Oregon trip

We went up to Oregon last month to visit our friends Derick and Daphne and their four kids. They live in Canby, which is southeast of Portland, out on a farm. So we jumped into our beater van (which we have dubbed "Big Frank") and drove up I-5. It was sweltering when we left - it was 105 degrees when we passed through Redding. We stopped in Shasta City so the girls could play at what would be the first of many playgrounds we'd hit on the trip. We also got some water from the headwaters of the Sacramento River - a great find.

That first day we made it up to Ashland by early evening. We stayed at the Village Suites, which wasn't a bad hotel - it was relatively inexpensive, quiet, and had a nice courtyard where the girls could play.





The next day, we went out to Lithia Park in Ashland - right near downtown. It was warm, but not nearly as hot as in California. The girls loved the park. There was a lot of climbing and swinging.







After lunch, we got back in ol' Frank and headed towards Eugene. We took the long way so we could go to the Wild Safari on the way. We saw all kinds of exotic animals there - rhinos, giraffes, a hippo, various deer-like animals whose names I forget, bears, yaks, and so on. But what we all liked the most were the cheetahs. Especially Aria, because the cheetah is her favorite animal now.





Finally, we made it to Eugene, where we would stay with Aunt Lynn for a couple nights, read a lot of books, see the sights & sounds of Eugene, and - of course - go to a couple playgrounds.











Lynn had just moved up there a few weeks ago, but already had her place nicely settled. She offered to let us take over her bedroom and office so we all had plenty of room to sleep. Now that's love, when someone will sleep on their own couch for you. :)







After leaving Eugene, we headed straight up to Canby without any stops, and arrived at Derick & Daphne's in mid-afternoon. And boy, were they ready to entertain our little girls. Right out of the gate, they brought out a huge box of play clothes, which their three youngest kids (Jacob, Sammy, and Claire) shared with Aria and Audrey.





Then it was on to the play set and trampoline, where the kids would spend the next three days blissfully playing their hearts out. It was perfect weather - mid to high seventies and clear skies. We all had such a blast!













Our gracious hosts:





One day, we drove in to Portland to go to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science & Industry - kinda like the Exploratorium in San Francisco). This is a place that I remember from my childhood and I was interested to see if I remembered anything. A lot has changed, but there are still some exhibits that are the same - like the marble roller, some of the robot displays, and the giant funnel you roll marbles down.

Most of the exhibits were a bit overwhelming for the girls, so we spent most of the time in the play area upstairs. But, we did manage to get in to see some dinosaur bones, and check out the marble roller for a while too.
















Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Derick & Daphne and their beautiful farmland. None of us wanted to go home. But we had a hotel booked in Ashland, so we piled back in the van, and drove back to the hotel... with a stop off at - where else - Lithia Park. Only this time, it was pretty hot out, so we spent most of the time in the stream.





The next day, we drove straight back to Sacramento. We had intended to stop in Shasta City again, but Audrey fell asleep about 5 minutes before we got there. Not willing to disturb her nap, we just kept driving. She didn't wake up until we were past Redding, at which point there's really nowhere to stop until home. The kids were rather disappointed (to put it mildly) that we didn't stop at another playground on the way home, so we tried to get out to one the next day. Only problem was, we were back in hundred degree weather. Turns out playgrounds are a lot more fun in mild Oregon summers than they are in wretched Central Valley ones.