Where have we been?!

We are still here! Sorry for the pathetic lack of posting. As it turns out, it's awfully hard to write and upload photos while driving! And, nighttime seems to be an ideal time to try and catch some sleep, since a certain baby who shall remain nameless continues to enjoy waking every 2-3 hours at night. So, what have you missed?

Day 11: Pacific Northwest. We woke up in Kennewick at the Comfort Inn (thanks for the points, Dad!), and set out for Eugene, Oregon. We took our time getting up and out, enjoying a leisurely hotel breakfast before finally getting on the road. Southeastern Washington was not that interesting to look at, so we were looking forward to prettier terrain in Oregon. Once crossing over into Oregon, we had a lovely, if not gusty, drive along the Columbia River. As has been our m.o. throughout the trip, we flew by the seat of our pants when it came to where to stop for lunch and hike. We settled on Multnomah Falls. It was crazy busy at the parking lot there, so we went on to Waukeenah Falls next door, and stopped for a great picnic lunch. After a great hike over to Multnomah Falls, we got back in the car for the drive to Eugene. After a chilly barbecue dinner where Jenny prepared incredible cod and salmon dishes on a camp stove (is there anything she can't do?!) we turned in for a quick night's sleep (P.S. I love Holiday Inn Express).

Day 12: We got a super early start from Eugene so we could power through and get to Napa ASAP. (Super early = gassed up and on the road by 7:45.) The bottom line on that trip was that we covered a 7.5-hour drive in 8 hours, including stops. It was pretty phenomenal, considering our caravan includes 7 children! On that drive, we crossed through Grants Pass, Oregon which is at the same latitude as our house in Melrose. Medford, Oregon lines up to Framingham for our caravan partners. We pulled into Fairfield, CA to drop Betsy off at her hotel with the Framingham crew just before 3:45. We bid adieu to the cousins before heading to the Westin in Napa where we unpacked and settled in to enjoy our incredible hotel room for approximately 45 hours. After a nice swim, we fed the kids and ordered room service. I was able to make Danny a grilled cheese on the stove that's nicer than mine at home, though I did have to ask the kitchen to bring up some butter.

Day 13: Wedding Day! The real, original reason for this cross-country journey was to come to Napa to see my cousin Annie marry her beau, Paul Ryan, at a beautiful church in St. Helena. We headed to the riverfront in Napa for breakfast at Sweetie Pies. That section of Napa was surprisingly uninhabited. Lots of vacant shops for rent and not a lot of people out and about. Later in the afternoon we headed north to the wedding after eating a delicious Panera lunch brought to us by my brother Bobby and sister-in-law Lauren. Lifesavers they were! Driving up to the wedding, we lamented that we hadn't had the opportunity to visit any of the gorgeous wineries we were passing. Next time!! The wedding was beautiful, with the bridesmaids wearing yellow dresses (Annie's favorite color), and Annie looking absolutely positively gorgeous in her lace gown. After they made it
official, we headed south to the Smith Estate for the reception. We may or may not have stopped at Alpha omega for a quick tasting before arriving to the reception. (Shhhh!) Annie and Paul drove up in a gorgeous 2-seater Spyder convertible, danced their first dance, and got the party started. Toasts were given (not one of them awkward), and Paul delivered a beautiful treatise on love. I've already requested a copy. We lasted until about 9:30 before calling it a night. (but not before trying as many flavors of the beautiful wedding cake - a Meg Williams original - as we could.) The kids went to sleep promptly, and Mary even slept through the night! (Though in a cruel twist, her brother was up 5 times between 4-5:30 am. So not fair!)

Day 14: Heading East!! We weren't exactly in a rush to get back in the car for today's 10-hour drive to Vegas. Since we'd be heading through the desert, we figured we could do a later drive to avoid the afternoon heat. Jim and Danny walked to the store for some eastbound provisions while I did a few loads of laundry and packed up the room. We finally got on the road by about 1pm, about 30 minutes behind Billy and Jenny. There's not a whole lot between Napa and Las Vegas, except for a seriously nasty-smelling cattle ranch (slaughterhouse?), Edwards Air Force Base, and a GE wind farm. We did hit our southernmost point of the road trip just as we got onto Rt 15 near Barstow. We stopped there for dinner at Burger King, only the second fast food meal of the trip. Not bad, I'd say. Now, we are cruising through the desert, just 60 miles from Las Vegas (we can already see the sky brightening in the distance). We will cruise down the strip to see the bright lights before resting our heads for the night just outside the city. Tomorrow will see us through Zion National Park in Utah and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I can't wait!