Oregon (Pt. 1)!!!

Hi everyone!!! We’re back from an amazing vacation in Oregon!! We had such a great time and want to give a thousand thanks to Peepaw Mike and Grandma Molly for being such great hosts and grandparents! The only problem with the trip really is that we did so much fun stuff that we ended up taking 470 pictures (!!), so posting it all has seemed to be a hopeless task. I’m taking it in chunks however, and hopefully will have it all up by next summer : )

It is a looooong drive up there (about 14 hours), but it’s always so exciting to be heading up, and we’ve found some good ways to pass the time:

1. Music (duh)
2. Trivial Pursuits cards (Playing the whole game would be a little awkward, but the cards are fun!)
3. Video monitors for the guys (Giving in to reality – and the best money ever spent.)
4. Prairie Home Companion (So great!! Download it here:
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/ also, see the Aug.1 post)
5. Having interesting long talks (Actually a real blessing – this would never happen on an airplane!!)
6. Singing songs (We need to learn more car songs!)
7. Admiring the beautiful California and Oregon scenery (Some stinky cow parts, but so much amazing stuff!!)
8. Sleep (Sorry Em!!)

Even with all of this, it’s a little long, but we made it up there and stopped in Ashland Oregon for the night. This is a beautiful place that is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and it’s amazing how much cool stuff they pack into such a small town! There are great healthy restaurants (such a relief after road food!), Shakespeare stuff everywhere, and the amazing Lithia Park. Here are some pictures of that:

Ashland is so great that even the bathrooms in Lithia Park smell good!! We're always so happy to get there, and to know that we're a mere three hours from Cottage Grove! Hope everyone is well & part 2 next.