns, Oregon. A logical stop several hours prior to Burns was Boise, Idaho. And that was just too good to pass up. We like some whimsy in our lives, so we added Burley, Idaho and Brigham City, Utah to our list of stops. And our plan, though begun as somewhat of a joke, actually worked very well.

This morning we left home nice and early. Just over an hour into our trip, we stopped to eat breakfast in Brigham City. Our other stops also went as planned. We stopped in (almost) Burley, hitting a rest stop just prior to the actual city, Boise, and Burns before finally taking the long, boring, straight stretch to Bend. And it was all those things. Long: it was our last stretch of the day and as such, it felt longer than all the ones that came before. Boring: the scenery was lackluster, mostly scrub and juniper just like we get in Utah. Straight: the road was straight, literally stretching in an unswerving line to the horizon. And when we reached the point we saw as the horizon, the unswerving road continued, just as straight as ever. But as all roads do, eventually some curves appeared as we made our way closer to our destination.

Extending our adventure in alliteration, we added several unplanned “B’s” over the course of the day. The first was our nearly new car’s first ever travel at over 100 mph. It was only once, on that long, straight, so long, so straight road and only so that we could pass a slower vehicle. But with four bored kids, two of whom are return missionaries who learned a whole lot of missionary lingo during the time they served and are looking for anything exciting to help pass the time, I learned that passing the century mark on the speedometer is called “baptizing” the car. Our dinner stop added two more B’s by opting to eat at Black Bear Diner. I promise the selection was not made with our alliterative travel plan in mind but was a happy accident that came to mind as we filled our bellies.

Today was our longest travel day. We have learned in the past that a marathon drive on day one is fine because we are all filled with anticipation for what is to come. But an endless day in the car at the end of the vacation is torture with the fun behind us and all the weariness of said fun sitting on our shoulders. So, we made our plan with that in mind. Tomorrow the fun starts…not that spending thirteen hours in the car with my family wasn’t fun because there is always entertainment value to be had in our time together, but we only have about three hours of driving before we hit our first stop. And the first stop is an airplane museum which means all the boys are super excited. In the meantime, sitting all day is exhausting so I expect we will all sleep well!

He Knew

Anyone who has been watching the news knows that there are huge wildfires raging in Oregon right now. The plumes of smoke are massive enough that parts of the west coast are nearly as dark as night at midday. A million people have been displaced in the area of Salem, very close to where Daniel was assigned on his mission. Smoke has always been one of Daniel’s worst asthma triggers and the smoke is so bad right now that if he were in Oregon, he would be in dire straits. In his own words, shared with me this morning, he said, “The smoke would be killing me...literally.” I’m so grateful that Daniel is not in Oregon right now. He is extremely grateful as well. This morning the Lord gave me a bit of knowledge. It was like he was saying, “See? You didn’t know, but I did.” It was one of those moments when he helps me see his hand in our lives. We all acted in faith earlier this year when Daniel came home and now the Lord has given me just a glimpse of one of the reasons why he needed to come home.

Nearer and Farther Away

Daniel flew to Oregon today. When we talked to him yesterday, he said that since we live so close to the MTC, he didn’t actually feel like he had left home yet. He said it felt like he was at band camp because everything was still familiar. He said it was weird to think about the fact that he would have to get closer to home before he left it. Today he rode Frontrunner and Trax out to the airport, so he did indeed, ride closer to home before getting much further away. He arrived in Oregon, safe and sound, and now the real adventure begins.

Do You Want Cheese with That?

In the aftermath of the emotional deluge of the past two days, I spent a few minutes today learning about the Oregon Salem mission. It covers a diagonal northwest to southeast swath of Oregon and encompassed both urban and rural areas. Accordingly, the missionaries ride bikes in some areas and drive cars in others. There are coastal areas as well as farming areas. And probably the most exciting thing, for me at least, is the fact that Tillamook is in the Oregon Salem mission. For those who might not know, Tillamook is the home of some super fantastic dairy foods. We are kind of cheese snobs in that we don’t buy store brands or even local brands of cheese. We prefer the Tillamook and even early in our marriage, when our lifestyle could be classified as Early American Poverty, we always splurged on the cheese. I’m ridiculously excited about the prospect of driving up there to bring Daniel home at the end of his mission and being able to take a trip to Tillamook to sample all the fabulous dairy at its peak of freshness.

Daniel is excited too, and not just about the cheese. 😊

And the Answer is…

Oregon Salem Mission. In the United States. Where we can mail him stuff. And Amazon deliveries are a thing. And phone service is stable and affordable so he will be able to call us each week if he wants to do so. Big, giant mommy sized sigh of relief. I would have supported him no matter where he was sent in that I trust that the Lord knows what he’s doing and all that, but I am a little bit relieved. And Daniel is excited. So excited. I’m sure there’s some fear and anxiety underneath all that at the prospect of being kicked out of his home for two years, but the excitement is bigger just now. He reports to the MTC on September 25, so we have three more months to spend with him. It feels like a reasonable amount of time to get him ready, although I suspect it will take me much longer to figure out how to be the mama of a missionary.