Road Trip Adventure ~ Trip to Oregon: Part One ~ May/June 2014

Posted by Amy Evelyn Oden , Tuesday, May 27, 2014 9:02 PM

After weeks of talking about the trip to Grandma's house - to the point where I think Vianne was starting to wonder if it was ever going to happen - in the early hours of May 15, we packed a whole bunch of our stuff into our Adventuremobile and employed our roof bag (a Christmas gift) for the first time and headed northward. This is our first vacation that feels like one, pretty much since we got married, as one or both of Patrick & I have usually been working on any trips that we've taken.  With the PhD finished, APU grades turned in, and me not currently employed, neither of us have anything pressing required of us at the moment, and we're trying to make the most of it!

Vianne was once again a great traveler!  She amused herself in the back seat with toys & books and viewing the sights out the window.  We were expecting to have to entertain her a lot more than we did!

Stop for lunch: Vianne's first Happy Meal! :-)  Including a pink Spiderman sticker book so she now claims to "love Spiderman!"
Afternoon nap
 Our traditional stop in Weed, CA, for the night.  Despite the manmade intrusions, still love the view of Mt. Shasta!
 Vianne getting "cozy and cozy" in the big bed

World's Cutest Traveler
 Stop for lunch on Friday at A&W (inside a convenience store) - almost to Grandma's now!
 Rest Area Wiggle Release - 100 more miles to go!
 We arrived at Mom's/Grandma's about 3:30pm and got to see the Blairs that night.  Cousin snuggles on the swing...Vianne & Margot Mae
One major reason for coming up when we did was to see my dear Kirstin Terwilliger get married on Saturday evening (May 17).  Grandma watched Vianne while Patrick & I enjoyed a date-night-of-sorts at the lovely (and surreal) event.  Kirstin was radiating beauty, joy, and love, everyone and everything looked beautiful and went unusually smoothly for a wedding!  It was such a blessing to be there for this big event in her life and to see many friends, too!  We enjoyed sitting with the Hsiehs & Lincolns the whole time as well.

The cute couple, cutting the friend's head...er...cake...
 Super sweet Dad/Daughter Dance to Steven Curtis Chapman's "Cinderella"
 Rebekah & Ian
 Me & Kirstin

Vianne's been enjoying Grandma's Kindle in addition to Daddy's tablet

Trip to Costco with Aunt Emily & Bea.  The silly girls were pretending the Tillamook cheese loaves were babies :-).  This is V's tender-mama face...
After putting Vianne to bed on Tuesday night, Patrick & I snuck away for a Gustav's date.
On Wednesday, a walk to Canby Library and Wait Park


Talking to Granma O. on the phone...V says, "I go to the store for awhile".
Grandma's silly audience of one
On Wednesday night, I got to introduce Rebekah to the updated La Provence.  Culinary delights and great conversation!
On Thursday, we went to McMenamins' Boon's Treasury (another checked off our list) in Salem...
...to see Heidi, who's spending the summer in Oregon!
Then a visit from Vera & David and a bit of croquet back at Grandma's...


...and then a trip to the Blairs' for dinner, with a bit of jump-roping.
On Friday, the Storey kids were off school and Chris was off work...


...so we took a trip all together to Timberline Lodge, with a stop at Joe's Donuts on the way, which delighted everyone.  Even a not-a-big-donut-person like me thought theirs were excellent! :-)






Behind the donut shop was this really cool playground!


It was about 15 degrees colder up on the mountain than the weatherman had predicted so we weren't entirely prepared, but the kids still had a blast.  We saw the Lodge, had a picnic lunch, and regretted the lack of visibility.  For another time, perhaps!







Back down the mountain...Vianne's "Minnie Book" has provided hours of entertainment so far on the trip. She doesn't seem to ever get sick of it!
On Saturday, we enjoyed a coffee date with our friend Traci.  That night, we had a special siblings & spouses dinner hosted by Geoff & Vera.  Mom graciously watched David & Vianne for us, and said they were adorable together...
 ...while we enjoyed a scrumptious meat-heavy meal in downtown Portland at the Brazil Grill.  Left with full bellies & happy hearts!
 Mama brought three pairs of shoes on the trip.  These are they...:-)
 On Sunday, Daddy had some guy time with the bro-in-laws seeing the new X-Men movie so the ladies hung out with Grandma for a low-key rest day. Loungin' on Grandma's swing...



2 Response to "Road Trip Adventure ~ Trip to Oregon: Part One ~ May/June 2014"

Marie Says:

LOVE seeing the pictures of your adventure in Oregon!!
Love to Amy, Patrick and Oliver! And to Vianne: I love you lots, miss you lots! Thank you for sending us a postcard. That was very sweet. Have so much fun together! Kisses and hugs, granma

Rebekah Says:

Oh man that picture of her reading the book is hilarious! I hope you guys made it home safe. We're missing you already.
Rebekah

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