You Say Road...I Say Trip

In April we met Jason's family in Hood River, Oregon. His younger brother, John, lives in Portland with his girlfriend, Lauren. They are flexing their culinary muscles as chef, cheesemaker, pastry chef, and pop-up entrepreneurs. The rest of the family flew from the Dallas, Texas area. Our drive was about five hours...or four hours and 47 minutes of "are we in Oregon yet?"

With our frequent two-hour drives to Spokane, I'd like to boast that we are semi-professional road-trippers. But frankly, traveling with Littles is hard. Period.

The reward at the end of this drive was a vacation rental nestled in the orchards and vineyards above the river, with a winery across the street to the front and Mt. Adams in the rear. The air was crisp and the views were out of this world. The coffee was local, and Mama got a week off from cooking (unless you count making PB&J).

We brought back only a few souvenirs...polished rocks from Multnomah Falls, toy binoculars from OMSI, and a brutal stomach flu. But we packed the car tight with memories of long walks, chasing bubbles with cousin Ryen, grandparent snuggles, and late nights catching up after kids were tucked in.

Meet the Family