Portland,OR - a nice place to visit but pretty wet otherwise. It had been two years - two whole years! - since our last road trip to Washington or parts NW. I needed a break, the gas prices were going down, and there was a dinner party to be at one particular fall weekend. So like any other normal person I took two kids to grandma's, threw Sarita in the car, and drove over 400 miles to Portland for one night.

I love the trip over the Blues and up the Columbia River gorge. It is so pretty and rather peaceful. Well, there is Deadman's Pass right before Pendleton but,hec, what's a road trip without a little drama?! Actually it was quite uneventful. The worst part was the absolute dearth of music available for the 2.5 hour ride along the Columbia. One country station only! It was almost enough to drive this seasoned road tripper nuts! But we made it.

I was able to drop Sarita off at her brother's house for the night. It was nice for them to be able to visit. They had not seen one another for a whole year! You got the idea that there was some excitement involved when we got to their street and there were arrows drawn on the road to "Timo's House". I had directions all the way into their driveway! Maddie was just as excited to see Sarita. In fact at times I think Sarita had to referee the two of them so she could spend quality time with both!

But - the smiles! So worth everything. Ok and the silly faces!




Oh, and just to let y'all know - I did have to make a pit stop in The Dalles (about one hour out of Portland) to buy some music CDs!