Family Road Trip 2009

Amanda and I have taken several vacations alone, something that we’ve enjoyed and have appreciated the alone time. However, as our kids have gotten a bit older we’ve realized we really wanted some family vacation time. I know, a few years ago I would have thought we were crazy; but, thankfully, we all change.

We cashed in a bunch of our miles and flew down to SFO – we called the Bay Area home from 2000-2003 – for the start of a drive North to Seattle. We flew in late Friday night/Saturday morning and drove down to Mountain View to stay with some friends. One fun note… on the leg from Seattle to SF the plane was fairly empty and Alaska Air bumped our family of 6 up to first class. The boys and girls each got their own seats and lived it up having snacks and root beer floats.

Day 1: Saturday
We spent the day with Kate and Simon and their twin girls Beth and Amy. We met them through the twin connection and they became great friends sharing many hikes around the Bay Area as well as very memorable camping trips to Big Sur and Northern Tahoe. This trip was very relaxing as they have created a back yard oasis with a fire pit, trampoline, guinea pig, and a couple “free range” chickens.

Day 2: Sunday
One of Connor and Andrew’s best friends during our time in California was Brandon Young when we visited our good friends Chris and Alice, Brandon and the boys picked up like they’d never been apart. We played basketball, Wii, and the boys got to have a sleepover with Brandon and his younger brother Bryce. We had a nice dinner alone with Chris and Alice, thanks to some brave babysitters willing to take on 10 kids (ours, theirs, and the Young kids).

Day 3: Monday
We hit the road North driving through SF, across the Golden Gate Bridge, and up to Arcata, where our hotel reservation was. It was a gorgeous drive as we started getting into the Redwoods. Unfortunately, the road was a bit windier than we anticipated and without Dramamine the boys couldn’t take much of it. Connor got pretty sick and Andrew hung on, but didn’t feel well. The girls did great just playing in the back of the van. That evening we went out for pizza at a classic family pizza restaurant – video games, grimy tables, serve your own soda – the boys even mixed their own concotions at the soda machine.

Day 4: Tuesday
After leaving Arcata we continued up the coast to Crescent City (I think it was) and then headed over to Grants Pass to hook up with I-5 and a nice easy drive into Eugene. The weather held for us – no snow in the pass and very little rain. The roads weren’t too curvy, either, and so the boys enjoyed the drive a bit more. The girls have the back seat to each other and just play with their toys and have fun for the entire drive. If Jenna gets tired she just naps for a bit, wakes up, and then starts playing again.
We arrived in Eugene late Tuesday afternoon – a typical damp, gray, and somewhat chilly Eugene afternoon. We took a nice walk around the neighborhood with Jasmine to try and loosen up after sitting all day.

Day 5: Wednesday
Wednesday was a nice relaxing day, especially knowing we had no where to go and no serious agenda. Betsy had planned a dinner for us with Dan and Bob. Dan has a vineyard with primarily Pinot Noir grapes and makes small quantities of his own wine as well as selling a lot of his grapes to other wineries. Bob and his wife have a small importing business bringing small-production French wines into Oregon. It was fun to talk to them in general and also about wine and the wine business. Stacey also made the trek down from Portland to spend the night which we appreciated.
During the day we did a few errands around Eugene making our regular pilgrimage to Trader Joe’s and a good lunch at Café Yumm. That afternoon the kids decided they wanted to stay with Betsy – she was very gracious to even give them that option – and Amanda and I went to visit a few local wineries.
We went to King Estate, a large winery most known for their Pinot Gris. We bought a couple bottles of their Pinot Gris and also did a Pinot Noir flight and decided to take home a bottle of the winemaker’s signature Pinot Noir. King Estate is an absolutely beautiful setting, even in winter. I’ve been on their tour before and it is nice, but wasn’t being offered.
Next on our list was Silvan Ridge/Hinman Cellars. They are a relatively small tasting room with some Pinot Noir and Shiraz (we only did the red tasting list). They were solid quality wines but not exactly blockbuster for my palate.
Finally, we hit Sweet Cheeks. They are so named as their tasting room sits on the intersection of two hills which, when viewed from a distance, looks like some “sweet cheeks.” The tasting room has this great soap stone wood stove. There was no fire burning, not even any coals left, but the stone was still very very warm. Their wines were good. They had a sweet Riesling they had just bottled that was excellent – sweet but with some nice acidity that prevented it from being too syrupy. We bought a couple bottles, one to enjoy with Amanda’s sisters. Later, at a wine store, we ended up buying a bottle (on recommendation) of their Pinot Noir infusion which is Pinot and Cab Franc… should be interesting.

Day 6: Thursday
During dinner last night we sort of invited ourselves out to Dan’s vineyard. He took us on a tour showing us his barrels, his winemaking equipment, and the vineyard. He does a great job taking care of the vineyard, and it shows… there is something calming and enjoyable about being at the top of a rise and looking out over a field of vines.
That afternoon we went driving around Eugene, walking around the U of O campus, and visiting a downtown wine shop. We picked up a couple pizzas for dinner.
The wine shop was combined with an ice cream stand, a coffee stand, and a café with wood-fired pizzas. So, while we picked out wine we had them make and pre-cook a couple pizzas for us which turned out to be very tasty that evening.

Day 7: Friday
Friday was the drive to Seattle. We said our goodbyes to Betsy, which was a little tough on everyone. The boys are always a little sad saying goodbye to people, so they got a little down. The surprise was Carli, though. Typically she’s pretty self-contained, not really letting others affect her emotions much. However, as we pulled away we heard a sob in the back… Carli was crying about leaving and deeply affected, and not because others were crying. While it was sad, Amanda and I were actually encouraged that she’d made such a strong emotional bond and was letting herself feel the heartache of leaving. We considered it a breakthrough.

On the way up we stopped in Portland to visit Stacey at her home. She made us a wonderful whole-wheat macaroni and cheese, which we all loved. It was a nice stop and, although brief, a good time to catch up on things. Unfortunately, we left just a little later than we wanted and then I think took a wrong turn. So, leaving Portland we hit some traffic. Luckily it wasn’t too bad, I guess, as far as traffic goes. But, for these Alaskans, we were definitely reminded how much we don’t like cities.

We arrived in Seattle and immediately went to the high school to watch Drew play in his first varsity game. Unfortunately, his team didn’t do so well. But, we all enjoyed the high school games. We also fulfilled our promise to the kids of getting a Jamba Juice.

Day 8: Saturday
Saturday the highlight was catching up with some very dear friends from high school, Heather and Jeni. Heather was one of my best friends during high school and also spent quite a bit of time in Eugene, during my college time there. However, over the years we lost touch with each other for various reasons and hadn’t talked or seen each other for probably about 10 years. She now has a beautiful 1 year old daughter. Jeni was a high school friend and also lived right around the corner from me in Eugene one year. I had recently seen her at our (gulp) 20 year high school reunion. However, on this visit I got to meet her two children, who are 5 and 3. And, of course, they got to meet our 4 children. In some ways it seemed like not much time had passed, that we were just out of high school and starting to pretend to be serious about life, but not completely bought in to everything we’re doing; but, just that we’re supposed to be doing it. I guess in some ways it was kind of reassuring; I didn’t feel old, but actually younger. I really appreciated the opportunity to renew those relationships, to see the evidence of time passing, feel and see the confidence that 20 years of real-lfe experiences bring, but also feel a sense of youth.

That evening we had a nice dinner with the Caraway’s and then spent the evening hanging out at home with the family. We have known Todd and Diane since they only had 2 kids (they now have 5) and were young in marriage and life and we were in our first year of marriage (now coming up on 15). We have stayed in touch with them through their moves and all of ours. I lived with them for 3 months while finishing school and we have visited them several times over the years. This visit, however, was the first we’ve done with our entire family. Their twin girls quickly adopted one of our girls and took care of them during our stay. Caleb and the boys immediately hit it off. Spending time with the Caraways is like spending time with a family that is in some ways completely different, but that we’re all completely at ease with. Todd remarked on the same thing – it just feels so comfortable to walk in to their family and make ourselves at home. Their friendship is very valued and I can easily imagine spending time with them 20 years from now.

Day 9: Sunday
Sunday we woke up and took everyone out for a walk. There is a beautiful walk in the forest by their house that has wonderful, quiet trails that wind through rainforest like trees. We said our good byes to the family, made a final quick run to Trader Joe’s and headed to the airport for our flight home.

The kids were excited to come home, I think. Amanda and I were, also. It was a wonderful trip… everything I had hoped and expected it would be. One thing the kids wanted to do while on vacation was see a movie, which we didn’t get to, and so I owe them that. But otherwise it was a success and hopefully goes into our family memory bank forever.

Now if only I'd get some of the pictures up...