I started off the day choking my daily acidophilus pills. this is normal for me because they don't have coating and I freak out. The bad thing about traveling with others, is that everyone is always in such close proximity that embarrassing moments are not really private. So, yeah, my husband got to see this awesomeness. "That was the most disgusting AND amusing thing I've seen this week!" (Yay! Thanks! *rolling my eyes)
After enjoying Best Western's awesome free breakfast (and buying my first bottle of wine back in the States), we hit the road. Soon realizing that we forgot the chili bag and brand new almond milk back at the hotel in the refrigerator. (Yay again! *rolling my eyes...again). At least it wasn't too important, so we were able to laugh it off.
I am a singer. Growing up, my used driving time as a time for listening to music and singing. Thank God I married someone who loves music as well. We listen and sing out loud all the time. And we're happily passing this trait onto our children. While listening to FUN's Some Nights album, one of my kids' favorites (yes, my children listened to songs with the f*bomb in it...get over it), I heard "Meatball" singing along I noticed if he didn't know the words, he's just repeat them quickly after. I love it.
Music? Check. Scenery? Check. Oregon is absolutely beautiful to drive through! All wooded and green. There are lots of RV parks there. One, in particular, caught our eye. Sleepy Hollow. The first thing Judas said? " Yeeeah...I don't think I'll be 'resting my head' there." Yes, this is my life.
It's a good thing I have four amusing gentlemen in my life and on this road trip. Especially when we hit construction. My favorite thing to do is to tell "Donut" to talk like a robot! He sounds EXACTLY like a robot minion. Without fail, he obliges and without fail, it makes all of us smile. We needed it. Construction was long and boring.
It was a good thing that I accidentally planned our times wrong and ended up giving us an extra hour...we thought.
Our first break was Riverbend Park in Winston, OR. Just a typical community park that also had a skate park connected. We were so tempted to let "Meatball" and "Donut" ride their scooters and balance bike in it (yes, they are packed in the van too), but I didn't want to disturb the dude using it. Parks are always great to have breaks at. They are free and the kids burn all their stored up energy.
After enjoying Best Western's awesome free breakfast (and buying my first bottle of wine back in the States), we hit the road. Soon realizing that we forgot the chili bag and brand new almond milk back at the hotel in the refrigerator. (Yay again! *rolling my eyes...again). At least it wasn't too important, so we were able to laugh it off.
I am a singer. Growing up, my used driving time as a time for listening to music and singing. Thank God I married someone who loves music as well. We listen and sing out loud all the time. And we're happily passing this trait onto our children. While listening to FUN's Some Nights album, one of my kids' favorites (yes, my children listened to songs with the f*bomb in it...get over it), I heard "Meatball" singing along I noticed if he didn't know the words, he's just repeat them quickly after. I love it.
Music? Check. Scenery? Check. Oregon is absolutely beautiful to drive through! All wooded and green. There are lots of RV parks there. One, in particular, caught our eye. Sleepy Hollow. The first thing Judas said? " Yeeeah...I don't think I'll be 'resting my head' there." Yes, this is my life.
It's a good thing I have four amusing gentlemen in my life and on this road trip. Especially when we hit construction. My favorite thing to do is to tell "Donut" to talk like a robot! He sounds EXACTLY like a robot minion. Without fail, he obliges and without fail, it makes all of us smile. We needed it. Construction was long and boring.
It was a good thing that I accidentally planned our times wrong and ended up giving us an extra hour...we thought.
Our first break was Riverbend Park in Winston, OR. Just a typical community park that also had a skate park connected. We were so tempted to let "Meatball" and "Donut" ride their scooters and balance bike in it (yes, they are packed in the van too), but I didn't want to disturb the dude using it. Parks are always great to have breaks at. They are free and the kids burn all their stored up energy.
We got the boys to leave by promises of going to go get lunch in a really cool place that has animal stuff all over. Too bad Noah's Ark Restaurant made liars out of us. We to the place to see it had an "OPEN" sign flashing, but a hand-written note saying it opens at noon; which was fine. We had 15 minutes to drive around. We returned to see that it was still closed. We waited for about 10 minutes with no sign of it being opened. We left a sticky note next to a UPS package notice on the door with our business card telling them that we cam to review for our blog and we were leaving very disappointed. Needless to say, we pulled away with a crying little boy who wanted to go to the place with animals all around it.
I was plagued with a horrible headache pretty much all day. I'm grateful for the med pack under the seat. And thanks to having easy access to the water jug, I could easily take meds. Too bad they didn't help.
On a side note, does anyone else have problems with any of their children taking off their shoes and socks during car rides? I'm sure a lot of people do. But how about said child constantly chewing those socks until they are soaked and then throwing them everywhere? "Donut" has issues. No wonder I get headaches.
Since we didn't get to eat at Noah's Ark, we opted to stop at our favorite fast food joint, Sonic Drive-In. We have don't have these in Canada and it breaks our hearts (It has inspired Judas to look at hot dog vending back home). I didn't review it because...WE LOVE IT!! That's just plain and simple. We packed food to eat on the road, but we did plan on days/meals of "luxury".
I was excited to take the boys to Great Cats World Park. It was so sunny we had to bust out the sunscreen. What a nice change from how it had been. Summer is definitely up on us.
Judas and I had been to a similar wildlife park in Colorado, so we were excited to see the boys' reaction to seeing lions, tigers, and other big cats up close. They loved it! I knew they would!
On a side note, does anyone else have problems with any of their children taking off their shoes and socks during car rides? I'm sure a lot of people do. But how about said child constantly chewing those socks until they are soaked and then throwing them everywhere? "Donut" has issues. No wonder I get headaches.
Since we didn't get to eat at Noah's Ark, we opted to stop at our favorite fast food joint, Sonic Drive-In. We have don't have these in Canada and it breaks our hearts (It has inspired Judas to look at hot dog vending back home). I didn't review it because...WE LOVE IT!! That's just plain and simple. We packed food to eat on the road, but we did plan on days/meals of "luxury".
I was excited to take the boys to Great Cats World Park. It was so sunny we had to bust out the sunscreen. What a nice change from how it had been. Summer is definitely up on us.
Judas and I had been to a similar wildlife park in Colorado, so we were excited to see the boys' reaction to seeing lions, tigers, and other big cats up close. They loved it! I knew they would!
Grants Pass, OR is a really cute town. They have decorated bears everywhere. The whole little town is surrounded by tree covered mountains. It's picturesque.
We ended up staying at Super 8 Motel in Grants Pass. We passed up better quality hotels. Why? Because it was the only hotel in Grants Pass that had an INDOOR pool that we could find. Sacrifices.
I wish I could say that after a nice swim, we fell asleep fast and got a good night's rest. The truth is that everyone has bad days/nights. It doesn't change while on vacation (as much as it should be a biological law). I still had my headache, the boys didn't want to sleep, and baby boy freaked out for over an 1 1/2 hours, being completely inconsolable.
A big reminder: As scheduled as you are with naps and bed times at home...the road has different rules.
I wish I could say that after a nice swim, we fell asleep fast and got a good night's rest. The truth is that everyone has bad days/nights. It doesn't change while on vacation (as much as it should be a biological law). I still had my headache, the boys didn't want to sleep, and baby boy freaked out for over an 1 1/2 hours, being completely inconsolable.
A big reminder: As scheduled as you are with naps and bed times at home...the road has different rules.