Some Final Thoughts About Our Hawaii Trip

Now that I’ve had a chance to actually get some sleep, allow me to offer some final ruminations on our tropical adventure. 

-Our flight home was only delayed about 20 minutes this time, so that was a plus. However, the red eye is absolutely horrible. Maybe deep sleepers can get some good shut eye on the plane, but for me, it was a night of barely skimming the surface of sleep. As such, I was pretty wiped out yesterday. Kevin came home, showered, slept for like three hours and then drove 3 ½ hours to Cedar City where he is Matthew’s food backup plan while Matthew participates in the high school Shakespeare competition. So at least I got to sleep in my own bed last night. Apparently, my mom slept for a full twenty-four hours, only coming to consciousness for a brief period of time halfway through when my dad woke her to make her eat something. This trip has taken a lot out of her, and these long overnight flights are particularly hard.

-They eat some weird food in Hawaii. As I mentioned a couple days ago, loco moco is a huge thing that is kind of strange. The meat, gravy, and rice bits seem totally normal to me, but throwing a fried egg on top just makes it bizarre. Poi is still disgusting, at least in my opinion, and while I already knew this, Spam is a hot commodity. So hot, that in the Long’s Drugs we visited (which is like a CVS Pharmacy), it was a locked glass display case. If you wanted to buy Spam, an employee would have to come get it out for you like it was an iPhone. 😂 We saw some oddly flavored cookies and such, but I think the most revolting item I spotted was Spam flavored macadamia nuts. I kid you not. Right there on the shelf. 🤢

-I’m a huge fan of Liliha Bakery. We ate nearly all of our breakfasts there as well as several dinners. Everything we ate was really good…even the waffle if I take the macadamia nuts out of the equation. 😂

-There are feral chickens everywhere. It seems kind of weird to me, but they really are all over. It is such a common thing that we saw a display of stuffed animal chickens in the mall.

-The restroom signs in the Honolulu airport are far more fun than the ones we have here.

-My tendency to tan rather than burn is AWESOME and makes for some funny tan lines. You can tell that I wore the same sandals the whole time.

-Everything out there has its own special Hawaiian flair. We ended up needing to purchase some reusable shopping bags at Target and you most definitely can’t get that same design around here.

-Although it can be a challenge finding treats that are safe for Matthew and Malia, we scoured the island and did actually find a few tropical flavored goodies that are safe for them. Malia particularly enjoyed some gummy pineapples we found. Not only did they taste good, but they are dimensional and stand up on their own, which makes them even better!

-Apparently, we chose souvenirs wisely because Malia is ridiculously happy about the fact everything matches-shirt, shoes, and bracelets are all green, her favorite color. And while the pineapple socks don’t necessarily match, they are super fun and are the perfect finishing touch. AND because of where we were, we were actually able to find some things that had her name on them, something that never happens around here.

-It was a fun trip and I’m glad Kevin and I were able to explore the world a little bit. And I’m glad we were able to help facilitate my mom’s visit to her home turf. I am happy to be home though. And I know Kevin will be happy to be home in a couple of days when he actually gets to be here for more than three hours!

Siri Speaks Hawaiian

We’re not really world travelers. We have many places on our travel bucket list, but time, money, and raising children for the past several decades have left the majority of those places firmly on the bucket list. We have taken a good length vacation about every other year and a brief night or two in St. George for the yearly marching band finals, but other than that, we are home dwellers most of the time. 

This year has definitely been a deviation from the norm. Kevin, Nathan and I traveled to Texas in April. Kevin, Malia and I (and Matthew with the school band) explored southern California also in April. Daniel took the hop to another continent when he toured Italy in July. But other than our yearly sleepover in St. George and Kevin’s business travel, we thought we were done exploring the world for this year. 

My mom was born and raised in Hawaii and although she has lived here in Utah for forty-five years, Hawaii is still home. As such, my folks take a trip to Oahu every few years. They had another trip scheduled for this fall, plane tickets purchased, dates sent to my mom’s cousin Audrey who gladly houses them when they visit, and everything. But about six weeks ago, my dad expressed concern about traveling with my mom this time around. Her Parkinson’s has been progressing, and she has had some pretty rough episodes lately. In the past year, my dad has really started feeling his age and with some chronic back pain added to his eighty years, he was just uneasy about his ability to provide my mom the physical stability she needs when they are out and about. They do just fine at home, but traveling is hard on my mom physically and navigating the airport with all the luggage and such and my mom in a wheelchair as she struggles to walk those long distances makes it a trial. My dad was wondering if one of the girls (me or my sisters) would be able to travel with them to help. However, the school year is just beginning, and Patti teaches school, Esther works as a technology specialist for a nearby school district, and Rachael is finishing her college degree this semester and home-schooling Sam, her six-year-old. So honestly, I’m the only one who was available to go. 

I didn’t tell my Dad I could go right away, because I needed to have a serious powwow with Kevin. The past year has been really rough for me migraine wise, and I was concerned about not being able to meet my parents’ needs while on the go since traveling exposes me to many uncontrollable migraine triggers. The cost was also something we needed to talk about, as well as the ramifications of traveling for our own little family. But after a serious conversation, it was determined that we could make it work. 

That is why we find ourselves in Hawaii today. I was a bit nervous to fly based on my recent experiences flying to and from Texas, but I learned some things from that little adventure and by taking the Dramamine far enough in advance, pre-medicating for migraines, snacking regularly to make sure my stomach stayed full, and arming myself with peppermints and ginger ale, I did just fine. No headaches and no motion sickness. Yay! Our flight was delayed over an hour due to a mechanical issue, so I had extra time to sit there and worry, but once we were underway and I was feeling ok, I was able to let that go and feel some anticipation for the coming days on the island.

It has been nearly thirty years since my last trip out here and this is Kevin’s first time in the islands, so there was some excitement as Oahu came into sight out of the plane window. The humidity hit us as soon as the plane door was opened and changing from my “keep warm in the airplane” outfit to my “don’t overheat in the balmy weather” outfit was our first stop. We gathered up my parents, our luggage, two rental cars and were on our way. We turned on Google maps to help us navigate and I was suitably impressed by how well Siri pronounced the Hawaiian street names. Sometimes the pronunciations of seemingly more mundane names closer to home come out all garbled, so I was surprised at how close things were. The programmers must have put in some good hours getting all the correct phonetic rules in place. 😉

I had either forgotten or didn’t notice on my last visit how many of the buildings here are covered in colorful murals. We saw a number of them as we drove this afternoon, and I wish Malia could see the many different kinds of art that are on display. It is so fun to be cruising down the freeway and get to experience an art show at the same time!

These long travel days are hard on my mom, so we got my parents settled at her cousin Audrey’s house, checked into our own hotel, met my folks for dinner and then called it a day. The time difference between here and home means that it feels like the middle of the night to us even though it is early evening, so falling asleep in a new place is not going to be a problem. Of course, the tricky part is going to be not waking up at 3 o’clock in the morning. 😂

Tiny Toothless went with us to Texas, Baby Buc-ee rode with us to California, and Small Stitch caught the plane to Hawaii!

A Bit Road Weary

Although the number of miles is the same coming and going, for some reason the drive home from a vacation always seems interminably long. Today was no exception. Our pitstop at Alien Jerky was an indication that we were just getting started and not a sign that we were nearing the end. Malia got so bored that her main mode of entertainment was playing with a plastic water bottle like she did when she was two. And using gas station bathrooms got really, really old. While I have enjoyed all my recent travels, two trips in three weeks is not normal for me and I’m good and ready to sleep in my own bed. Kev’s a bit road weary as well, but he is even more justified in that feeling than I am. He was in Philadelphia for work a week and a half before we went to Texas and a week and a half from now, he will be in Philly again. I’ve never been to Philadelphia, and we’ve talked about me joining him on one of these trips so I can see the sights, but right now is definitely not the time. I’m very much in need of some time at home!

One Day, Four States, and a Giant Thermometer

It has been one short week since our return from the lone star state and we are on the road again, this time headed west instead of east. Matthew’s high school band is touring southern California this year and like last year, he requested that Kevin shadow them to act as his emergency food backup plan. When we started talking about this tour back in the fall, Kev decided that if Matthew is going to Disneyland, he is going to Disneyland. And I figured that if Kev is going to Disneyland, Malia and I were going to Disneyland too. Because seriously, how sad would it be for the two of us to be sitting here at home while Kevin and Matthew are at Disneyland? And thus, a plan was born. A plan that would involve Malia missing three days of school to experience just a little bit of Southern Cali. And a plan that means Kevin and I are having two vacations in three weeks. After some initial hesitation to submit to the plan because she didn’t want to miss school, (I love the fact that she loves school that much!) Malia ended up being on board with the plan as well. 

Matthew and the band are leaving Utah this evening and driving through the night, but Kevin and I 1) are  getting too old for that kind of travel, 2) will have a serious need for at least one of us to actually be awake for the whole driving part, and 3) are hoping to have enough energy to have fun at Disneyland tomorrow, so we left home bright and early this morning so that we would already be where Matthew needs us to be by the time he arrives in the morning. Malia was not a fan of the “bright and early” part, but she was excited to go and since Tiny Toothless got to accompany us on our Texas trip, we decided to take Baby Buc-ee with us to California.

Unlike the kids on the bus, we got to choose our pit stops and being the wacky folks that we are, we opted for some rather unorthodox stopping points. We did stop in St. George, which is a totally normal stop for breaking up a long drive, but another of our stops was in Baker, CA. What is there in Baker, you might ask? And the answer is…practically nothing. Baker is really just a wide spot next to the freeway. But it does boast several random tourist attractions that are just our cup of tea. Our first stop was to see the world’s tallest thermometer, which is appropriately placed as it is very near to Death Valley. Even in mid-April, the temperature in Baker was 92 degrees. It was in the 50’s when we left home this morning, so that was a big temperature swing for us.

When Kevin discussed our upcoming trip with his work crew, one of his co-workers told him he had to stop and get some alien jerky. Yes, I know that sounds a little weird. It definitely sounded weird to be too. But what I discovered is that just down the road from the gigantic thermometer is a store called Alien Jerky. Their specialty is beef jerky in a variety of flavors, all alien themed, of course. In addition to the giant wall of jerky, they carry a small collection of drinks and a freak ton of alien themed mementos. There is also a big old UFO of some sort being constructed behind the main storefront, so in future there may be even more out of this world experiences to be found in Baker, CA.

It seems like the dullest part of any road trip is the actual driving down the road part. But with a couple of totally random stops, we managed to visit four states (Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California) with only a bit of mind-numbing monotony. And tomorrow we are off to visit Mickey Mouse so that promises to be far more exciting!

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. 😜

Home Sweet Home

Today this weary band of travelers arrived home. Technically Daniel still has two more hours of driving before he returns to his actual home in Logan and Nathan will be headed off to FSY counselor training before he sees his apartment again, but even so, it was a blessed relief to get out of the car knowing that I don’t have to get back in it today! The long days of driving at the start of a vacation are always seasoned with anticipation for the great fun to come and as such, the hours go by just a little quicker. The drive home, on the other hand, always seems longer with the fun behind us and the weariness of travel and many, many loads of dirty laundry weighing us down. As such, I am very much looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight!

All Vacationed Out

Vacation is great, but there comes a point when we are all tired of the excitement and are ready to step back into our normal lives. To me, that means we like our lives. And we have all reached that point. Going home is looking pretty darn good to us. Today was just a driving day with no exciting stops along the way. We were focusing on putting some miles behind us so that we can make our way home tomorrow. We are all a little bleary eyed and completely road exhausted. But one night in Boise and just over half a day on the road tomorrow will see us back in our own little corner of the world. And we are ready.

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. 

Into the Wild

When we visited Seattle in 2016, our biggest regret was that we didn’t actually make it into the rain forest. It was on our list, and we drove out there and everything, but the rain was pouring down which slowed our travel, Google maps isn’t infallible, and we were not familiar enough with the area to realize it until it was far too late, and we honestly just ran out of time. So, the secondary purpose of this year’s trip (the primary purpose being getting Daniel back to Oregon) was to visit the rainforest. As such, anticipation was running high this morning as we left the tiny hub of civilization that is Forks, WA and headed into the wild.

Sometimes reality can be a letdown when preceded by long years of anticipation. But today was not one of those days. The rain forest was magnificent, an awe-inspiring display of some of the wonders this world holds. I won’t try to describe it, because honestly, I can’t. Even the many pictures taken by my crew pale in comparison. Let me just say that it was awe inspiring and well worth our time. One of the fun moments was spotting tiny baby salmon sheltering in the streams we encountered. Due to our visit to the hatchery yesterday, we knew exactly what kind of fish we were seeing and while they were far fewer in number than the mighty ponds of salmon at the hatchery, it was pretty cool to see them in the wild.

We are not hard-core hikers or backpackers or anything, so we didn’t plan on spending an entire day wandering around the forest. Instead, after enjoying a picnic lunch, we headed to Rialto Beach. We visited Rialto Beach on our previous trip to the area so that at least we could let the kids see the ocean, but the cold, driving rain made it a fairly unpleasant stop. On the upside, the beach was pretty much deserted, probably because everyone else was smarter than we were and decided to stay hunkered down indoors, so we had it mostly to ourselves. The weather today was much more cooperative, and we were able to enjoy the scenery despite having a lot more folks around. Rialto Beach is a rock beach rather than a sandy one like all the others we have visited on this trip, so that was one more cool thing the kids get to add to their “been there, done that” lists.

We expected rain today since we were headed into the rainforest, but about ten minutes of respectable precipitation as we drove and a slow drizzle as we were headed back to the car after our hike was all we got. We were woefully unprepared last time and got pretty wet, but this time our preparedness was in vain as our brand-new rain ponchos languished in the back of the car because we didn’t need them. But I’m ok with that. We were blessed with a perfect day to explore yet more of this beautiful world.

Natural Wonders and Awe-Inspiring Prices

Today was another leg of our drive up the coast, this time the Washington coast. We only had about four hours of driving and we couldn’t get into our vacation home in Forks until 3 p.m., so we planned some stops to fill the time and enjoy a few more of the interesting things this lovely world has to offer us. Nature in Utah is far different from nature in Washington, so we are always fascinated by the way plenty of water changes what grows without cultivation. Today’s stops included a salmon hatchery, a record-breaking giant Sitka spruce, and a well named “Tree of Life.”

The hatchery wasn’t a high traffic tourist attraction. In fact, we were the only ones there. But it was oddly fascinating. It is early in the season, so the salmon were still only a few inches long, but there were so many of them! They are clearly accustomed to being hand fed because as soon as a shadow crosses their pools, they swarm right over in a frenzy for food. There was a bucket of food provided so visitors could feed the fish, and that created even more of a fish frenzy! We didn’t stay long, just long enough to eat our lunch at an available picnic table, visit the small educational room, and feed about a million baby salmon, but it was an interesting stop.

The Sitka spruce was well and truly gigantic. Apparently, it used to be touted as the biggest Sitka spruce in the world, but larger ones must have been discovered because it has been downgraded to record breaking. Despite that, we were appropriately in awe. What we call trees around here are really just sticks in the ground with a few leaves on them. Seriously. That tree was so tall that we had to crane our necks all the way back to be able to catch a glimpse of the top. I think the only other time I remember ogling with my head tipped that far back was my very first foray into downtown Manhattan. But rather than a manmade forest of skyscrapers, this was a marvel of nature. Truly impressive. 

The Tree of Life was another marvel of nature. Erosion has eaten away the soil at the base of the tree, but somehow it has adapted, and its roots have stretched far and wide so that it can still get the nutrients it needs to live. It is proof that nature will find a way to persevere despite less-than-ideal circumstances. If only we were so dogged and versatile. It also gave us another chance to visit the beach. It was a higher traffic beach though, and we still had some miles to go before night, so we stopped just long enough to ogle the ingenuity of nature.

Our last drive of the day took us to Forks, Washington, setting for the “Twilight” books. Forks is a tiny little town, but let me tell you, they have definitely taken advantage of the whole “Twilight” craze. It has become a big part of their approach to tourism. So of course, the topic came up and when Nathan asked what the book was about, I gave him a five second synopsis:

    Teenage girl moves from mother’s abode in sunny Arizona to father’s abode in rainy Washinton. Girl     meets hunky, hunky boy who just happens to be a vampire. Girls meets second hunky, hunky boy         who just happens to be a werewolf. Drama ensues.

And then I assured him that he definitely does not need to read this book. It is super fluffy chick lit and sometimes that is just what I’m in the mood for, but there is no actual intellectual merit to be gained and his brain would probably dribble out his ears if he attempted to read it.😂

Anyway, Forks is the only town anywhere in the near vicinity of the Hoh National Rainforest so even though it is early in the summer season, it was a pretty busy little town. And the prices are a reflection of the fact it is the only location for goods and services for quite a distance. We expected that, but we were less than happy when the untimely death of the washing machine in our vacation home (in the middle of Nathan’s second load of laundry) led to the discovery of the fact that it is $8 to run a load of laundry in the one and only laundromat in Forks. Unfortunately, Matthew also needed to run a load of laundry and because it was brand new black jeans, it really couldn’t be combined with Nathan’s load. At least the dryer was still working so we were able to haul the wet laundry back to the house and avoid the matching price of the laundromat dryers. 

Having said that, we did have some amazingly good fish and chips at probably the only sit-down restaurant in town. We were pleasantly surprised. And tomorrow we see the rainforest, so we are all still in high spirits!

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. 😂