Day 1: Long day! Dropped Eddy off at “Best Friends Dog Kennel”. He’ll love it!! $23 a day… he’d better! Our flight was in 2 stages. First flight was  Detroit to Phoenix. The flight was on time, and we had a chance to eat lunch at the Fox Sports Den. The second flight from Phoenix to Portland was 2.5 hours. Smooth. We rented a new mini van. It took 4 hours to drive to Bend, Oregon. We stopped for dinner at a Jack-In-The-Box. Yum. Drove past Detroit, Oregon. Didn't see Kwame. It was a beautiful drive through the mountains.

Day 2 : Woke up early (5am) because we are still on Detroit time. Had breakfast in the hotel. Went to Mt. Bachelor with Chris, Amanda, Brad and Austin. Took the chair lift up. We also took pictures of the 3 Sisters Mountains and Broken Top Mountain. Found out that the annual snow fall should be 300”, but this past winter it was 600”. We had lunch on the mountain top. After lunch, we went into downtown Bend, Oregon. They have 3 paper stores. Enjoyed an ice cream at Goodys. We then went to the Outlet Mall, and I bought a $36 pair of shorts at Columbia for $7.50… PLUS… NO SALES TAX IN OREGON!!! I am saving Kelly so much money. We had dinner at Chris and Amanda’s new house, which is lovely. It was yummy.

Day 3 : Leaving Bend at 11am. Went to the High Desert Museum which was interesting. Saw a porcupine in a tree, owls, a sleeping otter, “Thoma”, and snakes. Learned about Indians. Went to a Lava Rock Tube. It was very dark, rocky, and cold. We all had flashlights and lanterns. It was exhausting as we walked about a mile deep in a pitch-black cave. On to Fort Klamath , Oregon. We followed Tom-Tom… our “trusty?” GPS, which took us on a short cut… NOT!!!! 14 miles of sandy, logging roads in the Sun Pass State Forest. Brad and Austin even had to get out to move fallen trees that blocked to road. Chris & Amanda ate our dust driving behind us. HILARIOUS!!! We got to Ft. Klamath finally. We had dinner at Jo’s Deli & Motel. Really tired.

Day 4 : Headed to Crater Lake, Oregon. We left the Aspen Inn (where we stayed in Fr. Klamath) at 9:30am. Stopped at the General Store for breakfast. Crater Lake was BEAUTIFUL. It was a fantastic day to view the lake from all over. We stopped in Glide, Oregon for lunch. I had soup, salad, and DEATH BY CHOCOLATE!!! I’m still alive though. Got to Reedsport where we washed all the sand off the van, then took a swim in the pool at the hotel.

Day 5 : Left Reedsport at 10am, driving up US101. Went to the Sea Lion Caves. It was smelly (no worse than going into my kids room), but pretty cool. There were literally hundreds of sea lions which made that are very loud in the cave. There were beautiful ocean views though. We then proceeded to the “Devil’s Punch Bowl”. It was cool, but not much action when we were there. We proceeded on to Salem, Oregon and attended their Art Fair. I bought a couple of T-Shirts… One for me and one for my favorite sister Marianne. Had a great dinner at Amanda’s mom and step-dad’s house. We got a chance to meet some of the relatives too. Left at 10pm for Portland.

Day 6 : We departed Portland for Mt. St. Helens, and then Seattle. Mt. St. Helens was AWESOME! 1 hour up the mountain, and 1 hour down. Drove to Bellevue, WA (across the river from Seattle) to our hotel for the next 3 nights. Chris and Beverly (brother and sister-in-law) are coming to the same hotel tonight.

Day 7 : Went to breakfast at Denny’s, and on to Seattle taking the bus. Went to Pike Place Market where the guys throw the fish around. There were also a lot of art for sale, and lots of small shops. We went to the Seattle Aquarium, the ‘original’ Starbucks, and even saw the world’s biggest shoe. We capped the day off by eating Chinese.

Day 8 : Took the bus back to Seattle. Went on the Underground Tour which was fun and interesting. Went to the Space Needle. The view from the top was AWESOME. It was another picture perfect day. (everyday to this point was sunny with low humidity). Went to the Paper Source with Tina.

Day 9 : On to the house in Ocean Park, Washington which we rented for the next 6 days. Our house was amazing. A short walk to the beach. It was chilly (60’s) but no rain. Love it!!! Going into town tomorrow. We see many logging trucks along the way

Day 10 : Went to Ilwaco with Kelly, Amanda, Nancy, and Marianne. While they ate lunch, I went shopping. Went to Cape Disappointment where we visited a lighthouse. Cool. Went to Scrappacino (guess what.. a scrapbook store). Walked down to the ocean. There are lots of awesome views. Chris, Beverly, Matthew and Tina are here.

Day 11 : Had brunch with the family at our house. Lots of help from Amanda. Thanks. Went to the ocean.. it was foggy… and scary… and COLD. Drove into town and go figure… I found another scrapbook store. We saw a gator man (half gator.. and you guessed it… half man) I took the kids to Putt Putt Golf and Go-Karts, and then to the boys to an arcade while Tina and I went to Scoopers. Came back to the house and had dinner, and played charades.

Day 12 : Went to the Kite Museum. Interesting. Took a walk on the boardwalk which was setting up for Sand-Sations (a sand castle building contest). In the evening, the kids all went to Cape Disappointment for a BBQ, while the baby boomers (old people) had dinner. Kelly drove us to Astoria , Oregon to the Boardwalk Bistro for that dinner with other guests that will be at the wedding. We had a good time. Met everyone, and sat with Sue and Jeff Trinner, Mark Belletini, and Jane’s sister Sue.

Day 13 : Went to Sand-Sations early. Didn’t see much. The sculptors were just getting started. Got t-shirts for me and Amanda. Free hotdogs!!! The wedding was at 2 pm in the park. It was a beautiful ceremony combining Jewish and Unitarian flavors into it. Rosalee’s dress was made by her mom and she looked simply gorgeous. The reception was a blast! Lots of Jewish dances, but got a chance to Polka with my brother Chuck.

Day 14 : Cleaned up the house. We had to throw out about $40 worth of food because nothing could be left. While we were packing, a squirrel got in from the upper deck of the house, but I got it out. It was a long day of driving back to Portland, then flying to Phoenix, then home. We arrived back at 2:15am Detroit Time.