Canada 2006: July 2006

"I don't want to be in the car anymore!!!!!"

That was Julia, about two hours into our car ride. It was definitely a long morning. We got the girls up early so we could leave by 7:30 to be at Uncle Steve & Aunt Kathy's in time for dinner. Usually, the girls don't get up until 9 and on all the other days we'd gotten them up, they'd go to be early. But not today. Consequently, Charlotte was also in a terrible mood and things got so bad we had to pull over and move Julia's seat. Chris and I were also so tired from getting up early and staying up late that we swithced drivers constantly. Add in Frankie's general grumpiness and we were stopping all the time. But somehow we made it to Elk Grove around 5. Kathy, being a very wise woman, had bought a Dora sprinkler for them and they immediately changed into their suits and ran around the backyard until it turned into a swamp. We had a fabulous, home-cooked meal (including dessert) and enjoyed the feeling that the majority of ou driving was done.

We got on the road at 11:30 today and are hoping to be home by 6. Julia is finally getting what she told us is the favorite part of our vacation- going home!

The road to Bend is beautiful

Next day it was time to hop in the car again. We left Sandpoint around 8 am and headed for Bend, Oregon. We retraced our steps back to Spokane, then went south though some dry, dusty areas. Once we got to Oregon it changed to beautiful green rolling hills with great views of Mt. Hood. It's part of the Oregon Trail and is called the "Journey through Time" highway. It was like stepping back in time with all these cute little towns and farms. When we reached Madras the traffic reached a standstill. Turns out we'd reached Madras when the funeral service for Pfc Thomas Tucker was letting out. It was a high-profile death and there were quite a lot of people in town, including the Govenor, PFLAG and the Patriot Guard Riders (motorcycle riders that ride at memorial services to sheild the family from protesters). It was so touching to see all the support that this family received. All the businesses and trees and everything were decorated for miles. We saw sign after sign at the local establishments expressing prayers for the family and it was so sweet.

Eventually, we made it to Bend. Just as Francesca decided she'd had it, our hotel appeared over the hill! We all hopped out of the car and into the lobby as fast as possible. As it turned out, there was a dog show in Bend and many of the contestants were staying at our hotel. The girls had fun trying to spot dogs from our window. We ordered pizza, went swimming and tried to rest up for another day on ther road.

Sandpoint

We spent the day in Sandpoint at the beach. We brought a picnic and chairs, but somehow, I forgot bathing suits. They didn't seem to mind and had a great time. The only real problem was that Charlotte was used to walking way out in the water in Canada and would quickly get too deep for my comfort when we were at the lake.

Frankie really wanted to join them

It was such a nice, relaxing day. The girls made friends with the local kids and we just sat around and were grateful they were entertaining themselves. We finally dragged them away and went back to our motel where we had a much calmer dinner and then said goodbye to Uncle Jamie.

Vancouver, day 2

We started the day at the Kids Only Market on Granville Island. It's basically a bunch of toy stores, kid related stores and a two story play place.

The structure too scary for Charlotte and too big for Julia, so Chris went in and helped them.

Next we took a horse-drawn trolley through Stanley Park and got to see the totem poles for less than 5 minutes. I was so disapointed, I didn't want to leave.